Getting Quotes: What $28,000–$50,000 Bids Taught Me

We had recently bought our home, and it was a fixer-upper, so my hands were full renovating the house. I knew I wanted a garage that was built right the first time, with plenty of room for our vehicles now and in the future, plus enough storage to keep the house from getting cluttered. I just wasn’t sure how I’d accomplish it. Once I had a general budget, the first step was to get some quotes.

The quote process answered a lot of my questions about construction — and ultimately forced me to abandon the idea of having someone else build the garage.

Factors that affect the cost

Weather

I live in an area with beautiful but severe weather: cold winters with very high winds and lots of snow. That meant my garage had to handle higher loads than most. I learned that my design wind speed was 120 miles per hour, exposure C (open terrain), and my snow load was 75 pounds per square foot.

Distance

I live in a rural, mountainous area. It isn’t terribly remote — we get regular mail and package delivery — but contractors prefer not to come up here if they don’t have to. Material delivery costs more, especially concrete, which is priced by the truckload and the mile.

Rock and soil

Almost every quote excluded problems with soil quality or the presence of rock. In the Rocky Mountains, that’s like excluding snow from a roof quote.

What the quotes looked like

I researched the types of garage construction so I understood what contractors were quoting. What came back were very expensive quotes for very minimal construction. They ranged from a low of $28,000 to a high of $50,000 just to build the garage. Most were for basic post-and-beam (pole barn) buildings with dirt floors, and most excluded soil problems and rock.

“Unforeseen problems”

After looking over the quotes, I knew I had a big problem. Not only were the prices out of reach — I expected them to climb once the contractors ran into the usual “unforeseen problems.”

I’d talked with someone nearby who was building his own home using subcontractors. An excavating company quoted him $11,000 to prepare his site, and he accepted. At the first sign of rock, the quote went out the window, and he eventually paid over $40,000 just for site preparation. He looked like a man at the end of his rope. And after all, we live in the Rocky Mountains — were the excavators expecting not to find rock?

How to compare quotes

• Get at least three written quotes for the same scope.
• Ask whether plans, engineering, permit fees and inspections are included.
• Confirm foundation type, floor (slab, gravel or dirt) and roofing material.
• Ask for a payment schedule tied to completed work, never large up-front payments.
• Check license, insurance and references — and look at a garage they built.

Live and learn

Getting quotes helped me narrow down how I wanted my garage built, where on my lot it should go, and how big it needed to be. I learned a lot. Above all, I learned I was going to have to build it myself — or at least serve as my own general contractor. I didn’t know yet who would do the work, but I knew I didn’t have the budget to hand it all off.