I am in the process of building the new garage this summer. It will be 32'by 40' with a 13' celing for the new auto lift, my problem is I have called 10 contractors to come out and give me an estement on the foundation and floor but none will return my calls or messages. I need to get the ball rolling soon because I have to clear some trees and get the permits going. Anyone have any ideas on how to get these contractors to even return a phone call?

go to home depot or leows.i have had the same trouble here so i have been forced to also become a handyman because it is impossible to find anybody that wants to work or keep their word here in s.fl.it is better just to pay the full price than to wait for a cheaper contractor who will invarably string you along till you lose your patience

I have had the same problem with cement contactors in the past. For obvious reasons they would rather pour a whole subdivision worth of driveways and sidewalks as opposed to my small job. I have had luck with finding guys that do side jobs.

Same here. One thing to think about is that the floor is very important. I paid $4500 10 years ago for my 30x50 floor. You are thinking that this is too much? You have to consider all the sand they bring in to get it at the right grade with your driveway. And if they do have to bring in a lot of sand you need the burm of clay around it. I ordered the extra fiberglass strands right in the cement mixture. I have one small crack. The good thing is the fiberglass in the mixture will allow some flex and the cracks will not separate.

Everything you wanted to know about garages but were afraid to ask.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/

Actually Jim $4500 or $3 a square foot for a garage floor is not bad, considering the relationship of footing to floor is high on a small area. I used the strands as well and was very happy with the results.

Being your own contractor in this case may be the way to get it done though FB Crazy, Hire a backhoe to do the footings and scrape the area, bring in the gravel or whatever at the same time and have the machine spread it, do the formwork yourself or hire a couple of carpenters for a few days, and call the readymix company and have them give you some numbers for finishers they use. Not quite THAT simple but you get the idea. Perhaps using a thickened slab edge rather than a footing and walls if allowed there would save on some of the footing formwork

and the papers say theres a housing recession...? garages / barns should fall in theat contractor area... seems like contractors (up north)should be hungry....down here its not the case ,busy,busy...

Of course your job is not a big one, but in "bad times" you should be able to get bids...

This far up North we are so busy we are turning down work. Can't find men, cranes, and booking concrete has to be done days if not weeks in advance.

That's commercial but the home market is the same, owner builder homes are sitting at lock up waiting for boarders etc. The developers are seeming to manage somewhat but the trades will give good paying clients first attention.

Michigan is hurting in the housing/building market. It's the 'blue state' thing going on.

Building Garages is what I do to support my Firebird habit, along with a few others. I think I am about booked for the year.......

The housing/building market is in a slump just about everywhere.

This is the time of year everybody needs work done by contractors. Winter takes its toll and things need fixed. I hate to say it, but you should have contacted someone months ago. That way you would have been on the schedule for your build.

I was in the reconstructive masonry biz for some years. This was always the busiest time of year, due to winter taking its toll on chimneys making them fall apart. It was always fun for the boss to try to schedule work and not run into spreading the company to thin. Keep trying; someone needs to put food on their table.

The footings for the lift are critical. Make sure the specs meet or exceed that called for by the lift manufacturer, and make sure the pad locations are at the correct dimensions.

I've seen some pretty shoddy jobs, where the footing for a basement support column was placed 6" off the print...or, even worse, the foundation forms misplaced so the house or garage won't fit the foundation.

More common is grading issues, where water flows in, not out.

Be sure to place floor drains.

Grading issues for sure. I had to raise the area where my barn is about 3 feet to allow for run off. I'm really glad I did it.

Grading is absolutely the most important issue to start, not only elevation to make water flow the right way, but also what is under or not under your foundation (it is called a foundation for a reason). After 30 years of building Garages, I have a network of references that many people would die for. I was taught the first rule 30 years ago, BUILD IT LIKE IT IS YOUR OWN AND ALWAYS WILL BE. That is what counts........
Rick

Thanks for all the input guys and gals. I already have a backhoe and dozer on standby, it is nice to have good neighbors plus I just got the clutch fixed on my tractor as well. I was already planning on having the fiberglass put in the concrete as that is how the floor in my little garage is and never had a cracking issue. I finnaly got ahold of a contractor today who is actually the father inlaw of my good long time friend, he will be out tomorrow to check things out and make a estament. It is amazing how just knowing someone can get the ball rolling alot faster. I am going to pay very close attention to gradeing as all 6.5 acers of my land is not flat. I will keep you all posted as progress goes, I hope to be braking ground by middle of April.

You might want to look into a pole barn there cheaper to build.

Plus you pour the concrete after it's built that way if you don't have the $$ you can wait if you have to.