Minneapolis/St Paul Garage Construction/Builders

Generally, the job went well and we are very happy with the finished product. We did have some issues with the electrical subcontractors doing an installation of an external flood light incorrectly and a misunderstanding about the pouring of cement to adjoin our neighbors' driveway. In the end and as a whole, I think they did a nice job and I love our new garage. I would hire them again.

Joe, Travis, and the whole team stepped up after we initially committed to a different contractor, who we quickly discovered lacked communication and wouldn't finish the job in a reasonable time frame. We wanted a simple 2 car garage in South Minneapolis and we started in November and it was up well before the snow came this year. Bottom line: CHOOSE THESE GUYS, and NOT someone else.

Minneapolis/St Paul Garage Construction/Builders was professional and exceeded our expectations! Would highly recommend Joe and his team. Constant communication, able to explain the process and make modifications as requested. Really happy we utilized them.

Eefficient and quality work. We love our new garage!

Worked with me on getting specs for the rebuild. Kept me informed on the process, and the garage looks great.

We had a great experience from MPLS garage. They built a new 22x22 garage for us in St Paul which is set to be completed by the end of this week. The did quality work from demo to framing to finishing touches. Since we decided to build in spring, we knew the weather would cause some delays, but their build estimate was very close to spot on. Demo started on April 28, concrete pour on May 12, framing began on June 1. We went from a concrete foundation to nearly finished garage (including electrical) by June 10! Since we elected to insulate and drywall, that pushed out completion out a couple weeks, but they did a great job to line up the trades and finish up the project quickly. Communication was excellent throughout the process and they worked hard to match our exterior siding and style to our home. Each trade did a good job keeping the site clean (some better than others, but they all clearly respected our property). Overall the garage is of high quality and miles better than what we had before. We are very happy with the result!

The work was good. It was done on time.

I started out interviewing 3 companies and Minneapolis Garage was the easiest to work with and had the best price. Joe Slavec was always punctual and responded quickly to any questions we had. One of the big differences for us was that it seemed like the other companies would only sell a "standard" garage kit and build it the way that they wanted. Joe was willing to work with us and as a result we got a semi-custom design that matched our house better and allowed us to get more features that we wanted. We decided to hire Minneapolis Garage Builders and they did a great job and paid special attention to the details that we wanted. It was a great experience for us and I would highly recommend them to anyone that is looking for a good garage builder. We had the garage built in the summer of 2015 and now a year later it still looks great and has been a great change to our property. It was an A+ experience for us, Joe and Minneapolis Garage Builders were great to work with.

Very well, flexible on timing and options. It took about a week longer than expected but the garage is excellent. Pricing was about equal with other garage builders I quoted. The quality and completeness of the quoting and design process set them apart and came through in the finished project. They handled an unforeseen change with electrical very well.

Our garage was demolished and rebuilt within 3 weeks, also had good cooperation from the weather.  We love our new garage space and the quality is extremely high.  All of the crew were professional, courteous and answered all our questions.  We highly recommend this garage builder and would use them again if the opportunity presented itself.  Our neighbors rave about how it looks and how quickly it was done and we've had repeated requests on who did the work.

Joe was great. I'd never built a garage before and Joe really helped me get the look and functionality that I wanted. He was always available if I had questions or wanted to confirm something.  I changed my mind a few times and he made sure the plans were updated and double checked with his crews to make sure that they had the most recent revisions.  The crews that demolished, laid concrete, did electrical and built the garage were amazing. They were extremely neat, did great work and I couldn't believe how coordinated everything was.  I didn't want to babysit contractors and I certainly didn't need to with these guys. They also got the whole thing done quickly so that I could finish the rest of my yard and enjoy it this summer. They even had great referrals for fencing and concrete. I would recommend them to all my friends. 

