As a woman, you buy a house looking at the general flow, the state of the kitchen and how luxurious the bathroom is or can be made. Garage???? Who cares about the garage, we don’t think like the man of the house at the stage of purchasing a property re storage for the bikes, boats, scooters etc. When we bought this house, the garage looked huge enough to me, plenty space for all of those things. Well, once you’ve driven over the kids prized scooters once or twice, or scraped the buggy against the car or had to haul the buggy above your head just to get out past the car parked in the garage – this women was screaming for more space and a DOUBLE GARAGE – much to my husbands delight!!!

I always thought I’d renovate the kitchen before the ruddy garage but I’ve proven myself wrong – who would have thought I’d see value in a new garage before a new kitchen? Admittedly, I sort of thought it wouldn’t cost as much as a new kitchen but turns out, if you’re after quality…….read on……….(this next bit has been written by my other half so it gets a bit more technical – skip the bits that dont’ appeal

Double Garage:

Our home needed a new double garage simple as that. We had finally tired of the old single garage just  big enough to squeeze the “mom mobeel” in and not much else.  The only positive for the old garage was that it formed an integral part of the house and had internal access. So our master plan was to simply build the new double garage in front of the old one thus maintaining the internal access and allowing us to turn the old garage into a much needed store room as opposed to storage around the vehicle. This is a picture of the driveway leading up into the single garage, the sides had to be extended and cleared away to make room for the new construction

Construction Type:

Our garage would match the style of the house. The construction materials where therefore decided for us. A reinforced concrete floor slab with masonry walls and gable ended trussed roof to match the house.  Often people opt for something not in keeping with the house style or for financial reasons choose one of the cheap brands of kitset type garages. It’s important to keep in mind that your home is your single biggest investment and it is worth doing a decent job of your improvements.  A solid well constructed garage is a valuable asset and for this reason I would opt for a solid timber frame or masonry construction installed by a reputable builder. Remember, you can do some research on our reputable registered builders right here on Logajob

What’s it going to cost?

What can you expect to pay for a new double garage? The generally accepted average size for a double garage is 6m x 6m with a 2.4m wall height. The cost of this will vary depending on the construction type you choose and could range from N$15,000 to N$45,000. At the lower end of this price range will be your kitset type garage such as those provided by Versatile Homes. At the upper end would be the significantly more robust and appealing timber framed or masonry option.

How can I save money?

When we renovate we all want to minimise our expenditure. A garage offers plenty of opportunity to do this. Being more utilitarian in nature there are parts of the project that the not too experienced DIY enthusiast can tackle. It always makes sense to use a qualified builder for the more tricky tasks and in fact these days the majority of building work must be undertaken by a licensed building practioner (LBP) – we have a list of tried and tested builders (with feedback and ratings) right here on  Logajob.  Below are a few jobs you could do that would still save you money:

• Clear the site and haul the waste to the dump.
• Once the slab is cast waterproof the sides especially the below ground portions this also applies to the walls if they are earth retaining.
• Backfill around the slab and against the walls if they are retaining. This also doubles as a great workout.
• Painting, everyone enjoys a little painting just be sure to get the right paint for the job.
• If you are lining your garage with jib or plywood then this is something you could take your time with after all the main work has been completed.

If cashflow is still a problem see if you builder would not mind just doing the floor slab and then standing off until you have money for the walls and roof. The floor slab is often the messiest part of the construction and once its complete you will at least have a tidy parking space for your vehicles.