If you want a garage you can actually use all year (a workshop, gym or home for a car you care about) the old assumption is that brick is the “proper” way to build it. In 2026 that’s worth a second look. A modern insulated steel-frame building — the engineered end of what’s loosely called a metal garage — has 100mm PIR insulated walls and roof, is made off-site and installed once your base is ready — and, unlike brick, you can take it with you if you move.
Here’s an honest, like-for-like comparison of the three ways to add a garage: an insulated steel-frame (sandwich-panel) building, a brick or block build, and a concrete sectional garage.
The three options in plain terms
- Insulated steel-frame garage: a precision steel frame clad in 100mm PIR insulated sandwich panels (a rigid insulation core bonded between two steel skins). Manufactured off-site, delivered and bolted together on a prepared base. VeltHaven’s insulated garages start at £23,950 fully installed; the base is extra.
- Brick or block build — traditional masonry, built on site by trades. Solid and familiar, and uninsulated unless you insulate it separately. A single brick garage typically costs £22,000–£30,000 (MyBuilder, updated August 2026), with insulation and electrics listed as additions to that build cost.
- Concrete sectional — pre-cast concrete panels bolted together: single-skin, uninsulated, and utilitarian to look at.
Cost
A brick garage is built on site by skilled trades, on footings dug for masonry. A single brick garage typically costs £22,000–£30,000 (MyBuilder, updated August 2026), with insulation and electrics listed as additions to that build cost. A concrete sectional isn’t really comparable on specification: it’s a single-skin, uninsulated shell.
VeltHaven’s insulated steel-frame garages start at £23,950 fully installed, including delivery and an insulated automatic sectional door; the base is extra: a guide price from your site photos, then a firm quote after our contractor’s site visit, before you pay your balance. Compare the quotes like for like: what each includes (base, insulation, door, electrics) and how long each takes. (Full price grids in our garage cost guide.)
Build time and disruption
A brick garage is built on site, by trades, in your garden. An insulated steel-frame building is manufactured off-site and bolted together on your base. Installation time, once your base is ready: a steel garage usually 1–2 days, an insulated garage or garden room 1–3 days, weather permitting. A concrete sectional is also bolted together on a prepared base, as a single-skin, uninsulated building.
Foundations and groundwork
Brick needs substantial footings to carry the masonry. A steel-frame building is lighter and is anchored to a level slab. Either way, VeltHaven gives you a guide price for the base from your site photos, then a firm quote after our contractor’s site visit, before you pay your balance (see our groundwork guide), so there are no surprises on installation day. Our free base guide breaks down the slab sizes and concrete grades behind both.
Insulation and condensation
A bare brick or concrete garage is uninsulated, and on single-skin walls damp air can condense on the cold surface, which is bad news for tools and cars. To insulate brick you have to insulate and line it as a separate job.
A VeltHaven insulated garage has 100mm PIR insulated panels in the walls and roof, so the insulation is part of the building rather than a job for afterwards. Heating is a separate choice: Climate Comfort, a Daikin heat pump for heating and cooling, is an option at extra cost.
Durability and maintenance
Brick is famously long-lasting, and that’s a fair point in its favour. But a quality steel-frame, steel-skinned building is also built for decades of everyday use, with a low-maintenance finish that doesn’t need repointing or repainting like masonry can. VeltHaven backs its garages with the 10-Year Structural Warranty (2 years full warranty + structural cover to year 10) — does not affect your statutory rights.
Planning
All three are usually permitted development when set back from your boundaries and within the height limits, with the same rules applying regardless of construction — though it always depends on size, position and your property, and differs in conservation areas. See our planning guide.
Can you move it?
Only one of the three. A brick or concrete garage is built in place and stays there. If you move home, you leave it behind. An insulated steel-frame building bolts together rather than being poured, so it can be dismantled and reassembled. For many owners that’s a genuine advantage: the building is an asset that can move with you, not a fixture you gift to the next owner.
Side by side
| Insulated steel-frame | Brick / block | Concrete sectional | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | from £23,950 installed (base extra) | £22,000–£30,000 for a single (MyBuilder, August 2026) | Quotes vary by supplier |
| Insulated | Yes (100mm PIR walls and roof) | Only if insulated separately | No (single-skin) |
| Installation | Bolted together once your base is ready | Built on site by trades | Varies by supplier |
| Foundations | Level slab (quoted separately) | Deep footings | Heavy base |
| Where it’s made | Off-site, bolted together on your base | On site, by trades | Pre-cast off-site, bolted together |
| Relocatable | Yes | No | No |
| Look | Clean, architectural | Traditional masonry | Utilitarian |
When brick or concrete still makes sense
To be fair to the alternatives: if you specifically want a masonry building that matches a brick house, or you’re building an integral garage as part of the home under the same roof, brick is the natural choice. And if you only need the cheapest possible dry shell for storage and don’t care about warmth or looks, a concrete sectional will do it for less up front. If you want an insulated garage you’ll actually use, compare an insulated steel-frame building with an insulated brick build like for like: what each includes (base, insulation, door, electrics) and how long each takes.
Steel vs brick FAQs
Do steel garages rust?
A quality steel building’s frame is supplied galvanised or powder-coated to protect it — the finish needs no repointing or repainting, just an occasional wash. The rust risk people actually encounter is condensation inside cheap uninsulated metal sheds; our insulated garages have 100mm PIR insulated walls and roof.
Is a brick garage worth the extra money?
If you want masonry that matches a brick house, or an integral garage under the same roof — yes, that’s what brick is for. For an insulated standalone building, an insulated steel-frame garage arrives with its insulation built in. Compare the quotes like for like: what each includes (base, insulation, door, electrics) and how long each takes.
Does a steel-frame garage need planning permission?
The same permitted development rules apply regardless of construction — steel, brick or concrete. Most detached garages within height limits and set back from boundaries qualify; see our planning guide.
Our planning permission for a garage guide covers the full rules, including the SUV and VAN height cases.
Can you really move a steel garage?
Yes: it bolts together rather than being poured or laid, so it can be dismantled and reassembled at a new property. Budget for new groundwork at the destination and professional disassembly; it’s a real option brick simply doesn’t have.
If you only remember one thing
For a garage you’ll work in, train in, or keep something you care about in, an insulated steel-frame building gives you 100mm PIR insulated walls and roof, installed once your base is ready, and the freedom to take it with you. Brick wins on matching a masonry home; concrete wins on price for an uninsulated shell.
See the insulated garage range, compare it with our steel line in Steel vs Insulated Garage, or build and price yours in a few minutes — free, no site visit needed. Your deposit is fully refundable until you pay your balance.
Every VeltHaven building is delivered and installed by a UK-registered company (Companies House 17261887), with the VeltHaven 10-Year Structural Warranty (2 years full warranty + structural cover to year 10). Does not affect your statutory rights.
