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Cost of Pre-Fab Metal Buildings?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Harrison, Sep 27, 2010.

  1. Yes, I'm aware of the Garage Journal. This is ultimately much more about building cars though.

    Does anyone have any experience with pre-fabbed metal buildings? I'm curious about the cost of something along the lines of a 30'x50' building.

    Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

    TIA, JH
     
    Last edited: Sep 27, 2010
  2. While I just ragged on someone about using GJ for stuff like this. I'll be watching this one as I am interested in this too. Guess I'm a hypocrite. :rolleyes:
     
  3. BuiltFerComfort
    Joined: Jan 24, 2007
    Posts: 1,619

    BuiltFerComfort
    Member

    I priced them once, too many years ago for the figures to mean anything. Unless you do all the assembly labor yourself, and get a free concrete slab, the prices quoted in the back of guy's magazines are about half what I figured would be needed to finish it.

    I ended up with a local crew making me a pole building, framed with 6x6 or 8x8 poles on 4 foot centers. It was a few thousand less than a metal building, and looked better too.
     
  4. Vimtage Iron
    Joined: Feb 28, 2010
    Posts: 561

    Vimtage Iron
    Member

    Three years ago I built a 50X80, I salvaged the big iron out of another building for 4000.00 saved about 15000, did my own dirt work,concreted about 2/3's of it and all new tin and 3 12x14 doors still have a 100,000 in it, just minimal lighting and a 20x35 toy room on one end, but this is Ca so things are a little higher.
     

  5. Badass
    Joined: Aug 12, 2010
    Posts: 90

    Badass
    Member

    I built a 30'X60' for $25k two years ago. I erected the red iron and subcontracted the slab, siding, roof and door. I took me and a friend four days to bolt together.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  6. Any info on pole barn pricing would be welcome too. I'm not stuck on a metal building.

    JH
     
  7. 39 Ford
    Joined: Jan 22, 2006
    Posts: 1,558

    39 Ford
    Member

    Each one will be different, insulation? wiring, how to heat and or provide air conditioning. Cost of engineering plans ,soil borings if required? Etc.Etc.
     
  8. storm king
    Joined: Oct 16, 2007
    Posts: 1,989

    storm king
    Member

    I built a 30X40 in 1992, it cost me $12,000.00 turn key with windows, garage door, fully insulated, and plumbing stubbed in. One thing to consider is insurance. I'm sure you've seen all the shops that have burned in recent years destroying peoples cars and equipment. Steel is much safer than a wood structure, but also, the cost of insurance is about 1/2 that of a wood building. Look at the long term. Steel is real...
     
  9. fourforeverfours
    Joined: Oct 12, 2007
    Posts: 34

    fourforeverfours
    Member
    from CA

    I'm about have a final inspection for a 24X40 ft (960 sq.ft. per floor) two story shop. It's an Outback Steel Bldg. which has 12 ga. formed columns, beams and trusses. The purlins and joists are 16 ga. A canister roll up door with opener and high bay lighting fixtures (14' ceiling). Various other amenities and it will cost out at approx. $75k. Please take into account that I did not do any of the work as I'm no longer capable of that type of work. I did shop hard for the bldg.(kit?), concrete/labor and the labor to erect the steel. I was fortunate to have two others to do a lot of the finish and electrical that were either out of work or in the case of the electrician, retired due to an injury. I acted as my own contractor and gopher for those working for me. I had plenty to do as it was.

    This is going to be a very good application for me as I'll have a lot of room for a machine shop area, four post lift, compressor on the main floor and an office, storage and wood working area on the second floor. It will service my addiction to Ford AA trucks and keep me out of trouble. It may even provide space for a couple of specalized "retirement businesses".

    Would I go with this style of bldg. again, I would say yes. One item that I choose was the high tech insulation. It has a silver side that faces the siding, a core of foam and a white side that faces the interior. That alone was more than I anticipated. It's not the end all, but it certainly has made a big difference when the weather got hot here. On the second floor it helped, but it was still pretty warm up there. W/o it, it would have been really hot. I did think about doing a pole bldg., but having a second floor would not have been as easy as it was with this particular style of metal bldg. A pole bldg. would lend itself to erection by the owner themselves which would save dollars out of pocket, unless one could make more money at their livelyhood with the same time invested building the shop. One must decide that for themselves.

    I'm going to attempt to post some photos of the shop so that you'll have an idea as to what I have. If anyone has specific questions, please feel free to PM/E-mail me and I'll do the best I can to answer them.
     

