Hi everyone, my property is in NJ and recently received violations for a garage that has 3 beams and three concrete walls. The inspector said knock it down or rebuild it. I was thinking of making it into a car port. I do not yet have any estimates. Can you share if it is cheaper to rebuild it as a car port or knock it down. One guy did tell me to haul away concrete is expensive. Someone else mentioned that I may need an architect to rebuild the garage.  Has anyone dealt with this. 

My Uncle lives in Bayonne and had a similar issue with a small shed like building he had in the back of his house.  It was made out of some brick but was mostly a falling apart wood structure.  Although I am not a realtor or housing expert, from my understanding it came down to a few different things.  The building structure was up and it was used as a garden house before.  It had beams and a door, and a window along with working electricity.  If he would have torn it down, he could have done it, but then if he wanted to rebuild it at a later date, he would have had to re-apply for permits from the city etc., which from my understanding is very difficult and or costly to do.  To repair it in the same spot, he could have just done the repairs himself which is what he decided to do.  Now he has a fancy garden cabana in his back yard that was essentially a falling down shed when he moved into that house years ago.  Sorry that may not be the answer you were looking for, but I saw your post and it made me think of that experience.

We don't know what you're dealing with. We don't know the landfill costs for concrete in Jersey. In other words, there's very little chance anyone in this forum can answer your question.

Call a couple contractors to actually look at it and give you an estimate for demolition and cleanup.

Call a couple contractors to actually look at it and give you an estimate for renovation.

Make an educated decision. I think there's value to the structure so I would try to keep it rather than tear it down and then build a new one later.

Originally posted by @Angeline Mentor :

Hi everyone, my property is in NJ and recently received violations for a garage that has 3 beams and three concrete walls. The inspector said knock it down or rebuild it. I was thinking of making it into a car port. I do not yet have any estimates. Can you share if it is cheaper to rebuild it as a car port or knock it down. One guy did tell me to haul away concrete is expensive. Someone else mentioned that I may need an architect to rebuild the garage.  Has anyone dealt with this. 

 Often times if it was built as a garage the building department will not let you transition it into a carport. You'll want to check with them before considering this option further.

Ugh!!!. Thank you Mr. Wise and everyone for your feedback. I will look into this further. I have an appointment with the Inspector tomorrow. Wish me LUCK!!!