How much will it cost to enclose your carport so it will be a garage?

If you live in the southern United States, there's a good chance that your house has a garage because back in the 60's and 70's builders were trying to save money anyway they could so instead of investing additional money in a garage door and door opener, they built carports.

If you want the security and privacy of a garage and you currently have a carport, I have good news. You can enclose a carport very easily and for less money than you might think.

Before you run to the Home Depot to buy the materials, there are a few things that you need to consider first.

You need to look at your carport to determine how many walls you will need to build. If your carport is enclosed except for the back, then you will only need to build one wall and your job will be much easier and less expensive.

It's pretty obvious if you need to build one wall or two. All you need to do is to look at your carport and see if the back and one side of your carport is open. If they are then you will have to build two walls instead of one. If you only have one side open, you will need to build one wall and your costs will be significantly lower to do the work.

But don't get discouraged if you do have to build two walls because the good news is that you don't have to add additional roof or foundation. These areas are the most expensive parts of any structure. So when I say two walls double your cost, it does not total up to more than $400 - $600 extra.

Once you've decided how many walls you need to build to enclose your carport then you are ready to develop an estimate of what it will cost to complete your project.

Estimating the cost of your project is really easy. First you need to make a list of the materials that you will need and then send your list to a local lumber yard to get prices.

Here are some items that you will need to convert your carport into a garage:

• 2 x 4's or 2 x 6's- for studs in walls
• Pressure treated 2 x 4s - for bottom of wall (bottom
  
  
  plate)
• Garage door complete with track and opener
• CDX plywood or chip board-for sheathing (to enclose garage)
• CDX plywood, pegboard etc - for inside of wall insulation
• Vinyl siding or brick veneer

Once you get the price for the materials add approximately 25% for profit and don't forget to add tax for your area.

Now you need to calculate how much time (labor) it will take to enclose your carport. The number of hours needed will depend on how complicated your project is. You can reasonably expect the project to take 3-4 days for 2-3 men. A good framing carpenter should easily be able to frame and sheath your project in this time. You can use $30-35 per hour for each man hour that is worked.

Get a price from a garage door installation company to install the garage door because it requires expertise and special knowledge for the garage door to operate properly. It will be worth the money you pay them, trust me.

Next you need to call a garage door company to get a price to provide and install the garage door. A garage door can be a little tricky to install and you don't want to take a chance on installing it incorrectly and having it come down on your car or injure somebody. You'll be glad you hired a pro to do this part of your project. You aren't going to save much money anyway because they get wholesale pricing on the doors and you won't.

All you have to do now is add the labor, materials and subcontracted cost (the garage door installation) and the profit, you will get a good picture of how much the project to enclose your garage will cost.

If you have a a contractor do the work turnkey for you, expect to pay from $3000 to $8,000 depending on what area of the country you are in and the construction of your house.

About The Author

Endroit Devaiture wrote this article and is webmaster of A Garages which is one of the best websites on the internet for information about building Garages. If you want to learn more please go to: http://www.agarages.com.