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  10. slddnmatt
    Joined: Mar 30, 2006
    Posts: 3,685

    slddnmatt
    Member

    mine was 25k plus the concrete, which was a bit high at the time which came out to about 11k or so for a 50X60. my father-n-law and i put it up, and did the ground work. i see stuff all the time on Craigslist but that could be scary too if you bought something and then couldnt put it up. if you go with a standard size and dont add a bunch of things they are pretty descently priced. the company i used was Steelcore Buildings and i think they were based out of Tennesse i think, although my building did come from Ca. a lot of companies pitch you like carsalesman which is very irritating....
     

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  11. RidgeRunner
    Joined: Feb 9, 2007
    Posts: 906

    RidgeRunner
    Member
    from Western MA

    Re ".......pitch you......"

    If you are going to build it in an area with heavy winter snow loads [check on any local building code requirements] make sure the sales rep knows everything up front before the first quote. Specs [and prices] can vary.

    Ed
     
  12. storm king
    Joined: Oct 16, 2007
    Posts: 1,989

    storm king
    Member

    One thing I'll do next time I build one; paint the red steel with a gloss color before hanging insulatina and siding!
    Good insulation is a must. Even during torential downpours at my shop, the only way I knew it was raining was the water hitting the windows. I had no noise from the roof. That's pretty danged good!
    I alsoheated and cooled the whole place with one large window a/c unit I mounted through a wall.
     
  13. Leevon
    Joined: Oct 5, 2009
    Posts: 400

    Leevon
    Member
    from Nixa, MO

    Exactly what I was going to say. There have been a few nasty storms here in the midwest the last couple of years and there are alot of "new" metal buildings pancaked on the ground due to unusual ice and snow loads. Just because it meets a code (find out which) doesn't mean you're getting what you want/need.

    The manufacturers/erectors are very competitive and play all sorts of games. Pay particularly close attention to panel details, gauge, finishes, warranty, insulation, fasteners, bracing, connections and the scope items they exclude if you're getting one turn-key.

    Best thing to do is spec/design one yourself and secure three good bids, then compare very carefully. Ask lots of questions and get everything in writing. Also, almost all of the big guys have online estimate tools and you can use the MBMA (metal bldg association) as a resource too.
     
  14. junk yard kid
    Joined: Nov 11, 2007
    Posts: 2,718

    junk yard kid
    Member

    I built a workshop out of some connex boxes, I used 20 footers about 20 feet apart with 20 foot beams in between them about 3 feet higher up. Put slanted roofs over the boxes using 2x4s and siding. I also came about 10 feet out in front of the boxes and 10 feet in back and am gunna do more. Off one side i built a 10x20 shed. it was easy to build and cheep. 3000 for the two boxes 3000 in siding 300 or so in beams, and 6000 for concrete. I ended up with 440 sq feet of lockable space. and a 1000 sq of shady out of the rain space. It doesn't get real cold here so i didn't close it in as it would be too hot. works good looks good and was cheep and fast, i could do it all myself with a 110 welder
     
  15. Harrison I helped a friend put up one of those American buildings in the first part of the century. You know the ones that look like a quonset (sp?) hut?

    It was 30x40. Cost of the building was 7K, I don't know what the flat work cost. It took 5 of us all weekend to erect. We had to fab stud walls for the ends at a cost of about 250. I noticed that the price hasn't gone up on them mush. So I'm going to guess in the neighborhood of 10-12K plus flatwork?

    I have a 30x40 pole building that cost 10K from the menonites. That was all the dirt work, 18ft door and wired. But it still has a gravel floor, in my area it'll cost another 5K to pour a floor.

    Hope that helps at least it gives you options.
     
  16. 40streetrod
    Joined: Nov 11, 2007
    Posts: 477

    40streetrod
    Member
    from nj

  17. nacho55
    Joined: Oct 26, 2009
    Posts: 16

    nacho55
    Member

    I am sure you have the room on your property but still check with your building department or county inspector, I had originally started out to build a 30x60 steel building on my 1.25 AC property and called down asking about permits and the un-informed person at the desk told me just to get my plans and bring them in for a permit that it wasnt a big deal to get one in my area... well had to give 3500 to order my plans for the steel building and got down to the city and was told it was too big and i had to jump through hoops to get it finally aproved 8 months later, and still ended up stick building it due to other city concerns and losing 1500 on the plans. long story short i have about 35k in mine with doing a large majority of the work and wiring it myself. the steel kit i was going to order would have been about 5k cheaper with the same effort on my part, but it matches my house like the city and my now ex wife wanted. just something to think about
     
  18. Marking this one, like a territorial pissing! Good info here
     
  19. burnin8
    Joined: Sep 13, 2010
    Posts: 44

    burnin8
    Member
    from Manitoba

    Zipperlock quanset style buildings are super cheap in comparison, are zero maintenance, I have been toying with the idea of building a shop and a home inside of one. Seen it done before. An arch is the strongest most durable type of structure you can build, hands down. http://www.zipperlock.com/

    Anyways, you have other, cheaper alternatives, like a canvas building;[​IMG] This is an outfit in my locale that specializes in this.
    they are metal arches with some crazy strong and durable canvas coverings, which can be insulated and metal clad on the inside. Fairly cheap to maintain. I think most canvas covers have a 25 to 30 year life span in areas like here in MB where we have extreme temps. Cheaper to replace than re-shingling a wood structure.

