Morton Buildings Worth It??

[FrogLick]

Correction, that last line should read "Contingency" fee.

 

[FrogLick]

Those change orders did result in an additional $900 on top of the original price. The manager/salesman claimed that he wrote off some of the additional expenses without really considering the "contingency" fee to come up with a figure that he thought was fair. He accepted no responsibility for not writing the order specs. correctly (or following up with the plant) to assure that things were as we discussed in detail before signing the contract, but did acknowledge that the Morton computer specification program had some deficiencies that could mislead the less experienced and that the plant didn't question anything submitted that seemed odd or unusual.

Since the "contingency" fee would not have been deducted from my final payment had everything gone without any problems, it's my view that it's just additional profit built into their pricing and prehaps recognition on Morton's part that systematic errors are not all that uncommon. Perhaps they've grown too large and operationally complex and developed a system wide CYA mentality?

I will say that the building is constructed with first rate commercial grade materials and the construction crew was very professional. There were also a couple of minor surprises on some of the options I included that I didn't expect for the superior building Morton claims and their premium pricing. Would I go with Morton again? I'm proud of the final product but would think long and hard about using a smaller, more local builder before making that decision again. For those with more "standard" size requirements and perhaps not considering quite as many customization options, Morton's new "Country Craft" line would be a good choice with a much more competitive price.

 

[eric5899]

Just wanted to add onto this thread since it helped me in researching buildings and making a decision. I received bids back from two post frame builders and two fabric hoop builders. My building size is 2880 square feet. The biggest surprise was the fabric buildings were more than steel buildings even thought they claimed to be less than a traditional building. ClearSpan which looks inexpensive for the base package ended up being almost double the price of a steel building once they added endwalls and doors. So then I was down to Wick and Morton. The Wick bid was $28k and the Morton was $34k. I have one Wick already so I knew it was a good building. I gave the Morton rep several opportunities to get closer to Wick or even explain where I get $6k more building but he couldn't come up with anything but saleman one-liners. "We don't cheapen our buildings to compete on price" and "Don't be so hard on yourself, spend the money and get a Morton". I told him if he could get close, I'd give him the contract but he never moved a dime from his first price. Plus, he was hard selling nails even though the Morton brochure says their stainless screws were part of the Morton difference. He said if I had to have screws, it would be an extra $1k. Wick only uses screws. Anyway, thanks for everyone that contributed to the thread. It really helped me in my search.

 

[sixdogs]

This is a really old thread, and I may well have posted earlier but I have since built a Walters barn to go with my Mortin barn plus have met some Amish builders as well so may have a new view.

Morton is a nice building and a good deal if you get a great and advertised price from a farm show come-on ad and don't change a single thing is the design of it. Not one thing and build it in their off season of late fall. I would use them on the terms stated earlier and remember they, like all builders, have a high cost and low cost version. I am 100% happy because I built a farm show package on their terms and made no changes.

Walters is a great building at an excelent price and I am 100% happy. They had a great crew and even though I built their lower cost version, was treated very respectfully. I would use them again.

Since then I have seen a number of Amish built barns and the quality and price was excellent or better. This would now be my first choice if I was in an area they were and if I had seen work they had done. And while we are at it, remeber to build a barn that's waaaayyy bigger than you need. Time has a way of changing expectations.

 

[Cpjlube]

Walters built our 36x63 several years ago. Nice building. I was satisfied with the whole process. Didn't experience too much up charge. But I was pretty specific about what we wanted.

