Re-assembling an unwanted prefab garage

[inconsistant]

Hi All,

I thought I’d started a thread about buying and re-assembling a prefab garage a year or so ago but I can’t find it so it may have burned down in the gr8 forum fire. So I’ll have another go as I now have a chance to get hold of an unwanted garage...

 

 

 

Walking to the station this morning and admiring the extension being added to a house I noticed that there was a prefab concrete garage with the roof removed looking like it was heading for the skip. 

 

As I looked and wondered the owner came out of the house. I asked and he confirmed that it’s being disposed of shortly. We had a chat. This could work out well for both of us, but I have a few concerns.

 

Firstly the good points:

• It’s about 1/2 mile from home so even if it took several car trips to move it all it’s about as convenient as possible. 
• It’s free or close to free
• it’s being dismantled by their builders within the next week, so I won’t have to take it apart
• it’s currently up so I can get plenty of photos of how it goes together
• Asbestos roof has ben removed. I have either ply/roof felt or corrugated polycarbonate panels I could use for the roof
• I inspected the inside and the roof struts look to be strong and relatively (structural) rust free.
• It’s white painted pretend brick pattern and looks pretty inoffensive. No pebbledash here
• The bolts/square washer type things looked in pretty decent condition, not too rusty, but the heads on the outside have many layers of paint on them so I would look to replace all nuts/bolts with new ones
• it's 2.7 x 4.8m which would fit on the drive nicely, fit the car in it  and still give enough room to be able to get to the front door, which is useful.

So, some questions to see if it’s going to work, because obvs I don’t want to get it all back home and find it’s no good for me. Low money/effort is the key, and it’s wouldn’t be forever, maybe to last 5 years until we can look at an extension with an integral garage. I see this as a cheap way to get the 924 under cover and a better solution than a car port or a car cover for the time being.

 

Our driveway is tarmac with a very slight downward slope. It's a driveway that's been added at some point as the houses are 50's ex council and didn't originally have driveways. The tarmac is stable with no cracks or damage and the ground is generally chalky so not subject to movement.

 

So my concerns:

 

• I need to see what’s under the tarmac but if it’s concrete of a decent thickness could I do without laying a slab and assemble it straight onto the tarmac? If I had to dig up the drive to lay a slab or foundations for the 3 sides I’d probably slack it off.
• Could 2 people get it up in say a day or two?
• How do you assemble it without it killing someone? I imagine a partially built concrete garage would be quite heavy and not the sort of thing you'd want wobbling or falling over due to incompetence?
• I assume the columns (corners and two along each side) fix to the roof struts, and the panels bolt in to make it all rigid, so would starting at the back corners and working forward  be the best way to assemble it without it collapsing mid build?
• New bolts nuts & washers probably a good idea for ease of assembly? Just normal Screwfix coachbolt type things of the correct diameter & length OK?
• The door was a bit iffy, front hole is 230 x195cm, is that a standard up and over door size?
• Anything else to bear in mind?

Cheers. I'll try to pop round there and get pix of it tomorrow. 

[3VOM]

Er, Planning permission?

I suspect the columns are in concrete foundations, that is where the strength of the thing will come from. If so how are they coming out?

I would think you need a concrete slab as a base, guessing 75-100mm thick.

[Guest Hooli]

I'm pretty sure garages are allowed as permitted development, if they are far enough from the house.

 

As to how to build it, see if you can speak to the builders talking it down. Then refitting is a reversal of removal....

[rantingYoof]

Any structure in front of the principal elevation (usually fronting the highway) requires planning permission (first bullet point)

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/43/outbuildings

 

This goes as far as applying to your standard 8x6 shed.

 

If the garage is to the side of the property (if not in a conservation area) or to the rear it's fine as long as it's less than 2.5m in height.

[Guest Hooli]

Ahh yes, I forgot about the 'not if it's in front of your house' bit.

[DodgeRover]

Personally I would speak to the people taking it down and see how much they want to move it and reassemble

 

PM me the name if the firm doing the extension and I'll see if it's anybody I know.

 

You would get away with just putting it up on flat Tarmac, we built one on 2x2 paving slabs laid on soil and 30 years later it's still standing.

 

Number everything and take lots of pictures of how it's put together once numbered up. Bolts will normally just be galvanised.

 

Garage doors are usually available free as they fill the skip up and are too big to weigh in easily.

