How Much Does an Oak Garage Cost?

An oak framed garage from Trade Oak Building Kits is a great way to add beauty, value and functionality to a residential or commercial property. They’re crafted from sustainably grown and harvested green oak, are easy for any reasonably experienced contractor to erect and will potentially last for centuries. A lot of people have questions about oak garages, however, and chief among them is this: How much does an oak garage cost? In this post, we’ll take a look at the whole issue of costs as it relates to our oak framed garages.

The Cost of an Oak Garage Examined

It’s only natural that before someone decides to purchase a big ticket item that they’ll want to know how much it’s going to cost them. So, in this post, we’ll look at the issue of cost as it relates to our oak garages beginning with the question in the title.

How much does an oak garage cost?

The cost of your oak garage will depend on several factors, the first being the size. We offer 1, 2 and 3-bay oak garages and obviously, they are not all going to cost the same. 

As of this writing a 1-bay ALL-OAK garage kit costs £8,000 plus VAT. If you are interested in a 3-bay ALL-OAK garage kit the cost is £16,000 plus VAT. It is important to note that those prices are for our all-oak kits, where every component is fashioned from green oak. 

For the budget-minded, we also offer a hybrid alternative that consists of premium 145mm green oak posts with softwood studs and rafters for £10,000 plus VAT. With our hybrid garage, you will enjoy the same high-quality craftsmanship and rigorous quality control that underpins our classic all-oak designs at a more affordable price.

Included in the price of each oak garage kit are the posts, rafters and studwork along with structural calculations, construction drawings and delivery.

What is the Main Factor Influencing the Cost of Your Oak Garages?

Without a doubt, the single biggest influence on the price of our garage kits is the cost of the green oak itself. Oak is a finite resource and maintaining sustainable forests of oak for use in construction is an expensive undertaking. 

Those costs get passed on to us and we in turn need to account for them in our pricing structure. However, considering that the potential useful life of an oak framed structure is measured in centuries we think you’ll agree the price of an oak framed garage is not unreasonable.

What is the Cost of Creating a Bespoke Garage?

While our oak framed garage kits are immensely popular we do encounter customers on a fairly regular basis who need or want a bespoke garage designed for their property. While we are always happy to provide this service for our customers a bespoke garage will cost more than one of our kits. 

Because each bespoke garage is different it is not possible to say “A bespoke oak garage costs X amount”. What we can say is that, to calculate costs on a custom garage project, we use either a bespoke calculator or create a 3D visual for the client (no charge) laying out the details of the proposed design and indicating the costs of the different components.

Note that, depending on the complexity of the proposed project it may be necessary for us to charge a fee for design services. Also, if you do not have a contractor lined up we offer a nationwide installation service that includes the frame and cladding, along with any windows and doors for an additional fee.

How Long Does it Take to Erect an Oak Garage?

A single storey, 1-bay oak garage can typically be set up in 1 day. Weather, of course, permitting. By contrast one of our 3-bay oak garage frame kits will typically take 2 or 3 days depending on whether it has a storey above.

Can I Erect an Oak Framed Garage Myself?

That depends. If you have a reasonable amount of experience with framing/construction, all the right tools and some competent help it may be possible for you to erect your oak framed garage yourself. But we would not recommend it. 

Why? For a number of reasons beginning with safety. An experienced building contractor should have no problem setting up one of our oak framed garages. They will also have extensive experience and understand what needs to be done to maintain a safe and effective jobsite.

But that’s not all. Consider this: If you and a friend decide to take a stab at erecting the oak garage yourself and it comes crashing down damaging many of the components, who will pay to replace them? That’s right. You will. In addition, if one of the beams lands on you and you end up in hospital you will be responsible for covering all the associated medical costs. 

When you hire a licensed and insured contractor they assume all the risks and liability. If they damage your oak frame they will pay to replace it. And if someone gets hurt during construction the contractor’s insurance will cover the medical costs. So, don’t take chances. Go with the pros.

Does an Oak Garage Require a Lot of Maintenance?

The oak framing that comprises the kit you purchase from Trade Oak requires no maintenance. However, keep in mind that the windows, doors, cladding and other things used to build out the garage will likely require periodic maintenance. Also note that while we do offer nationwide installation assistance we do not offer assistance with maintenance. Simply because the components we sell do not need it.

Is Oak Really the Best Material for a Garage?

It depends on what you’re after. If what you want is framing that is environmentally responsible, has a low carbon footprint, is beautiful, versatile, maintenance free and likely to last well over a century (maybe well over two centuries), then oak is your material. If you’re in search of something that will need regular maintenance, has a utilitarian look and will last anywhere from 20 to 50 years then concrete or steel are good choices.