ᐅ Steel garage: a good choice or better to avoid?

Does anyone here have a steel garage, and if so, are there any disadvantages?

Recently, I requested many quotes for basic garages and was almost shocked when nearly all concrete garage manufacturers wanted $10,000 for a simple unit, 9 x 3 m (30 x 10 ft).

Steel garages cost about half as much. I’m just wondering: where is the catch?

Are these types of garages very rare? No one has given me any information.

Hello,

Der Da schrieb:
Are these types of garages really that rare? No hints for me?

I actually expected users here to respond, so I held back....

Der Da schrieb:
I have recently requested many quotes for simple garages, and almost fell over when almost all concrete garage manufacturers want 10,000 for a basic box, 9x3m (30x10ft).

Steel garages cost half as much. I’m just wondering: what’s the catch?

There is no catch. Steel garages developed a “bad” reputation in the past because they were built with corrugated walls.

When people talk about steel garages, many imagine cheap metal sheds. The real difference to other garage systems is the modular construction. You can actually buy these garages as a system. The walls are usually assembled by slotting them together and can be easily modified or expanded at any time. For example, a single garage can be turned into a double garage later on – with or without a partition wall. To the layperson, there is no visible difference.

What you must not overlook with many steel garage suppliers is the fact that you have to provide a foundation/slab yourself. So, additional costs will arise, and then the price difference to a concrete garage is not quite as significant anymore.

A precast concrete garage, fully assembled, is delivered by a special vehicle to the agreed location; including the slab. You only have to prepare 2 or 3 strip foundations.

Kind regards

I was offered spot foundations for the steel garage at 800 €. For the rest, the plan is to simply pave it as usual, like the driveway.

I actually think this is a good idea. Or should a full concrete slab be poured instead?

Hello,

Der Da schrieb:
I was offered pad foundations for the steel garage for €800. The rest should just be paved normally, like the driveway. I actually think that’s a good idea. Or should a concrete slab be poured?

From my experience, most prefabricated garage suppliers are moving away from pad foundations – they only use them additionally under door openings (e.g., an extra garden door) – and instead build on strip foundations. In your case, this would mean three strip foundations for a prefabricated garage, 3 x 9 meters (10 x 30 feet); a continuous strip foundation all around is also an option. Pad foundations have occasionally settled in the past, while strip foundations do not show this problematic behavior.

Best regards

Thanks, this objection really makes sense. We received a tip from a colleague to use cellular concrete (foam concrete) as a foundation under the garage and then pave on top.
We will probably have a steel garage installed. At least with that, we can get some money back in a few years if we want to upgrade to a double garage—scrap metal as an investment.