Chuck

 

[robot]

I don't recommend a Lester Building at all. Lester Bldgs. engineered my building and recommended one of their Dealer/Builders telling me that they do "Good Work". What I got was that Lester Bldgs. shorted me on drip stop and exterior plywood and engineered the plywood incorrectly. Their Lester Dealer/Builder built my building in less than 10 days and left town, weeks later we had our first rain at which time I found that I had 25 leaks in my roof, I had puddles all over inside my building. This Lester Builder/Dealer told me that if they had to come back for anything it would be a $500 minimum so I got up on the roof myself and found that they had installed the roof screws which didn't even hit the Purlins, I fixed all that myself. It took me 2 years to finish and move into my building at which time the more serious problems were found. 8 Roof Purlins not nailed, not one nail holding them in place which would explain why on windy nights it sounded like my roof was going to blow off. Gaps/Openings in my roof valleys that caused my attic insulation to be blown away and rain coming in. Bird Blocks not installed, blocks that were installed were not nailed, not one nail in them. A lot of the soffit pieces only had one staple holding it on. Facia boards barely on the Truss, nails missing the Truss. I paid an Amish Crew from Graber Bldgs. just weeks ago to come in and fix my building problems, but I first called Lester Bldgs out for help, but after they discussed it with Lester Bldgs. Upper Management they advised that they feel no responsibility for any issues on my building and also its out of the 1 year warranty. My building issues were done in the initial Lester engineering and construction of my building by both Lester Buildings and the Lester Dealer/Builder that they told me did "Good Work", so I don't recommend buying a Lester Building at all, you may end up going thru what I had to deal with.

 

[paulharvey]

I don't recommend a Lester Building at all. Lester Bldgs. engineered my building and recommended one of their Dealer/Builders telling me that they do "Good Work". What I got was that Lester Bldgs. shorted me on drip stop and exterior plywood and engineered the plywood incorrectly. Their Lester Dealer/Builder built my building in less than 10 days and left town, weeks later we had our first rain at which time I found that I had 25 leaks in my roof, I had puddles all over inside my building. This Lester Builder/Dealer told me that if they had to come back for anything it would be a $500 minimum so I got up on the roof myself and found that they had installed the roof screws which didn't even hit the Purlins, I fixed all that myself. It took me 2 years to finish and move into my building at which time the more serious problems were found. 8 Roof Purlins not nailed, not one nail holding them in place which would explain why on windy nights it sounded like my roof was going to blow off. Gaps/Openings in my roof valleys that caused my attic insulation to be blown away and rain coming in. Bird Blocks not installed, blocks that were installed were not nailed, not one nail in them. A lot of the soffit pieces only had one staple holding it on. Facia boards barely on the Truss, nails missing the Truss. I paid an Amish Crew from Graber Bldgs. just weeks ago to come in and fix my building problems, but I first called Lester Bldgs out for help, but after they discussed it with Lester Bldgs. Upper Management they advised that they feel no responsibility for any issues on my building and also its out of the 1 year warranty. My building issues were done in the initial Lester engineering and construction of my building by both Lester Buildings and the Lester Dealer/Builder that they told me did "Good Work", so I don't recommend buying a Lester Building at all, you may end up going thru what I had to deal with.

If you had all these issues, you really should have raised them before final release on payment. I'm not blaming you for a bad contractor, but as the owner, you really need to look at the work before paying.

 

[robot]

Paul, If you don't know that these issues exist, you can't hold payment. I didn't find the 25 leaks in my roof until the first rain, which was weeks after this Lester Bldgs. Dealer/Builder left town. The other issues would not be found until moving into my building which took me 2 years to complete and move into. I put my complete faith into Lester Buildings which was a mistake on my part.

 

[LesterBuildings]

The customer should review the building with the builder before the builder leaves. Most builders offer a one-year workmanship warranty. Customers should contact their builder if they see any workmanship issues during the first few months of it being up.

 

[dave1949]

The customer should review the building with the builder before the builder leaves. Most builders offer a one-year workmanship warranty. Customers should contact their builder if they see any workmanship issues during the first few months of it being up.

This is a pet peeve of mine: Why should a person hire a builder if their work needs to be inspected? By whom? The customer who thinks they are paying for good craftsmanship because they don't know how to build it themselves? But they should be knowledgeable enough to inspect a professional's work?

That makes no sense. Why isn't the building company, Lester or whoever, inspecting the work to protect their own interests, let alone the customer's? You wouldn't have to be here defending your company if you used sensible and fair business practices IMO.