How much would it roughly cost to build a two car garage with an upstairs appartment?

Site Notices

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - How much would it roughly cost to build a two car garage with an upstairs appartment?

Posted: 9/15/2009 11:26:19 PM EDT

Got this idea put into my head on another forum. Been wanting to get out of my current home and into a small,country home. Someone said "Why not buy some land and build a "garage" with living space while you build a house,etc?" That sounds like a good idea. I'm single,and spend 99% of my time in my bedroom. All the homes I see out in the country are really WAY too much house for me,and more than I want to spend. Anyway,kind of like the idea of a nice,not a "shack" two car garage with an upstairs appartment. Basically a bedroom with a bathroom,small kitchen area. I guess the washer and dryer could remain down with the cars. Something well insulated and efficent would be nice.

Posted: 9/15/2009 11:29:17 PM EDT

[#1]

Quoted:
Got this idea put into my head on another forum. Been wanting to get out of my current home and into a small,country home. Someone said "Why not buy some land and build a "garage" with living space while you build a house,etc?" That sounds like a good idea. I'm single,and spend 99% of my time in my bedroom. All the homes I see out in the country are really WAY too much house for me,and more than I want to spend. Anyway,kind of like the idea of a nice,not a "shack" two car garage with an upstairs appartment. Basically a bedroom with a bathroom,small kitchen area. I guess the washer and dryer could remain down with the cars. Something well insulated and efficent would be nice.

Ask Da Fonze

Posted: 9/15/2009 11:32:04 PM EDT

[#2]

I recenty built a 2400sq/f 40x60' 2 story garage/apartment. I put about 60K into it and did a lot of my own work.

Posted: 9/15/2009 11:36:33 PM EDT

[#3]

it would probably cost about the same as building a house if you don't have existing utility hook-ups. it wouldn't really be a garage with an apartment, it would be more like a two car house.

Posted: 9/15/2009 11:46:28 PM EDT

[#4]

In the 40's my mom's family lived in their 2-car garage while they built their house.
My grandfather was an engineer, his uncle was an electrician.
Another relative dug the foundation.

My mom and her older brother helped out where they could.
My grandmother had a monkey toe for the rest of her life from when she dropped a cinderblock on her foot helping out.
By the time I was born my pop's had so much crap in the garage you couldn't park a car there, let alone live in it.

You could do it. I think a single guy needs more space for his stuff than for his life.

Posted: 9/15/2009 11:53:21 PM EDT

[#5]

www.horizonstructures.com/raised_roof_garage.asp

A possibility, then finish off upstairs on your own

Posted: 9/15/2009 11:54:35 PM EDT

[#6]

tag

This setup is my future home.

Posted: 9/15/2009 11:59:17 PM EDT

[#7]

Steel buildings can be pretty cheap if you ask for factory seconds tin

Posted: 9/16/2009 12:17:34 AM EDT

[#8]

I swear a couple of months ago someone posted a link to blueprints for this VERY thing, a garage with an upstairs apt. I'll see if I saved the link or downloaded the blueprints, I'm almost positive I saw it on ARFcom.

Posted: 9/16/2009 12:29:26 AM EDT

[#9]

$87.

Posted: 9/16/2009 12:33:34 AM EDT

[#10]

You can buy pretty nice prefabricated houses cheaply, but the biggest problem I have seen when it comes to things like this is utility connections and building codes (not as much of an issue with the prefabs though)

I have some spare land in the states in the country, but looking at a ~60k prefab was looking like a 150k total project, not including the cost of land.

Posted: 9/16/2009 8:41:13 AM EDT

[#11]

IF Building Codes are a concern, and you don't want to keep an outside set of stairs clear of snow, one thing to consider is this ...
By installing a bath and making the space "habitable" you must enclose the interior staircase to give it a fire rating.for egress. (fire-rated drywall or some other material) An enclosed stairway takes up more space from your garage so, your 2-car garage might not actually be enough for 2.
A 2.5-car garage might be worth it but costs a bit more.
Ask me how I know.

Stay safe

Posted: 9/16/2009 9:26:49 AM EDT

[#12]

Its doable, i have seen this very thing several times, but they tend to have a very low resale value.

