Steel Building

[legion]

If I were to buy that house out in the country, I'd want to replace the collapsing shed with a steel building. I don't need anything huge, I was thinking like 40' x 40' on a concrete pad. What could I expect to pay for such a building? I know there are companies like General Steel that will drop off the materials for you to assemble yourself...

[Seahawk]

A friend of mine just had a 40/20 pole barn built, wrapped in metal, metal roof, all wood trussed with open space below.

I can get a price if you like...he did not concrete, however.

I'm thinking it was under 25k.

[Turboo934]

Bought a 30x40 5 years ago for $7500, todays prices about 13K or more. Cost 28K to construct with slab.

[Turboo934]

[legion]

What about these companies that just deliver the materials and you build it yourself?

Is that realistic?

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by legion

What about these companies that just deliver the materials and you build it yourself?

Is that realistic?

I think so, but you would have to factor in the price of rental tools (lift, concrete stuff, etc.) and you'll need helping hands.

I helped a guy build a steel kit about ten years ago but I got there after the main structure was up. All I did was help bolt/screw the siding on.

He was very satisfied. I don't remember the kit name. There are some really nice kits on the market, designed for each area of the country and to local codes.

If you have the time and the skill, I'd give it a whirl.

[Dueller]

Originally Posted by legion

What about these companies that just deliver the materials and you build it yourself?

Is that realistic?

You'll see ads for metal buildings for $10-15 sf...but that is just the materials dropped off. Then you have to do foundation work, wiring, plumbing, insulation, interior rooms, overhead doors, windows, skylights yadadadada. I think you're really looking at $35-40 sf in materials before you're done. If you've got hands on construction experience you might could put it up yourself but even then you'll have to hire a crew. Not for the faint of heart.

Sooooo....has the wife relented and wanna be a country girl now?

[p930man]

I had a 40x40 General Steel put up about three years ago. They will do the design for
your specs. Since I live in a potential Hurrican area, I had to have it be able to withstand
120 mph winds. My building is built like the perverbial brick sh-t house. The I-beams are very
heavy and a lift or crane was needed to construct the frame. They will make you a deal
on inventory that other people backed out on. I had major elevation problems for the
slab +/- 6' from corner to corner so the slab and fill and retaining walls became major expenses.
Do not buy window or door from them, because this is where they take you to the cleaners.
My shop has four windows that they charged me $600 each, but you can purchase the same
window at Homo Depot for $102. The same issue with the doors etc.

My Building was +/- 30k, but after construction and all added expenses, site work, lots of
concret , driveway, ac, heat, sink, insulation, the cost was around +/- 80k.

Regards p930man

[legion]

Originally Posted by Dueller

Sooooo....has the wife relented and wanna be a country girl now?

No. She just wants cost estimates for my "improvements" up front.

She also wants to add on to the house, but I can get a better estimate from a local contractor for that.

[Dueller]

Originally Posted by legion

No. She just wants cost estimates for my "improvements" up front.

She also wants to add on to the house, but I can get a better estimate from a local contractor for that.

Chris...what is the semi-rural RE market like up there. You're almost putting yourself into the 300K market range by the time you add outbuildings, additiions/improvement to existing places. I would think there are places that would make you both happy, but not in the low 200K range.

I know around here were seeing older folks downsizing and moving back into town....just curious what's going on up there.

[legion]

We'd probably do the additions/improvement over several decades, not right away. The steel building would probably be in the first 5 years. The addition would be somewhere in the next ten years.

Things out in the country don't seem to be moving right now. We have an older couple from Saybrook (small town north of Champaign and straight east of here) coming to look at our house on Saturday. They want to move back into town. The couple selling the house we found out of town are older, but I don't know where they are moving to.

Before Christmas, entry-level houses in town were hot. After Christmas, it flipped and suddenly houses in the price range we are looking got hot, though with ones out of town moving slower.

[porsche4life]

Unless you've got some really good friends and some building skillz I wouldn't attempt a kit...

[red-beard]

Chris, I can help you find the tools to do the job, 'cause you know you're gonna need a small bulldozer and backhoe loader, if you do it yourself!

"But honey, I need a bulldozer to level the foundation. Plus I can use it to create that pond you've always wanted!"

[legion]

Originally Posted by red-beard

Chris, I can help you find the tools to do the job, 'cause you know you're gonna need a small bulldozer and backhoe loader, if you do it yourself!

"But honey, I need a bulldozer to level the foundation. Plus I can use it to create that pond you've always wanted!"

I already have a concrete contractor that did my patio in mind. I think the pad alone would run around $10,000. The shed that it is replace already has electricity, so I'd hire a contractor to put in the main panel and do the rest myself.

My only real concern is erecting the steel frame and what I'd need for that. I also don't know if I would have to have studs put in the concrete to attach the frame to pre- or post-pour.

[not sharp]

Last one I purchase was $10.00 a square foot. Not including footing or pad etc.
It was insulated wall & roof, two 16'x12' doors, 8'x8' dock door, and a man door.

[The Gaijin]

Like most stuff built today, these buildings are butt ugly.

I don't mean just the galvanized finish or the colored steel (which is no plus..).

I mean the ugly dimensions and lack of any detail..

You can drive around most of this country and look at 100+ year old collapsing barns and see a pretty line, some sort of dignity. Proportion, balance, a little effort not to blot the landscape..

These are the rust heaps of the future. The whole country is turning into a post-Soviet eastern Europe (minus the Medieval cities) and we hardly notice it..

[porsche4life]

Really? The looks don't bother me... You try building something fancy on a budget.... Ain't happening... These are FUNCTIONAL buildings... Don't need something fancy to spin wrenches in....

[The Gaijin]

Old barns are not FUNCTIONAL? Please.

The same excuses were made in the USSR!

I am not talking fancy - just some attention to detail and good architecture.

[porsche4life]

They are perfectly functional... But to recreated that look now.... Well most of us can't afford it... and I can't just make and old barn magically appear.... And good architecture? Its a damn SHOP it has no need to be decorative....


Seriously.... Go back to smoking your hippie plants and stay outta this.....

[The Gaijin]

I am not suggesting a stone foundation and post and beam timbers and quarter sawn siding..

".. I'd want to replace the collapsing shed with a steel building. I don't need anything huge.."

If the OP was not looking for some ideas, he would have not posted this subject matter on a public BB.