Adding a garage to a house is one of the best things a homeowner can do to improve their house. A garage addition can be very useful and can add a lot to the value of a house. Before breaking ground, though, a plan for the garage addition and an estimate of how much it will cost should be made.
A plan for adding a garage starts with making rough sketches of the idea and figuring out how it will fit in with the rest of the house. Even though most people want a big garage, this is the time to think about how big the new garage will be compared to the rest of the house. To look good from the street, the length of the garage addition shouldn't be more than two-thirds of the length of the house. If not, the garage addition could be too big for the house as it is. From an aesthetic point of view, the depth or width of the garage addition is less important because it is usually less visible from the road.
Once the first sketches are done, detailed building plans for the garage addition should be made. Depending on how complicated the garage addition is, the garage addition building plans can be made by either the homeowner or an architect. In either case, the plans will need to have scaled drawings with measurements and cross-sectional views of the construction with a list of the building materials. The cross-sectional views should show everything from the concrete foundations to the roof's peak. From the footings up, each new change should be carefully drawn. Some examples are the transition between the footing and the foundation, the foundation and the sill plate, and the wall and the roof rafter. The plans should also have a full list of all the materials that will be used for the project. Also, the drawings should show all property lines and setbacks in a clear way.
How to figure out how much a garage addition will cost depends on who is building it. If the homeowner wants to be his or her own general contractor and do some of the work (like framing), costs will need to be figured out starting with the bill of materials made during the planning phase. With a full bill of materials, a homeowner can take most of the list to a home improvement store and have them fill in the prices for the specific items needed for the project. For items like garage doors, garage door openers, and sometimes lighting and plumbing fixtures (if they are needed for the garage addition), the homeowner may need to call specialty stores to find out how much they cost. Unit prices may also be available from the subcontractors (e.g. garage doors).
If the homeowner is also the general contractor and will need subcontractors, it is important that they find the subcontractors early and go over the plans and schedule with them. Based on the plans and list of materials, each subcontractor should give a firm, fixed quote for the job. In addition, their bid should include dates for when the job will start and end.
Once the homeowner has plans for a garage addition and an idea of how much it will cost, he or she can get building permits and make a fairly accurate schedule for building.
As soon as the permits are approved, the garage addition can be built. But it's important to remember that even with the best plans, things can go wrong and schedules can change. To prevent schedule slips, a homeowner who acts as his or her own general contractor should build in some extra time and always be looking ahead a few weeks. They should check in with suppliers often to make sure building materials will arrive on time and check in with subcontractors occasionally to make sure their schedules are still in line with your garage addition project.
If you take care of these simple planning, budgeting, and scheduling issues before the project starts, building a garage addition can be a good experience both before and after construction.
See the Garage Addition Bid Sheet on HomeAdditionPlus.com to learn more about how to build a garage addition. The Garage Addition Bid Sheet has a long questionnaire (Request for Quote) that a homeowner can give to potential general contractors and subcontractors so they can bid on the garage addition. The Garage Addition Bid sheet also has an estimate of how much it will cost and how long it will take to build a garage addition. It also has a list of the most important companies that make home materials. Lastly, the Garage Addition Bid Sheet has a long list of tips and advice to help make sure the garage addition is built right, on time, and within budget.
