ᐅ Garage – The Challenging Choice of Building Materials and Contractors
Created on: 17 May 2020 01:45
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Eugen D.
Hello everyone,
First of all, let me briefly introduce myself.
My name is Eugen, I am 30 years old. My wife and I are planning, or rather in the middle of preparations, to build a house. The construction start date will probably be next year in June. Everything regarding the house is currently settled. If that changes, you will probably hear more from us on that topic.
The actual question concerns the construction of a garage. We live near Nuremberg. Unfortunately, we did not find anything suitable in the search, and we apologize if this topic was posted in the wrong subforum.
Since we do not have the possibility to build our own garage by masonry, we decided to go with a prefabricated garage.
We have obtained several quotes. The dimensions are 6 x 9 meters (20 x 30 feet). Due to the size, we received different prices. One provider quoted about 38,000 euros, including a large sectional door in the color of our choice, electric operation, a side door, and a window, also in our preferred color, as well as electrical installation. However, crane costs are not included and would be charged extra depending on the actual effort. The strip foundation is included in the price.
Another provider, also offering a precast concrete garage, quoted around 39,000 euros, with crane costs included.
We also have an offer for just under 36,000 euros. This garage is made of pumice stone blocks and, instead of strip foundations, comes with an 18 cm (7 inches) thick cast concrete slab. It also includes the large door and electrical installation.
Whether the excavation is done by the builder or the company is not yet clarified in any offer, so this is not included in the evaluation.
Our question mainly concerns the choice of building material. Would you prefer concrete or pumice stone? Do you have experience with garages made from these materials and could you perhaps recommend a company?
Most reviews about all manufacturers seem to be mostly negative, often criticizing customer service, with concrete garages having issues like roof leaks or cracks in the walls.
Perhaps someone here has already gone through this decision, hopefully made the right choice, or even knows a good company that could build a garage with a hipped roof (since the house will also have one) for this price. Ideally, also near Nuremberg.
If you have any further questions, I am happy to answer them, preferably publicly so that everyone in the forum can benefit. Otherwise, feel free to contact me by private message.
Best regards and have a great weekend
Eugen
First of all, let me briefly introduce myself.
My name is Eugen, I am 30 years old. My wife and I are planning, or rather in the middle of preparations, to build a house. The construction start date will probably be next year in June. Everything regarding the house is currently settled. If that changes, you will probably hear more from us on that topic.
The actual question concerns the construction of a garage. We live near Nuremberg. Unfortunately, we did not find anything suitable in the search, and we apologize if this topic was posted in the wrong subforum.
Since we do not have the possibility to build our own garage by masonry, we decided to go with a prefabricated garage.
We have obtained several quotes. The dimensions are 6 x 9 meters (20 x 30 feet). Due to the size, we received different prices. One provider quoted about 38,000 euros, including a large sectional door in the color of our choice, electric operation, a side door, and a window, also in our preferred color, as well as electrical installation. However, crane costs are not included and would be charged extra depending on the actual effort. The strip foundation is included in the price.
Another provider, also offering a precast concrete garage, quoted around 39,000 euros, with crane costs included.
We also have an offer for just under 36,000 euros. This garage is made of pumice stone blocks and, instead of strip foundations, comes with an 18 cm (7 inches) thick cast concrete slab. It also includes the large door and electrical installation.
Whether the excavation is done by the builder or the company is not yet clarified in any offer, so this is not included in the evaluation.
Our question mainly concerns the choice of building material. Would you prefer concrete or pumice stone? Do you have experience with garages made from these materials and could you perhaps recommend a company?
Most reviews about all manufacturers seem to be mostly negative, often criticizing customer service, with concrete garages having issues like roof leaks or cracks in the walls.
Perhaps someone here has already gone through this decision, hopefully made the right choice, or even knows a good company that could build a garage with a hipped roof (since the house will also have one) for this price. Ideally, also near Nuremberg.
If you have any further questions, I am happy to answer them, preferably publicly so that everyone in the forum can benefit. Otherwise, feel free to contact me by private message.
Best regards and have a great weekend
Eugen
Okay, thank you very much for your response.
