When it comes to planning a new garage project for your home, you’ll have plenty of options to choose from. But for those that don’t have a background in construction, the choice might not be as apparent as one might wish.
For example, you have wood garages and metal garages. Each carries its own characteristics and advantages. However, if you’ve never had experience with these structure types, you might not know which is better for your needs.
But that ends today because, in this blog, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about choosing the right garage for the job. Below, we’ll go over the advantages of each building type, popular building sizes, and what you’ll need to know to maximize your buying power.
What is the best choice for your garage needs? Let’s break it down and measure up these two structure types in terms of:
When picking a structure based on budget, a steel building will almost always beat one crafted from wood. Steel is far cheaper than wood and is far more versatile.
While wooden garages may be a tried-and-true traditional choice, they aren’t without shortcomings. Lumber prices have risen considerably in recent years, making wooden construction an expensive endeavor. Far more expensive than steel.
In terms of strength, you’ll be hard-pressed to beat steel. Steel is incredibly strong, flexible, and capable of withstanding far more than wooden alternatives.
Unfortunately, a wooden garage won’t hold up nearly as well compared to steel options. Steel flexes in environments where brittle wood may crack and break.
Steel buildings are planned, engineered, and manufactured using precise techniques, allowing metal buildings to be quickly erected and expanded.
Wooden garages are viable options, but their construction timeline can vary wildly, thanks to changes and adjustments required on-site during the build. Unlike steel structures that can be completed in days or weeks, a stick-built build may take months.
Most metal garages are constructed using galvanized steel. This galvanization process makes them naturally resistant to moisture penetration, oxidation, decay, mold, pests, and even fires up to 1,200 degrees. As such, you’ll spend little time performing maintenance on your steel structure.
Unfortunately, wood garages are prone to decay, rot, pests, and more. And to keep your building looking its best will require constant upkeep.
Garages constructed from steel are 100% recyclable, allowing you to melt down your building and use it again and again without degrading its strength.
As you can imagine, stick-built structures are responsible for a large amount of deforestation around the world. Wood also quickly degrades if left improperly protected, requiring additional lumber to replace rotting parts.
Since metal buildings use steel, they’ll last for decades with little need for intervention.
While wooden garages can last a lifetime if adequately maintained, their average lifespan is far shorter than steel options.
In terms of efficiency, there isn’t much difference between structure types. However, you’ll save far more time with a metal garage in construction speed and maintenance than with a wooden structure.
Once completed, a wooden garage offers the same advantages as a steel one regarding efficiency and time-saving capabilities.
When it comes to surviving harsh climates, a steel building will almost always be stronger and safer than a wooden garage. They can handle wind, rain, snow, and seismic activity better than stick-built options.
A wooden structure will be built to your region’s particular safety specifications, but it probably won’t fare as well in violent weather as a steel building.
When choosing the right size garage, you’ll luckily have plenty of sizes to choose from. But if you don’t have a background in construction, you might not immediately know what size is best for your needs. So, to make the process easier, we’ve listed several popular size options.
Offering 312 square feet of interior space, this garage option is fantastic for housing a single vehicle while still providing extra space for storing important items or equipment. Unfortunately, you won’t have much vertical room for your structure at 7′ tall from the ground to the header bar, which can be a major concern if you’re using it for more than simple backyard storage.
At just under double the size of the previous option, this metal garage is well-suited for housing several small or medium-sized vehicles. It’s a great size if you’re planning to start a home garage, workshop, or storage building. In terms of height, 10 feet will be the minimum height you’ll need for anything beyond a small storage shed.
This metal garage size offers 1,050 feet of internal space, more than enough to handle several small or medium-sized vehicles. A 30x35x11 metal garage is a great choice if you want to house some vehicles or larger equipment such as trucks or farm vehicles.
A 30x50x14 building provides all the room you could need for storing your cars and trucks but can easily be used for larger work-spaces, wood shops, or art studios. And at 14′ in height, you’ll also be able to fit taller vehicles.
A building of this size is typically used for large-scale residential projects or commercial activities. It provides over 2,000 ft. of interior space and can be outfitted to work well for almost any application. The only limits to these structures are your budget and creativity!
If you’ve been searching through endless residential structures trying to find the best garage prices, Get Carports can help! We have years of experience providing customers with residential garages, metal garage kits, and almost any steel structure type you need.
We’re proud to offer fantastic pricing and flexible financing options that put the power of ownership in your hands!
So, you can stop wasting time searching for the right metal garage because you’ve found it with Get Carports. Give us a call today at (800) 691 5221 and let our team of building experts help you design and customize a structure to suit your individual needs!
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