What is the difference between a prefab and a site-built garage?
The short answer
A prefab garage is built completely at our Penrose shop and delivered fully assembled, usually with no delivery fee across most of Colorado. A site-built garage is built as sections in the same shop by the same crew and erected at your property, which adds on-site construction at $6.50 per square foot with a $550 minimum. We compare both in prefab vs. site-built 1-car garage.
Materials, framing standards, crew, and warranty are the same either way. The only real difference is how the building reaches your property — and what your access, foundation, and wall height allow.
- Prefab: completely built in our shop, hauled in, set and shimmed so doors operate correctly.
- Site-built: wall sections and trusses built in the same shop, then erected at your property.
- Cost: fully assembled typically has no delivery fee across most of Colorado; on-site construction is $6.50 per square foot with a $550 minimum.
- When site-built wins: tight access, a foundation-first installation, or taller walls.
The full comparison, including timelines and permitting, is in prefab vs. site-built 1-car garage. Access limits are covered in shed delivery in Colorado.