Cost of converting into double garage

[soprano]

Hello all

Lots of experience on here, I wondered if anybody could give their thoughts on what this would cost:

I currently have a single garage and single brick built car port next to my house, which I am thinking of converting into a double garage. Current lay out is like this:



I want to remove the dividing wall between the two and have an electic roller door installed. I have read a number of posts on here and will probably go for a Hormann, given the number of recommendations.

The left hand wall as you look at the picture will need to have a post built, I would suspect, in order to allow a lintel and the door to be installed (I am no builder so this is just my guess). The right hand wall has a 17cm recess so I think is fine (I have read that the Hormann doors require at least 10cm per side to be installed 'inside' the garage rather than in the gap itself to give the full opening.

The door would need to be in the region of 5 metres wide.

I would also like to have a single side door fitted, to allow entry from the back garden.

I already have a quote for electical work, to include providing the power to the garage door, so it is just the building work (inc or exc the cost of the doors) I am looking to cost up.

Any ideas or obervations welcome. I'm in Cambridgeshire, so any recommendations of builders would be welcome. I know the answer is to get quotes, but it would be nice to have an idea of costings beforehand.

Thanks in advance.

[homeimprovements]

Should be doable. What are you proposing to do with the block floor. ? Where abouts in Cambridgeshire are you?
Regards
Nigel

[soprano]

homeimprovements said:

Should be doable. What are you proposing to do with the block floor. ? Where abouts in Cambridgeshire are you?
Regards
Nigel

Hi Nigel

Thanks for the reply. I suspect the best solution would be to lift the blocks and lay concrete so I have an even floor across the whole space. I'm open to suggestions though.

I live about 10 miles west of Cambridge.

Thanks

[soprano]

One more thing I have noticed, the rear wall of the car port area is brick, same as the outside. The rear of the garage, on the inside, is breeze block, like you can see inside the garage on the side wall Not sure if that makes any difference.

[LC23]

homeimprovements said:

Should be doable. What are you proposing to do with the block floor. ? Where abouts in Cambridgeshire are you?
Regards
Nigel

It should be oil repellent whatever he does with it.

[soprano]

LC23 said:

It should be oil repellent whatever he does with it.

I'm going to park on your drive when I have the work done

Anyone any ideas?

[TA14]

I'd guess at £4K. You seem to have most of it summed up. The steel post at the front will need a footing, I'd use a small UB and fully fix it to the beam above. I'd just leave the blocks. Long term and winter projects can be done in the other garage, use this one as a storage garage. If you do spill oil then use an oil cleaner like Gunk or the stained blocks can be easily replaced.

[soprano]

I have my first quote and wondered what thoughts are. It is quite a way beyond what I expected:

Quote to:

1. Demolish central dividing wall
2. Reclaim bricks from central wall in order to build two pillars of 300mm x 300mm (reclaiming bricks to ensure a perfect match rather than save cost)
3. Install RSJ across front of garage.
4. Lift paving blocks from car port and lay concrete to match garage
5, Supply and install side door to garage.

Materials: £1560 (I think the RSJ is about £600 of that)
Labour £2,920

Total cost - £4,480

That cost does not include the supply or install of the main door, or the installation of an electical socket for the door which would be on top, giving a total cost of c. £7,000. I do plan to get a couple more quotes but wondered what peoples thoughts were on that price.

Thanks

[jason61c]

What sort of door is going to cost over 2k?

[soprano]

jason61c said:

What sort of door is going to cost over 2k?

A 5 metre wide electric roller door from either SWS or Hormann, if you have any recommendations for a cheaper supplier I will be happy to hear them.

Edited by soprano on Saturday 9th May 14:26

[Spudler]

soprano said:

I have my first quote and wondered what thoughts are. It is quite a way beyond what I expected:

I'd say that's a very reasonable price.
+vat I'm assuming.

[jason61c]

4 days work say for 2 men?

A day to knock through and out
A day to fit rsj
A day to do the floor
A day to finish?

2 guys, at 175-200 a day, £1600 tops?

[jason61c]

soprano said:

A 5 metre wide electric roller door from either SWS or Hormann, if you have any recommendations for a cheaper supplier I will be happy to hear them.

Edited by soprano on Saturday 9th May 14:26

I'd imagine an sws in that size would be 1800-2100 fitted depending on where you are etc?

[soprano]

jason61c said:

4 days work say for 2 men?

A day to knock through and out
A day to fit rsj
A day to do the floor
A day to finish?

2 guys, at 175-200 a day, £1600 tops?

That was more where I was thinking. I know the labourer charge is 120 per day. I would guess the main builder would be more than that, say 175 per day. Working on the basis of 5 days work for 2 men at an average of 150 per day, the labour cost would be c. 1500.

If my daily labour costings are approximately right, 3000 in labour is two weeks of work. I just struggle to see how the job will take 2 weeks.

As for the door, the cheapest quote I have so far is 2,300 fitted but I am hoping to get that cost down a bit, as you say around the 2,000 mark. I'm in Cambridgeshire so any suggestions of local suppliers are welcome.

[soprano]

Spudler said:

I'd say that's a very reasonable price.
+vat I'm assuming.

The builder is not VAT registered as far as I am aware. The quote is definitely all in.

[TA14]

soprano said:

jason61c said:

4 days work say for 2 men?

A day to knock through and out
A day to fit rsj
A day to do the floor
A day to finish?

2 guys, at 175-200 a day, £1600 tops?

That was more where I was thinking. I know the labourer charge is 120 per day. I would guess the main builder would be more than that, say 175 per day. Working on the basis of 5 days work for 2 men at an average of 150 per day, the labour cost would be c. 1500.

If my daily labour costings are approximately right, 3000 in labour is two weeks of work. I just struggle to see how the job will take 2 weeks.

OK manage it yourself and save £1,500. (Maybe less the cost of those piers and less the cost of taking the blocks up, and less the cost of cleaning up the bricks, and less the cost of a skip or two, and less the cost of.... of course you'll manage the job yourself for free.)

[soprano]

TA14 said:

OK manage it yourself and save £1,500. (Maybe less the cost of those piers and less the cost of taking the blocks up, and less the cost of cleaning up the bricks, and less the cost of a skip or two, and less the cost of.... of course you'll manage the job yourself for free.)

Sorry?

[TA14]

Basically, if you don't include all of the cost elements, even all of the items of work in this case, that the builder will include then your cost will obviously be cheaper!

[soprano]

TA14 said:

Basically, if you don't include all of the cost elements, even all of the items of work in this case, that the builder will include then your cost will obviously be cheaper!

Yes of course, but that is not what I am trying to do at all.

I have set out above, from the quote of the builder, the work that needs to be carried out. I am not a builder, but I am trying to work out how much a builder/labourer will charge per day, and how long the works will take so I can get a rough idea what the total labour cost will be.

I am hoping someone who is either a builder or has had experience of having similar works carried out can provide their view of the likely labour costs. My laymans view is that 2 weeks for 2 men seems like quite a long time (if the day rates are approximately right) to carry out that work.

I might be right or I might be wrong about that, which really is what I am asking.

[TA14]

Take my previous post. You only get to two weeks becuse you have ignored some items and randomly converted their costs into a labour cost. Why not try six days labour, add in the cost of the few items that I mentioned and see how far short of the builder's estimate you come? Then what about the items that we've overlooked?

You seem to be assuming that the only costs are mats and labour

OK try this for an exercise: list out your guess of costs.

(And I'm not impressed with the brick pier solution.)