Feet to support a freestanding upright sheet of plywood

[hobnob]

I like your idea of the breeze block walls. Only I'd have no use for the blocks afterwards.

What's the new garage being built out of? E.g. is it prefab or brick walls, etc? Basically, can you use some of the building materials that won't be needed until later (e.g. for adjacent walls)?

[WTFH]

Out of curiosity, any idea how many it would take to keep a body submerged after decomposition gasses build up?

Yes, I have an idea.

Top tip, don’t use “aerated concrete” blocks, but dense structural ones suitable for foundations.

[woody1]

What's the new garage being built out of? E.g. is it prefab or brick walls, etc? Basically, can you use some of the building materials that won't be needed until later (e.g. for adjacent walls)?

Prefab concrete, same as the old one. We looked at lots of different options before settling on another prefab. Partly driven by price but also we need something that can withstand severe gales/lashing rain/salt air where we live.

In case anyone is interested. For 16'x10' single garage size. All including delivery and installation.

Pressure treated timber garden shed with felt roof - £2800
Heavier duty garden shed/workshop with corrugated metal roof - £3500
Heavy duty timber garage with double doors - £4500
Concrete prefab - £5000*
Timber garage, with fibreglass roof, built from scratch by small builder - £15000
Block built garage - didn't get a formal quote for this but was told in the region of £20k

* would have been nearer £3000 if we lived close to the manufacturers, which are all up north

[WTFH]

Prefab concrete, same as the old one. We looked at lots of different options before settling on another prefab. Partly driven by price but also we need something that can withstand gales/rain/sea air where we live.

In case anyone is interested, for a 16'x10' single garage. All including delivery and installation.

Pressure treated timber garden shed with felt roof - £2800
Heavier duty garden shed with corrugated metal roof - £3500
Heavy duty timber garage with double doors - £4000
Concrete prefab - £5000*
Timber garage, with fibreglass roof, built from scratch by small builder - £15000
Block built garage - didn't get a formal quote for this but was told in the region of £20k

* would have been nearer £3000 if we lived close to the manufacturers, which are all up north

Might have to get figures on doing ours again (although planning has now expired, but I can get it renewed easily). When we got the designs done it was coming in at £35k if we laid the base and did all the fixtures, or £45k+ for them to do it. Admittedly it is 8m x 6.5m and timber framed. It was cheaper to put solar panels on one side of the roof than tiles, and given the improvements in output, the 20 panels would be over 10kW now. Never mind going off grid, we could take the neighbours off grid too.

[woody1]

Might have to get figures on doing ours again (although planning has now expired, but I can get it renewed easily). When we got the designs done it was coming in at £35k if we laid the base and did all the fixtures, or £45k+ for them to do it. Admittedly it is 8m x 6.5m and timber framed. It was cheaper to put solar panels on one side of the roof than tiles, and given the improvements in output, the 20 panels would be over 10kW now. Never mind going off grid, we could take the neighbours off grid too.

Depending on how long ago it was, you might be in for a nasty shock. Labour/materials have gone up a heck of a lot since covid, seemingly much more than the headline rate of inflation.

£15k to build this gives you an idea

• basic no-frills timber 3mx5m single garage
• with a flat fibreglass roof
• on an existing base

PS. ie. £1000/sqm. For something more fancy, like yours, it might be £1200 or £1500/sqm.

You'd save a lot if you can find a suitable factory-made timber framed one.

[woody1]

In the end I used 2' lengths of 6"x2" for the feet, with a 4" slot down the middle. It was pretty stable but fortunately we didn't have any gales during the week between the old garage being taken down and the new one going up.

The 3-man crew from Yorkshire installing the new concrete prefab took less than 3 hours from start to finish. They did a brilliant job, overcoming a couple of issues with the base, and it was very impressive to watch.

Ironically, the local guys we hired to demolish and take away the old one took twice as long but they did spend a lot of time "conferring" and "consulting" their phones.