Anyone built one of these?

[njrqs]

Mr Bob & Hemenway

This is an interesting post for me. I am a Quantity Surveyor in Australia. (Not sure if that's what you call them over there - Maybe Cost Engineer, Estimator etc.)

Anyway, I estimate costs of buildings for a living. Never have anything to do with construction costs outside of Australia.

From what I see here, and from my own shed experience, your building costs over there seem very high.

I just had a shed built with was 7x18m = 23' x 60'.

Included a concrete slab, 3 roller doors, 1 sliding glass door and 4 windows. Fully supplied and erected etc. for just over $20,000 = $10,000 US.

Obviously we aren't comparing apples with apples and maybe you guys earn a lot more over there, but wow that surprises me.

Looks like yours with no erection price is still more than double mine. Mine equates to 1380 square feet.

I am not having a go at you guys, more thinking out aloud here.

It costs us about $30,000 = $15,000 for our standard 6 cylinder automatic family car - seats 5. CD player, A/C, power windows etc. etc.

How does this compare to your standard large family car price over there.

Interesting (for me anyway)

Cheers

<font color=blue>Neil from OZ.</font color=blue>

 

[Bird]

Neil, it appears to me that your prices might be considerably better than ours. You can go to Ford.com, Chevrolet.com, etc., build and price the vehicle you want, and compare, but I'd say you'd have a hard time finding a car, such as you described, for much less than $20k.

 

[GlueGuy]

Neil,

I think Bird is spot-on with his car-cost estimate. Last new car I bought was a 1998 mid-size. Out-the-door cost was ~~$18,000. That was almost 4 years ago, and I suspect that inflation would have that price a lot closer to $20K.

As for your building cost, it would be a close call. I just ran a quick calc, and I guess that the cost for just the concrete would be almost $3,000, not counting forms and labor. That's based on a 6" slab plus a 1' footing around the perimeter. We're talking about putting up a small storage shed that will be roughly 12' x 20', and I will have a hard time keeping the total cost below about $10,000.

As for your building cost, it

The GlueGuy

 

[utahmule]

I'd be really interested in that property!!!!

Eric

 

[beenthere]

Interesting comparisons. Guessing the family car is 'roughly' half of the annual wages here. How does that compare with you?
I remember pricing Stihl chain saws in Germany in the early 80's. I paid $350 US in the USA for mine, but would have to spend $1000 US to buy the same model in Germany at that time. Sometimes it is hard to compare those apples.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

njrqs
There are many factors involved that affect the costs. In temperate climates with ideal soil conditions you may be able to simply pour a pad and put your building on top. Here in New England you have to go below the frost line to set your foundation or you risk frost heaving. Snow load , wind shear, and seismic activity affect the requirements for buildings. In truss frame buildings an increased snow load rating would require you to place your trusses closer together, thus increasing costs. In Massachusetts a snow load rating of 40 pounds would probably be adequate. In the mountains of Northern New Hampshire a snow load rating of 60 pounds would probably be required. Foundations would have to be at least 4 feet deep to go below the frost line.
As a matter of curiosity, are homes built with cellars in your neck of the woods?
RonL

 

[njrqs]

Interesting stuff (By the way - Is it a Quantity Surveyor over there?/)

A family car here at $30000 aus is probably a lot more than 1/2 the average annual wage. Someone on $60000 Aus here is doing very well. So it sounds like while your costs are higher than here, your wages are too. It must be sort of all relative.

Cars are a good comparison though, as the price seems to remain constant despite regional variations etc.

My shed is in a W50 Cyclonic area (Average wind speed of 50m/sec) so that bumps my price up too.

Sounds like you guys should be buying real estate in Australia and building sheds to play with your toys in your holidays over here !!!!!

No we don't have cellars or basements over here at all. Something that has always puzzled me about your US houses.

Why do you have them. I always see a family in the cellar when there is a tornado on the TV. Is that why you have them??

Surely you don't have that much alcohol to store in them ???

Cheers

<font color=blue>Neil from OZ.</font color=blue>

 

[Anonymous Poster]

njrqs
In the colder climates you have to dig down to get below the frost line , so you might as well put in a cellar and utilise the space. In parts of the United States where frost is not an issue houses are often times built on a slab.
RonL

 

[njrqs]

What happens at this "frost line"??

<font color=blue>Neil from OZ.</font color=blue>

 

[Anonymous Poster]

njrqs
An ice lens builds up. Moisture in the ground freezes. As more moisture enters and freezes the lense builds up, possibly heaving whats on top of it. If there is sufficient drainage you may be able to pour a "floating" pad on the surface. As someone else has stated, a cellar makes a good place to put a furnace, water heater, oil tank etc. It also makes a good place to put a wine cellar. In colonial times it was also a place to store produce (root cellars) in winter time.
RonL