[JeeExEll]

^^ About 6 years ago at my previous house I obtained a used but good up-&-over garage door for £20 from a recycler's yard. Clean up and a repaint and it was good as new.

[rantingYoof]

I shouldn't have sounded so pedantic-council-worker up there (although I definitely am one for my sins)...I should add on a purely personal level that if you live out of the way of where wayward official people may travel and your neighbours aren't the sort to curtain-twitch and report you then there are some occasions where the mantra 'just do it' seems entirely reasonable.

[Junkman]

You need to adorn it with some neo Georgian timberwork.

[Mally]

Should have a concrete base, but if base is solid may well get away with it.

While garage is still up start at the door end and spray numbers on the slabs inside.

Most slabs are the same, but best to put them together as they were.

Screwfix/Toolstation bolts will be OK, you may be able to re use some.

Start at a corner first then it will stand up.

Mines big and they built it in a day, took me a day to replace the roof.

So would allow 2 days walls, 2 days roof. Don't over tighten the bolts.

Base must be absolutely flat and level,which is unlikely, or the slabs won't line up.

Consider making it a slab wider at the back, you will wish it was bigger when you start using it.

[DeeJay]

Rain would seep in through the tarmac. Best to lay it on flags, pointed up.

[DSdriver]

It should not be in front of the building line (which should be on your deeds) which is sometimes different to where the front of the building is as it tends to follow the curve of the road. Ignore this advice if you live in a straight road with houses parallel to it.

[greengartside]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure LankyTim of this parish has done exactly this recently? It was a stand-alone in his garden IIRC.

[djimbob]

I Have done this very exercise, and if I really thought it thru, would not have done it in retrospect, however I am an impulsive guy, so what the hell, it cost me a couple of days, £35 for the garage and the hire of a big fucking truck!

 

Mine is on fairly flat tarmac, leaks in a bit but if you're bothered you can go round after and seal it with the gunk of your choice.

 

Don't worry over much about the base, each slab weighs a fair bit, but spread over the length of the garage doesn't add up to much per square inch.

 

Start by labelling each slab if you can and follow the plan, well worth replacing the nuts and bolts, makes the job much easier.

 

Check the roof beams, and go get some new replacements if needed, again much easier to do it now and for ease of fitment.

 

Start with the rear corners, use wood braces to stop them falling over, or get a helper (s) to hold them up while you add the next, the finish off the rear, moving forwards to the front - at this point, get the first roof beam in, that way you can then leave it as it will be self-standing, and of course add roof beams as you progress.

 

Oh, mark out where the slabs should all stand beforehand as it makes life easier, use whatever spray etc comes to hand, or the professional stuff from builder's merchants

 

You definitely  need help, especially with the move, one single concrete slab was too heavy for me alone to lift from horizontal, just, and I'm a big lad (albeit with a bad back) - much, much easier with two of you. We did it in a day once the structure was on site.

 

You will need a fucking big truck to move the slabs, not to mention the doors and door frame, or pay someone to deliver it preferably

 

Good luck, it is doable, take your time and get it right first time, and in a couple of weeks it will look like it's always been there

[sierraman]

Forget undoing the bolts, cut them through with a grinder. New threaded bar is cheap anyway to replace. I'd have a think how you'll shift it, you could do it with a Transit Pick up in a few runs but it's very heavy work.

 

I'd be tempted to see what you'd be looking at to put it on a proper pad of concrete, if you can do the donkey work yourself you'll save a bit there. If you were putting it up on a council garage plot I'd say bodge it but it's your house so you don't want to cut corners.

[catsinthewelder]

I put my last shed down on a low brick wall laid on top of 3x2 slabs,  they all ended up wonky with weight sat on one end.  I would lay a concrete base,  if nothing else it is easier than concrete slabs.

[Honey Badger]

Concrete base is a must unless you have laid slabs with a good 3or 4 inches of type 1/2 as a well compacted sub base.

 

I've done a few of these before and I've found making a timber frame out of 3x2 CLS timber the exact internal dimensions of the garage  floor and then screwing it to the floor helps as you can just slide the panels up to the floor template then bolt together, making it easier to align everything as you go along.

[outlaw118]

If you decide to stick a slab down first I might be able to get my hands on a cement mixer for a fee of FUCK ALL, and no rush to get it back. Fatha had one lurking behind his shed IIRC.

 

I'll deliver it for a bacon butty. 

 

Bellend.

