ᐅ Garage with cast-in-place concrete and 25 cm slab foundation

Hello everyone,

This is about a new build in Bavaria. A technical room is planned inside the garage (total area 40m2 (430 sq ft)). Therefore, a prefabricated garage is not an option. The structural engineer has calculated that the garage will be built with cast-in-place concrete. The garage sits on a concrete slab with a thickness of 25cm (10 inches) with frost protection strips.

What do you think about this in terms of cost and practicality? Isn’t it oversized? Most of the neighbors have garages with a concrete slab and brick or limestone walls.

Thanks for your opinions

Zizou_Bh schrieb:

What do you think about this in terms of cost and practicality? Isn’t it oversized? Most neighbors have garages with concrete slabs and either brick or calcium silicate blocks.

What are we supposed to say? We don’t know your entire construction project, nor your plot or ground conditions. So: no idea why your planner finds concrete more suitable or just more attractive for a garage than a masonry one.

Zizou_Bh schrieb:

The garage includes a technical room (total 40m² (430 sq ft)). That’s why a prefabricated garage is not an option.

I don’t see any causal connection. There are complete transformer stations built with the same system as prefabricated garages, so why shouldn’t boilers, fuse boxes, and water meters fit in there as well? Prefabricated concrete garage manufacturers—all of whom also offer extensions about half the size of a garage—don’t care whether you store a lawnmower or all your home technology inside.

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11ant schrieb:

What can we really say about that? We don’t know your entire building project, and especially not your plot or its soil conditions. So: no idea why your planner prefers concrete for a garage, whether it’s more suitable or just looks better than a masonry garage.

I don’t see any causal connection there. There are entire transformer stations built using the same system as prefabricated garages, so why shouldn’t boiler rooms, meter cupboards, and water meters also fit in there? Manufacturers of concrete garages—which typically also offer extensions about half the size of a garage—don’t care whether you store a lawnmower or your entire building technology inside.

I wanted to ask whether this method of building garages is common. So far, I only know about prefabricated garages and masonry garages. I have never heard of garages made with cast-in-place concrete, and there isn’t much information available online either. Is this an economical or costly way to build? Has anyone built something like this and can share their experience with me?

Zizou_Bh schrieb:

Has anyone maybe built something like this and can share their experience with me?

Would you first like to clarify why, in your opinion, a technical room would be a key feature for a prefabricated garage, and what is meant by

Zizou_Bh schrieb:

The structural engineer calculated that the garage will be built with in-situ concrete.

? Does this mean that the structural engineer for your general contractor has kindly included the foundation slab for a “site-provided” garage (and of course designed it for the worst-case scenario, which would be a garage made from in-situ concrete)?
In that case, you might end up spending more on the garage than you expected to save by sourcing it yourself. A classic case of backfiring.

This is really (unfortunately a very common but) a major mistake—to ask only a single specific question here instead of seeking broad, comprehensive advice from the forum community about your entire construction project!

Zizou_Bh schrieb:

I wanted to ask if this garage construction method is common. So far, I only know about prefabricated garages and masonry garages. I have never heard of garages made with in-situ concrete, and there is not much information about it online either. Is this a cheap or an expensive building method?

This is an extremely unusual construction method. An “architect’s garage” is something people get when their motorhome alone costs more than a typical house does for most people.

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