fence instead of garage!

[leza wang]

i have detached garage (my backyard separated my house from the garage). the condition of the garage is really bad. It is falling down and the roof which is flat has big hole.. One contractor told me it is going to cost me 20k-3-k to build a garage. I was shocked! I thought it will be around 5k!! (I live in Toronto, Canada. Now i am thinking to demolish my garage and just use the space to park my car and then build fence around my current garage with a gate.

What do you think about this idea? if it is good then what type of fence I should ask the contractor to build? Something can last long and simple. I am thinking about chain link type of fence!

Any advice would be very much appreciating it. Take care.

[tangerine3]

I've seen garage kits for under $5,000. Buy a kit and put it up yourself. Get friends to help.

Then again, I rebuilt a garage that tipped over. I used a tractor to lift it back up. One wall and the roof was salvaged. I built 3 new walls, then put a used overhead door on it. Total cost was around $700.

If your walls are solid, build a gable roof over it. Cover it with steel, not shingles.

[leza wang]

Thanks a lot for your reply. Why i want a fence, because I want to secure the boarders of my property. How much demolish a garage can cost? just rought estimation, mine is not doubel garage but it is not single either, it is something between

[Tommy Silva]

WTF? Did you get that estimate from Mike Holmes?

[bob haller]

might be better to repair the existing garage so in the winter the vehicles will be out of the weather:)

you could put a traditional roof over the existing flat roof by using trusses...... and if you wanted the roof storage type trusses , most homes never have enough storage...

[clare]

No, you can buy a lumber kit from a building supply that provides all the materials to build a standard, code compliant garage. Siding and shingles are usually extra cost - and required.

Demolition permit MAY not be required if you knock it over first. Then it is just "cleanup" - $90 +/- per ton disposal fee for the garbage, plus haulage. Count on minimum $600 to get rid of it - more likely $1000.

[clare]

Summerwood has kit garages for the canadian market. Material cost is about $9000 for a 12X20 Archer - including siding and roof.

If you hire out the labour, you double the cost - so $20 grand is NOT out of line, in Hogtown.

[hrhofmann]

Do you have 3 or more friends to help you? That might make it possible to straighten the walls and rebuild the roof as a regular peaked roof, and then you could remove the old roof from the inside. That way you are just "repairing the garage" and my be able to avoid getting any permits.

[bob haller]

why remove the old flat roof? its leaking wouldnt matter when its covered by a brand new pitched roof...

I wonder how long this garage has been detoriating? and why it wasnt maintained at all?

[DerbyDad03]

I'm guessing that it would a lot easier to attach the rafters and gable ends if the old roof wasn't in the way.

The old roof must extend at least to the top of or even beyond the top of the walls, so adding rafters and gable end walls would be pretty difficult with the old roof left in place.

Just a guess...