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Building your own garage can save up to 70% of the project cost, or $10,500 on average. However, we don’t advise a total DIY because it can be incredibly dangerous. You can save money by helping out with some aspects, like installing siding or building interior shelving, but you should at least leave planning, foundation work, framing, roofing, and any electrical or plumbing work to professionals.

Yes, home builders need to be licensed in every state and municipality in the country. The specific license required varies based on the location and the work, but most states require that the builder hold a general contractor’s license at minimum. Some states and cities also require that plumbing, electrical, roofing, and sewage system construction require individual licenses, in which case the builder may subcontract the work. You can use Angi’s contractor licensing tool to confirm that the builder you’re considering holds all the proper licenses.

It is a good idea to check in with your local city and state regulations before committing to building a shipping container home no matter where you live. This concept is pretty new across the country, and many places won’t let you build one.

The International Code Council (ICC) offers guidelines for home builders on the safe use of ISO intermodal shipping containers repurposed as building components, which can be helpful to review when planning or designing a shipping container home.

If you're handy, you may want to take on building a garage as a do-it-yourself project. However, whether it's a good idea to build a garage on your own or not depends on the type of structure you want to build and local permitting laws. If you want to work with a pre-fab structure, you may be able to DIY. However, if laying a foundation is involved, you're better off working with a professional builder.