[sierraman]

I'd definitely put a concrete base down, ideally reinforced. You don't want one of the panels falling on you or someone else.

 

I'd use some OSB or Ply for the roof ideally as thick as possible. Don't bother with Wickes etc for Roof felt, go to a Roofing merchants and at minimum get the stuff that's bitumen backed, it's a real bother to cut and lift on the roof but it's infinitely better than that bog roll you can get from the usual places.

[pilninggas]

I also did this. I got a garage for free. Disassembled over a weekend. Asbestos roof to council tip, as per their rules.

 

Moved all the concrete panels in my trailer over 4 runs.

 

It was stored for 2 years in my garden. Then I put a conc base down.

 

Rebuilt it with new bolts. Reroofed it with tin. Old rotten wooden doors were replaced with an up and over for a tenner on ebay. Personnel door came out of a skip at work. As I put it up single handed, I used my scaffold tower and single phase hoist to lift the panels into place. Put up the main structure single-handedly in a day and a half.

 

Just in the process of selling the house [upgrading to a bigger shite pad], estate agent confirmed the prefab garage added value and saleability, so for a freebee and a bit labour it's been top job.

[Timewaster]

Sounds like a massive amount of work to me.

2 people to dismantle it for pretty much a whole days backbreaking work.

Big truck or trailer to move it. How many trips?

Another couple of days backbreaking work to reassemble, plus you still need to provide a roof.

 

You don't get to choose the size and the end result will probably look pretty shonky with a wooden roof.

 

With a bit of shopping around you could probably get a wooden workshop built for a few hundred quid.

[pilninggas]

Sounds like a massive amount of work to me.

2 people to dismantle it for pretty much a whole days backbreaking work.

Big truck or trailer to move it. How many trips?

Another couple of days backbreaking work to reassemble, plus you still need to provide a roof.

 

You don't get to choose the size and the end result will probably look pretty shonky with a wooden roof.

 

With a bit of shopping around you could probably get a wooden workshop built for a few hundred quid.

 

A place to do shite-related activities

A place away from the maddening crowd [or the wife]

And it adds value to your drum.

 

A bit of graft to do it seems worth it to me and the epitome of the shite ethos [used buildings with cold walls]

[Timewaster]

Good point but I am lazy.

[Guest Hooli]

Sounds like a massive amount of work to me.

2 people to dismantle it for pretty much a whole days backbreaking work.

Big truck or trailer to move it. How many trips?

Another couple of days backbreaking work to reassemble, plus you still need to provide a roof.

 

You don't get to choose the size and the end result will probably look pretty shonky with a wooden roof.

 

With a bit of shopping around you could probably get a wooden workshop built for a few hundred quid.

 

 

I assume cars are the same (but I'm not sure) for bikes a wooden workshop isn't a garage according to insurance, they have to be metal or brick.

[DodgeRover]

Sounds like a massive amount of work to me.

2 people to dismantle it for pretty much a whole days backbreaking work.

Big truck or trailer to move it. How many trips?

Another couple of days backbreaking work to reassemble, plus you still need to provide a roof.

 

You don't get to choose the size and the end result will probably look pretty shonky with a wooden roof.

 

With a bit of shopping around you could probably get a wooden workshop built for a few hundred quid.

Not if you are paying for timber it won't! Even knocking up a decent 8x6' shed from new materials would do more than that.

[adw1977]

A decent timber building of that size would be at least 2 grand new, and you would still have to provide a base and assemble it.

[stephen01]

A decent timber building of that size would be at least 2 grand new, and you would still have to provide a base and assemble it.

 

this,

 

I left 3 sheds at my old house, really wish I'd have brought the big 10x8 with me as a replacement is over 500 quid...

[sierraman]

Id price up a new one, if there's a few hundred difference I'd get the new one. The roof alone will cost a few hundred to do properly.

 

The advantage you've got with the old one you have is you could build it to a certain shape to suit you. Forget getting it sorted in a weekend though. 2-3 months more like if you've work to do in between.

 

A timber garage would be better so long as you aren't doing any grinding, welding of fuel related stuff in there. Forget building one from scratch unless you've got a mate working in a timber yard that can let stuff fall off the back of the wagon.

[sierraman]

Just looked, brand new concrete one is £1300. Assume it comes with some sort of warranty.

[DodgeRover]

The one I mentioned went up in 2 days including the doors and tin sheeting the roof