Anyone ever get an Amish garage?

Came here out of morbid curiosity, figured it was surely going to be something strange and sexual. 

SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:

Who's this guy "THE Amish"??

Think we can fit any more stereotypes in one thread??

Thank you, Mtn. 

They do squees themselves into their own stereotype, so I don't feel using "the Amish" as a description is in and of itself a bad thing. Anything, of course, CAN be turned into an insult, just by intent, But I have not seen that in this thread.

Like has been said, they are people, just like the rest of us, and YMMV. But from what I have seen, a really fast large building will not be very plum and square... Just like any other company that emphasizes speed over quality! I would say an Amish built quick job would likely be strong enough, though. "They" do tend to take the long view of things.

Have a site visit on Tuesday evening, I'll keep this thread going for all those that are curious

My uncle had a rather large 4-car garage with a loft above built at his old house on a slab and it was done in a weekend. It had a rustic finish, but I don't think they were trying to make it look like the Taj Mahal. For parking tractors and hanging a deer from the rafters, it was the perfect level of quality. I have an Amish-built shed and it has a similar finish. They use solid pine planks right from the sawmill, so it doesn't have the smooth finish that OSB does. I prefer the look for a shed, and the overall quality was much better than anything from the big box stores.

They have options to add vinyl siding which is what I'm going for.  Super curious to see what their price is.  I'll still have to run power and finish the inside so we'll see. 

A friend used a company from Lancaster PA area this year for a pole barn type garage.  Came out pretty nice, no major issues.  Not sure how much cheaper it was though.  Many years ago I used an 84 lumber garage kit, came with everything but the foundation and electric.  They provided everything down to the nails and drawings so I could get the local permit.  Used a local contractor to assemble and he recommended a cement guy for the foundation.  Turned out pretty nice, 25 years later the only problem was cheap garage doors.  Otherwise even the roof shingles are OK.  

I actually looked at the same company I'm sure in Lancaster that build metal beam garages that look like they are stick built when done.  My current plan before this one was to buy a set of plans then have the contractor build it.  This started back mid January and I have yet to get a set of plans to pick out nor a reply from the guy that came out and it's mid March now.  I'm guessing garage builds are top of the food chains for these guys so it gets pushed lower and lower which is why I'm going this route.  Really hoping to have something built before June.

In reply to 03Panther :

I didn't say it was an insult. I said it was a stereotype. 
 

Being Amish doesn't make anyone a good carpenter...

Or a furniture maker. The tourists eat up 'Amish made' furniture here. It's okay (we own some) and the price is decent but if you think they are not making it on an assembly line with air nailers you are sadly mistaken.

I've lived in Lancaster County, PA my entire life and have had lots of interaction with Amish. Like any 'group' of people they have upsides and downsides and stereotypes that are fully supported with field study. They suffer various health maladies from generational inbreeding and their treatment of animals is typically not very good. OTOH they never file lawsuits in auto/buggy accidents and are not out to take advantage of you in business dealings. The 'tourist' facade is not really what they are like. 'Witness' is an okay depiction of them; 'Amish Mafia' is so hysterically not.

Yeah. We had a bench that was Amish made from the 1920's. It was solid wood and overbuilt, it will last forever, but it wasn't particularly well made. On the other hand, my aunt has a kitchen done by an Amish contractor that is spectacular. You can't find a single problem with it. But that is because it was built by a craftsman, who happened to be Amish. And my uncle, as a vet, has a low opinion of them based on their treatment of animals. But they pay cash on the spot. 

What Amish furniture is is solid wood furniture, made in USA by a small business. It might last 300 years. It might last just 30. It is almost certainly better than IKEA. But it isn't good just because it was made by the Amish.

Back to update this post, so one of the managers came out to the house and looked at the site.  Showed him what I wanted in a similiar style how took some pics and said he would get back to me this week with some estimates.  Being the it is on a slight slope (3ft) he said that they would most likely have to do the foundation work in order to stand behind the build.  I said ok, didn't seem like that big of a deal.  So today I get an email from them that for the foundation work it's going to be $48,000 and still waiting on the builders to get back with the building quote.  I couldn't believe that....this is a 28"x24" foundation on a 3ft slope.....am I that out of the loop on prices these days?  Needless to say I'm going to humor them and see what they total cost is going to be but won't be going with them.  Pic is a rough estimate of where it would go to show the area.  

In reply to Placemotorsports :

Obviously all super area-dependent; and also dependent on what is included; but I would say high. I got a bid in December for a 30x40 foundation - 4ft by 8in frost walls on 10in by 16in footings; including concrete, rebar, forming and pumping; just over $11,000. But, this does not include flatwork or excavation. I was estimating $9-$10,000 for excavation and $8-$10,000 for flatwork on the high end.

I was think around $15k at the most if they wanted to do all concrete.  Block work would be lots cheaper but that is not what they offered. 

Time to get a quote on a giant backfilled gravel pad and a pole building 

That's really high.