Case Study: A Wooden Grade Beam

CASE STUDY: A WOODEN GRADE BEAM This low-cost alternative can save you money if the site has the right soil he design goals for my most recent project were clear from the start: build a detached 2-car garage with ample room for storage, and do it on a limited budget. After considering several preliminary sketches my clients and I decided to build a 32×24-foot structure with a hip roof (see lead photo). The original estimate for a woodframe garage on a poured concrete foundation (material only) was $6,500. But with excavation at $450, a poured perimeter footing and 4-foot frost wall at $2,100, and a slab at $750, more than half the cost of the building was in the ground. Not wishing to spend $3,300 before even getting started,