I am having an outdoor garage built. I am going to have a 5x6 or 5x7 cold storage closet put in for deer, vegetables and stuff. I have the option of having a floor drain installed with the concrete floor in the cooler pitched to the drain. This would add about $1500 to the cost. Seems like a lot. with deer potentially bleeding all over the floor it would make it easier to clean. Worth it or not?

I would want a concrete floor with a drain. Put a high quality cure and seal on it yourself to prevent blood from soaking in, staining it, and making it stink. Add some sand for texture if you are worried about slick. Oil based over water. You can even color the acrylic seal and cure if you want for a nicer looking floor

Use a good caulk along the floor sill plates to prevent water from running under them and rotting them out

Plastic paneling on the walls( white textured sheet stuff that I can’t remember the name of) and caulk the joints

1500 seems steep to add concrete in a 5x7 room??

Stainless sink and table somewhere would be wise as well for processing food! Plan for the drain accordingly

The 1500 is not for the concrete, as the whole garage is concrete....the 1500 is to add the floor drain...basically for forming the pipe into the floor before it is poured.

Drain is a must. I built a 6’x 10’ cooler. The cost for the drain work is absurd. They are robbing you. Ask for itemized bid. Labor and materials. Cool bit system works great.

Not enough info really to form an opinion on cost. But it does seem cheap if you consider the life of the cooler and floor. If you’re staying there a while then do it. Are you handy ? Put the pipe and fittings in yourself prior to concrete pour.

It’s probably a figure the plumber quoted because he’d rather not fugk with it. The GC doesn’t wanna fugk with it either .

It is absurd. The problem is that in this area all builders are tied up with spec houses and it is impossible to find anybody to do anything. So I am going to pay too much for the whole project in order to get somebody to do it. At this point is just an estimate or "allowance" to have the drain included. It may come out to less. But I imagine the contractor asked a sub how much it would cost to add, and then rounded up.

I'd do what I needed to include a drain, you won't be satisfied without it

The drain just needs to flow outside? Doesn’t need to go to septic or sewer. And they want 1500$. Must be going a long ways with it ???

The dang concrete guys can do that for next to nothing if you have materials on hand. Or you can do it. They can stop by before hand and show you where to put it.

Would be easy. But I would do it no matter what if your going to hang deer

And definitely cure and seal the floor. Super cheap and easy to do the whole garage floor. Worth the time and money

Change orders suck... for both sides. Pony up

You want a storm drain and set it 1" below grade. It should cost less than $200 in materials and a hour on a shovel and to stake it down. I'm not paying someone to do anything that I can do myself.

I've always heard it called FRP, it gets used in a lot of commercial kitchens

I built an 8x8 about 5 years ago. I love it. I poured my own and just sloped it a bit to the door. It's not pretty but it works. When I have meat aging in there, I throw pieces of cardboard and a plastic tarp on the floor to catch blood. I just throw it out when it's not needed any more. It saves a lot of cleanup work. A floor drain is just 1 more thing to clog up.

In the winter when it's real cold, that insulation also makes a good warm room. I use a space heater and a thermostat to keep it above freezing and I keep paint, chemicals, etc in there for the winter. Right now my wife has a bunch of flower bulbs stored in it to keep them from freezing.

Couch hunters hate him…..

Slumlord runs a coolbot and has a cooler built for it.

He’s posted pics…

#picsoritdidnthappen

#TNmafia

Coolbots are very expensive for what they are but they sure do work well. Mine's been keeping it cool for 5 years now. I did have to replace the a/c once. It just quit cooling and I couldn't get any parts for it. A new one was cheaper than taking it to a repair shop.

I'm having a hard time pulling the trigger on the contract for this garage....the price is extremely high. It's on a cost + basis of 15%. Then add to that a contractor's "net profit" of 15%. So that's a total markup of 32.5% across the board. And since the builder is known to be highend, I'm sure the subs are quoting much higher to begin with. I want the whole thing done but until things cool off here it is very difficult to find anybody even available.

The 1500 "allowance" for the drain reflects the contractor's markups, even then is too high. Is giving some pause.

You’re misinformed. A cost plus should include the contractors profit. That + 15 is essentially his profit. Get a fugking grip., please.

No, it's another add-on. Cost-Plus-Percentage-of-Cost: The Cost of the Work, plus markups of 15% for
indirect overhead and 15% for Contractor’s net profit.

You need a new contractor if that’s true

Yep. Get a new contractor.

Currently in a home build, and currently using a building consultant who is a retired contractor my dads company did lots of brick and block work for over the years helping me for 5% of cost. This is my first build and big project. He is making sure I don’t miss anything or screw up. Helping me get materials figured. Negotiating with subs. I honestly don’t need him anymore but will not let him go as we made a agreement and he deserves his money and to see it through

What I have learned is you can easily do this yourself if you use good subs. And save 15-20%.

Don’t pay anyone until the job is done, and done right. Inspect everything before you pay. If they don’t do it right they fix it or tell them to Fugg off and die. Don’t be silly and nit pick though. Minor details are easily missed but easily repaired by subs if you’re polite. If they do an exceptional job or save you money somehow. Tell them how much you appreciate it, and give them some kind of bonus for doing so. One Friday I brought beer and bbq to the electricians!

If you pay someone else to fix mistakes deduct 15% plus cost to fix for your troubles from their bill.

Get every estimate in righting with detailed numbers. Ask them to explain the math behind the estimate. Make them include how long that estimate is good for.

It honestly isn’t hard at all if your detail oriented. You don’t need plans or an architect if your codes doesn’t require it on a simple garage build

Buy with confidence, they work excellent

I broke contact with the last contractor. His estimate for the whole project seemed very high. I have now finally found a guy to get it done. He drew up a bid 40% lower than the other guy, using better quality materials. They should be breaking ground in the next couple of weeks. I will have a nice walk-in cooler and a skinning winch.

It has been difficult to locate a builder with the housing boom still in full force in central VA. A lot of contractors wouldn't return a call. One guy wanted me to pay him $2500 to submit a bid. The guy I have broke everything down very carefully and I am hoping it goes smoothly from here.

Pictures when it is finished.

We have access to a coolbot cooler, we helped build it, with a drain in the floor.
The drain does not get used.
We put big water heater boxes down on the floor to catch the blood and drippings and keep a clean floor that way.

Family place in Texas has a floor drain, it stinks all the time due to the blood going down it.

Paint your floor and forget the drain.