    Hope this gives you a couple more options if you have a tight budget.
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2010
  20. farmboat
    Joined: Aug 13, 2006
    Posts: 287

    farmboat
    Member
    from Lucas, KY

    Come help me finish my 30x50 and I'll tell you the cost.
     
  21. Lobucrod
    Joined: Mar 22, 2006
    Posts: 4,122

    Lobucrod
    Alliance Vendor
    from Texas

    I got a good buddy that will sell you one. Give him a call at 1-800-677-2524. Ask for Bud. He will make you as good a deal on one as anyone can. He's a HAMBer too.
     
  22. I bought my metal from plateau metal sales in crossville tn. 800-468-0149 good
    people .
     
  23. 73RR
    Joined: Jan 29, 2007
    Posts: 7,174

    73RR
    Member

    I bought a 45' x 102' x 19' high 'SteelMaster' a few years back. The building delivered was about $22k and the county regs for foundation required 122cy of concrete...your county rules will likely be different...
    The same basic building is offered by a dozen different companies that just put their name on the bundle so shop around. On smaller 'steel arch' structures you can gain height by putting the steel on a 2-3-4 ft stemwall, but you'll likely need to get an engineer to stamp the plans.
    [​IMG]

    This building has over 15,000 5/16 bolts holding it together...

    .
     
  24. JOECOOL
    Joined: Jan 13, 2004
    Posts: 2,771

    JOECOOL
    Member

    If I can remember how to post a pic, here is mine ,just finishing it up now, 24x32 insulated and wired with tube heat, $11,200 all the work done by me.
     

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  25. hscott
    Joined: Dec 18, 2005
    Posts: 168

    hscott
    Member

    I built the same, mine was US Building out of Boone,NC; 28x30 for 3400.. You can also buy arches later if you want to add on.
     
  26. I had a 30x50 Cleary building[pole barn] with 11 ft side walls put up 2 years ago and the it cost me $11,600 built on my level site.30x50 5-6"thick concrete floor was about $5000 and the insulation R30 walls and R50 ceiling was another $2000.I bought a real good commercial 16x9 insulated overhead door and opener for $1200. I put a 20 ft Space Ray radiant heater in for about $1600 installed and lined the inside and ceiling with steel strong panel for $1500.Wiring was $750 and the bath room was anther $300-400. All said and done $24,000 a couple weekends and a little help from friends. I should have built it BIGGER !!!
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2010
  27. Great info here guys. Thanks so much!

    JH
     
  28. 4406
    Joined: Dec 29, 2009
    Posts: 659

    4406
    Member
    from Oklahoma

    My 40x60 and 16 foot side walls, my property slopes down so had to bring in alot of dirt. The pad is 40x95 1 14x10 door 2 walk through and one 10x8 and plumming for bathroom $48,500.00
     
  29. Buckster
    Joined: May 3, 2010
    Posts: 245

    Buckster
    Member

    I was going to build a garage using a prefab steel unit. I found out I was not allowed that type of building in my area. I ended up building a garage with concrete block. Check your local building codes before you get to far into your project.
     
  30. StinkBug
    Joined: Aug 5, 2010
    Posts: 14

    StinkBug
    Member
    from San Diego

    I just finished my building about a year ago. 40x40 with 16' side walls. Purchased the building from Empire steel buildings, and have been very happy with them. Got it with full insulation, full interior wall panels, 1 10'x10' roll up door, 1 14'x16' roll up (both insulated), 1 walk in door, 1 3x3 window, 1 3x3 wall vent, and 1 10' roof ridge vent. Total for the building was about $23k

    I paid to have the dirt and concrete work done by a friend, which ended up being about $16k total, about $12k in materials. My slab is 6" thick with HUGE footings and a ton of steel, so I'm sure some would come out cheaper, but I wanted to be able to work on anything.

    I also paid the same friend to help me assemble the building. It took us some time, but definitely less than it would have taken us to build anything else this size. Almost everything was done by just the 2 of us.

    Total cost with everything was around 50-55k I think.


    Here's the full gallery of pics of the building construction.
    http://s579.photobucket.com/albums/ss231/stnkbg1/New SFR Shop/

    [​IMG]
     

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