Replacing a Prefab garage with a block one

[Hightowermark]

Hi,

We have an old prefab garage in our garden (at the bottom of it about 12m from the house) which does need a new roof as it's leaking quite bad. As well as the bacl wall has been hit by what looks like a tow bar, this was before we moved in.

Now i was speaking to a friend and he said the cost of a new roof it might be better in the long run to just rip it down and start again with blocks.

Now the base that is already there would this be strong enough to hold a block garage ( i will need to see how deep it is first) or would i need to rip this up too?

Has anyone done this before? Any tips would be great.

I'm looking at doing some of the block work myself (have built a wall before )

But will get help from my friend who has done a block shed before.

Thanks

 

[Deluks]

Will cost a lot more to rebuild. You will likely need to dig out proper foundations, as prefabs are usually just laid on a simple unreinforced 4" to 6" concrete base.

You might get away with just building on the existing, but if it's not up to scratch then your new wall could end up all over the place. So if you do decide to build using blockwork then do it right first time. This will make any future conversion a lot easier too if the foundations are solid.

As well as the cost of blocks, there is also the expense of the concrete for the founds, mortar, plus a couple of skips to get rid of the old garage. It all depends on what you intend to use it for really. For somewhere to store tools and junk, or work on the car, I'd just reroof and repair the damage, which might involve tracking down a few wall panels and replacing them while the roof is off.

A better description of the garage type and construction will invoke a more useful answer.

 

[dextrous]

You could put a couple of courses of bricks down and build a timber structure. The weight of this wouldn't require a new base to be laid.

 

[kstandsteve]

Agree with comment above the base will more than likely be unacceptable.

You may of course require Building Regulation approval if within 1m of boundary and combustible materials used for roof.

 

[advancemaintenance1]

MAKE SURE YOU TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE MATERIALS USED FOR THE ROOF SOME OF THE OLD PREFABS WERE ASBESTOS IF ITS A FLAT ROOF THAT NEEDS FELTING THEN YOU WILL GET AT LEAST 15 YEARS FROM IT FOR AROUND £2000 (REPLACEMENT) A REBUILD ASSUMING YOUR FOUNDATIONS ARE OK WILL COST AROUND £4500 WITH THE SAME GUARANTEE ON THE ROOF!!!

 

[breezer]

Please stop typing in capitals, its considered to be SHOUTING!

 

[advancemaintenance1]

I do apologise didnt realise caps were on the kids are always messin give me a boiler to play with anyday lol