You mean the roaring 90's? :lol:

I would prefer a raised wall rather than fill. Fill might look a bit funny as you cant just fill directle under the structure.....you we need to spread it out wider, this all being done with a truck to haul in material and a back ho to spread and compact with a wheel would be more expensive than a raised wall.

Boy, was I off on the costs of a shop in California. :faint: At some point in the future my wife would like to move, and it's tougher to find a place with a shop already vs a place with the room and ability to build. Wasn't looking at a Charley size place :lol: just maybe 1500-2000 sf tops. However, I thought I could get the above in a regular wood structure for $40K to $50K. :willy:

I would never be able to afford $90K+ for a shop, so if we ever get in a position to move I better find a place with a shop already built. :lol:

Tom, one more thing I want to add that will save you money.....you dont need to hire an architect to draw up plans. Architects will charge between $3-$5 per s.f to draw up plans. Find yourself a draftsman and negotiate a s.f. price for no more than $2/sf. Once the drawing is complete see if the building dept. will work with you on engineering. The building dept. will have plan checkers that may offer to help out. This will save you approx. another $1/sf which is what an engineer will cost you. This is a box you are building so it doesn't take much to engineer a box. I have been doing this long enough that I could engineer it but I dont carry the degree nor the stamp.

As far as plans go, you will need 3 sets with an extra elevation page that typically goes to the design review dept. All building departments are different and will specify what minimum size plans to submit. Design review will want to know what your new structure will look like and as long as it isn't an eye sore you should be good.

Thanks for reply's. This site is more than just a car site with great people that take the time to point out the pitfalls :thumbsup:

I like the idea about 10'ceilings and going a little bigger. All good ideas that give me some direction. I agree with Jody about finding a place with a shop. I have seen some that are a good price but normally with a dumpy old house...no thanks on that. I assumed I would have to have an Architect but if we can reach a deal on the house I will into the draftsman. In talking with the agent I think the sellers are firm and high on the price so we will see.

Thanks Again
:lateral:

Go to the building department and see if another building is allowed before you get too far down the road.

Thanks Charley. I will check that out.

Judging by the fenceless back yards I think the design committee is going to give you a hard time. If you do go through with this try and incorporate some trees and shrubs in the design to show an effort in obstructing view from neighbors. It's a long shot but you never know. Hope things work out for you.

Like others have said, go bigger if possible. We built a 1000sqft shop/3 stall garage a couple years ago and now wish it was 3 times as big.

Good luck with your planning and permitting! Sounds like it could be quite the process in CA.

I'm glad to live in a small town with minimal zoning/permitting requirements. $25 to the city for a permit, a napkin sketch and go! Of course it has some drawbacks. One of my employees recenlty figured out his neighbor built a garage 7' on his property. The neighbor has been dragging his feet on taking an offer to buy the strip of land it's on. I told my guy that he has two options to get his attention. 1. Build a divide wall 7' in and start storing stuff there or 2. Borrow our chainsaw and skid loader, show up at 6am and make him real nervous! :unibrow:

$60/sq ft....wow...

I'm in the process of purchasing a foreclosed home just around the corner from my current house. Its an older ranch home that needs work but is on 2.25 acres.

I've started looking into steel building etc....getting way ahead of myself since I dont even own the house yet :)...plus the house needs work too.....

The 40x60x16 steel building I've looked into hover around the $20-25k range depending on the number of doors, insulation etc etc...then add another $10-15k for concrete, then the electrical, plumbing etc....doing as much as I can myself and leveraging friends with construction skills etc, I figure I'm going to be in around $50-60k.....

Now thats a steel building without trying to match the look to the house, or having anything real fancy inside..ie. its a shop, not a car museum....

So at $60 per sq foot... that would run me $144k ?