Personally, i think you would be better off building a small rancher, and a seperate "pole building"/steel garage. A decent pole building around here starts at around $8 per square foot. Things like concrete floors, more doors, and higher ceilings add to the cost. They can be made as nice as you would ever want inside.

I bet my idea would be cheaper than yours.

Posted: 9/16/2009 9:38:36 AM EDT

[#13]

This is exactly what my fiancee's parents did on their land in NW Montana. First step was the three car garage and living space on the second floor. Two bedrooms, two bath, kitchen, living room, laundry room. Nice size and very solid construction. They moved out as soon as he had it ready (still finishing some of the interior but for the most part its finished). Next step is to build the actual house.

Posted: 9/16/2009 9:43:17 AM EDT

[#14]

My BIL in New Hampshire had a 2 car garage with a living space above it built (unfinished interior) for about $25,000.

It's the Land and septic/water systems that add up the cost.

Posted: 9/16/2009 9:43:18 AM EDT

[#15]

I looked into that very thing for some property I own in Michigan.

"Nope" was the reply: 1) dwelling must be constructed before any accessory buildings; 2) no living quarters above garages permitted.

Check to see if it's allowed.

Posted: 9/16/2009 9:57:08 AM EDT

[#16]

I was recently quoted 25k to build a pretty bare bones large two car garage without an upstairs apartment. No finished walls inside, no insulation, no plumbing.
That doesn't answer your question but gives you a starting point.

Posted: 9/16/2009 10:11:22 AM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
Steel buildings can be pretty cheap if you ask for factory seconds tin

My building most likely will not be seen from the road. That is great idea.
Small details like this make a huge difference when you want to build 5-6K sq/ft.

Chris

Posted: 9/16/2009 10:30:58 AM EDT

[#18]

I looked into building a shop/living area while I built a house.

It was going to cost around $35 per square foot. If I had a contractor buddy sign off on it. It would cost around $80 per square foot if I had a contractor build it.

Those prices are for my area, and at the building material prices from 3 years ago.

and fyi, a shop/house is my dream living situation. Unfortunantly, I cannot get my wife to visualize my dream.

I had a buddy who built a 60x60 metal shop, It had an elevated storage on one side. I have fantisized about building something similiar with a bedroom, kitchen, and living room in the raised area. It would also have a fire pole.

Posted: 9/16/2009 11:43:52 AM EDT

[#19]

We just built a 17x27 building with an upstairs studio for my wife. The upstairs has heat/ac and a sink. City codes stopped us from turning it into an apartment. Downstairs is insulated with drywall. All total it cost about $37000. We used a modified plan we got off of the internet. IIRC the plan was about $150. 3 of the 4 bids we got were within a few thousand bucks of each other, the other was $10,000 more.

Posted: 9/16/2009 11:46:29 AM EDT

[#20]

This was actually my very same plan for years. Also a good place for relatives to stay when they are in town so they arent constantly in the house with you.

Also, if you do it as a 2 car garage with 2 separate doors, you could temporarilly use one garage bay for a living room/ game room and then when the house is built you can just tear the wall down. Pretty easy.

Posted: 9/16/2009 11:48:10 AM EDT

[#21]

zone it as an ADU, (auxiliary dwelling unit)

Posted: 9/16/2009 11:52:01 AM EDT

[#22]

In 2003 I had a 48' X 30' shop built with a loft apartment, laundry, shower bathroom and 3 bays with 10' x 10' roll up doors. Completely sheetrocked inside with very good insulation
and a concrete apron 20' x 20' with a carport and full rv hook up for $53,000.00. I'm thinking it would cost twice that now. Figure $100,000.00 give or take.

Posted: 9/16/2009 11:57:04 AM EDT

[#23]

http://www.archwaypress.com/catalog/?target=product&product_id=2057

A buddy just built this one for around $85K.

Posted: 9/16/2009 11:57:48 AM EDT

[#24]

bah 2 shipping containers stacked with one in the ground as your bunker !

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - How much would it roughly cost to build a two car garage with an upstairs appartment?

General » General Discussion

Warning

Confirm Action

About AR15.COM

Stay Connected

Newsletter

Contact Us