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The overall garage building was generally successful. The promised date of completion was 4 weeks and the project began on 8-22-12 and completed 11-14-12. When I met with Richard Forster, and prior to signing a contract I emphasized the importance that the garage be "high and dry" and properly waterproofed. The previous garage was collapsing due to water damage. Richard assured me that yes, the garage would be dry. This was a priority in my decision to hire Minneapolis Garage Builders. We discussed the size of the garage. With the loft, Richard planned that we would have interior stairs leading up to the loft. When the master carpenter arrived he informed me that the size of the slab for the garage was inadequate for interior stairs (this is an earth berth garage requiring steps from ground level down to the floor of the garage), and would not meet city code, and there would be no room for a second car. So the initial planning for the size of the garage was incorrect. They had to build exterior stairs and add an exterior door to enter the loft. Initially they placed the upper loft door in the peak, and the lower door 2 inches away from it on the lower(ground) level. They were going to build an upper level deck. When I saw the placement of the doors, I had a discussion with the master carpenter, and suggested that they move the door on ground level, away from the other door, and closer to the corner of the garage. This also allowed for proper placement of the interior steps (FYI interior steps built out of fiber board, not wood) and allowed for a second car to be parked in the garage. Albeit a truck would never fit in the second stall area. The posts on the exterior steps to the ground were posted in cement; the cement crumbled in less than 6 months. Beginning on 1-11-13 the foundation of the garage leaked. And it has leaked since. Here is how Richard waterproofed the foundation: 1st course of block, 2 coats of Zinnser exterior primer and sealer water based paint. The remaining courses of block he applied one coat only. According to the paint can instructions (he left me a can of the product he used) it indicates that for this type of job a minimum of 3 coats is required. He then used a sheet of plastic and placed it against the wall, but did not attach in any way. He used a single prefabricated French drain with French sock. He back filled with dirt. When the garage leaked, I contacted the manufacturer of the French drain product and they sent me detailed instruction of proper placement and use of the French drain. I forwarded this written information to Richard. He was convinced that if he placed a separate drain tile around the base of the garage that the leaking problem would be resolved. He came out and did this - the garage continued to leak. He indicated that I should get gutters (not a part of the original bid). I had gutters installed and the garage continues to leak. I contacted the City of Saint Paul inspections as they had not signed off on the finished project. The City inspector cited some problems, which have not been rectified. The last contact that I have had with Minneapolis Garage Builders was 4-23-14. My yard sits a mess because the water leakage has not been properly corrected. I have contacted other companies who specialize in waterproofing this type of foundation and have been told that Minneapolis Garage Builders certainly did try, but it was done wrong, period. In fact I have been told by 6 companies to date that the technique that Minneapolis Garage Builders used was not waterproofing, rather simply a moisture barrier that would be ineffective for this project. In fact, had the proper research been done, and had they applied a tar based product along with an ice shield and proper drainage tile, this garage would be sealed and it would have been easy to do when the garage was being built. Now the area around the garage has to be excavated, cleaned and redone correctly, costing thousands of dollars.

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Called Mpls Garage for a quote and Joe came out two days later. They were a little backlogged (2 weeks) for getting a date set for the work, and Joe was upfront about that right away. Once we chose the day, he got a construction guy to take care of all of it within a winter's daylight hours, including door installation and the shifting of the door motor to allow for the bigger door. It was swift, professional, and well done all around. We are thrilled with the results and the price of the whole job, considering a quote we got from another company just to replace the original 7x8 door was $520. We would highly recommend working with this company!

TheI used Minneapolis Garage to build a custom shed with some very specific requirements.  It was built to the same construction standards as one of their garages.  Joe and Rich were great to work with from start to finish, as well as all the crews- concrete, framing, finishing.  No cutting corners.  I'm very pleased with the completed project, and would not hesitate to use them again in the future.

The timing of the work was later than we expected and so it took longer than promised .  The demolition crew left a bit of a mess, but the team that built the new garage were amazingly tidy and well organised and always cleaned up every day. The quality of the building work is very good and gave us what we needed.  We would certainly recommend them.
Joe and his team were very helpful and when we had concerns they called or came over promptly.  For the final touches they were very flexible and we ended up with exactly what we wanted .

Joe was very good at accommodating special requests, changes and working with the City of St. Paul permit and building department throughout this project. His sub contractors and crews were all excellent. This project planning started about a year ago, and Joe and his office members were excellent in communicating with us throughout the project. Joe Slavic was recommended to us by friends and we would recommend him also.

The work was done professionally.  All workers were polite, worked hard to
finish the garage before an early snowfall, and all extra materials were
cleaned up.  We have used the garage for a year now and all materials
and the structure have stood up well to the changing seasons.  Joe and
his company were very busy last fall and at times it was frustrating to
not get a response without sending a couple of emails or more.  Joe
appointed one of his staff as a customer liaison about halfway through
our garage build and communication improved.  Overall, the experience
was worthwhile.  The garage and roof look professional and are standing
up to the changing seasons and the crew was good to work with.

Joe and his team were hard workers and communicated with us frequently regarding the status. The project from start to finish was way faster than we expected, even with it being a busy time of year for them. We would highly recommend using this company. The work is quality and the price was fair.

Joe, Rich and rest of workers/contractors were great to work with.

Everything went well with the exception of a concrete shortage in the Midwest.  They tried to get the garage done last fall but could not get concrete.  They made a great effort to move me up on their list but just couldn't get it done - no fault of theirs.
Great to work with and once the job started everything went smoothly.

Joe and his team were amazing. Joe was very thorough with his bid and estimate of our project. There were absolutely no surprises. When we needed to make changes or additions to the project, Joe updated the contracted immediately. We were so impressed by how responsive and professional this company was. We underwent a remodel inside our house during the same time, and that experience was AWFUL!! I only wish the other company was as wonderful as Minneapolis Garage Builders!!!!!

Had an initial meeting with me to review the project, the owner was very knowledgeable in knowing exactly where to put the garage that would be easiest on the budget (which was a request I had).  Once the work started, they kept me aware of what was happening at every step.  Project took 3 weeks to complete, there was some rain which delayed the project a few days.  

I would highly recommend this company!

I recommended the company to a friend who is now currently using them to build his garage & he as been happy with the process so far!

While they got a late start, once work started, things went fast. We had a two add-ons that went seamlessly