Since we still have time, we wanted to request quotes from different companies for a solid (concrete or masonry) garage anyway. A hip roof would be necessary, of course, since the house has one, and the garage should match nicely. However, we won’t include that in the calculation, as it wouldn’t be comparable.
The building company is taking care of the foundations; I don’t know who they work with. The 6000 came from the builder as well, who in turn asked their partner. That’s my understanding at least.
What do you mean by their prices and the small difference? I don’t quite understand that.
Thank you very much for your help and advice.
Since we still have time, we wanted to request quotes from different companies for a solid (concrete or masonry) garage anyway. A hip roof would be necessary, of course, since the house has one, and the garage should match nicely. However, we won’t include that in the calculation, as it wouldn’t be comparable.
The building company is taking care of the foundations; I don’t know who they work with. The 6000 came from the builder as well, who in turn asked their partner. That’s my understanding at least.
What do you mean by their prices and the small difference? I don’t quite understand that.
Thank you very much for your help and advice.
Eugen D. schrieb:
What do you mean by their prices and the insignificance? I don’t quite understand that.Constructing strip foundations for a garage is a minor task. Nobody really needs to do it themselves.
Efforts such as setting up the construction site have a greater impact on the overall calculation.
Basically, garages can be built from a wide variety of materials, but not all in the same way: Concrete is mainly used when the garage is to be delivered as a prefabricated unit. In this case, a double-wide door automatically rules out placing the modules side by side like cars; they must be arranged one behind the other, with the joint running across. It is also possible to build prefabricated garages from pumice concrete, but then as system garages constructed on-site from pumice panels rather than fully delivered. I would not recommend a hip roof—at least not one made without trusses—being placed on a precast concrete garage, but only on a garage with masonry wall thickness. For pumice concrete, I would opt for vertical panels here. I can recommend the Hoffmann pumice prefabrication in Neuwied-Heimbach. This is right in the pumice concrete region, more than 300 kilometers (190 miles) away from Nuremberg, which is why I found it surprising. The quality is absolutely good value, but not cheap. The system has the advantage of allowing the construction of garages sharing walls—this way, no awkward dirt corners remain when the garage is positioned on a plot at an angle other than 90°.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
Bims prefabricated construction Hoffmann in Neuwied-HeimbachThis is exactly the manufacturer that sent us the quote. They are even the cheapest of all and have the advantage of an 18cm (7 inches) slab foundation instead of just strip footings.
Also, the indoor climate in a pumice concrete garage is supposed to be better, at least from what you read.
A hip roof would only be considered if we really build a solid garage. Otherwise, it will be a standard flat roof.
The question is whether pumice concrete or standard concrete is better. Which lasts longer, which has a better indoor climate, which is more watertight. Where are the downsides and where are the advantages.
For example, can you hang things on pumice concrete, or is that not recommended due to its high air content?
As mentioned, this is not a straightforward comparison of building materials, because it depends on the construction method: with concrete, you choose a precast room module system that basically arrives fully finished by truck and, simply put, is placed at the front and back on on-site prepared concrete beams. Here, we usually have a wall thickness of 8 cm (3 inches); a cast-in-place concrete wall as a "masonry substitute" would be about 20 cm (8 inches) thick. You make holes there using a hammer drill. With pumice slabs, you effectively "build" on-site, but instead of stones, the "blocks" are full-height panels. Your question about "air" suggests you might imagine the material similar to aerated concrete, but it is not: pumice stone is, simply put, a cement-bonded volcanic ash aggregate.
I am very satisfied with it climatically—my current and several previous apartments are built from it. Tall cabinets are fixed in the usual way using dowels. Furniture and files can be stored in pumice garages without any concerns. From my own experience, I know several masonry pumice garages—though not those from Hoffmann personally—but dozens from acquaintances, all still looking like new after more than forty years.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
I am very satisfied with it climatically—my current and several previous apartments are built from it. Tall cabinets are fixed in the usual way using dowels. Furniture and files can be stored in pumice garages without any concerns. From my own experience, I know several masonry pumice garages—though not those from Hoffmann personally—but dozens from acquaintances, all still looking like new after more than forty years.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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