Opinions on Steel Buildings

[ME83]

My fiance has a Morton building, she owns a horse farm. The building is 72 x 300' and is about 25-30 years old. She bought the place about 4 years ago and has put nothing towards the building itself. It is built very well and the only problem we will have to fix is the coating on the roof is starting to flake off. They use a different coating now that is suppose to be much better, but because the barn changed ownership they won't recoat the roof under warrenty. They told us the best they can do is sell us the paint or enamel at a discount. The roof isn't rusting or anything, so we will leave it alone for now. We do live close to the Berkshires, so we get a lot of snow but we don't get tornadoes.

[David Ferguson]

When they put up my metal building, the man-doors were pre-hung/framed. They just attached them to the girts (or is it purlins?) along the side of the building. The girt height was the same as the top of the doors. Only windows and roll-up doors had special framing requirements.

Windows and doors are typically "field located", that is the exact location doesn't go on the plans, and you determine where you want them on site.

[MtnViewRanch]

Originally Posted by Barneyhunts

What are the reasons people go with steel buildings vs a stick built structure, ie, 2x4 or 2x6 frame on 16" or 24" centers, truss and plywood with asphalt shingle roof, etc. I've been looking at both in my area for a 30'w x40'l x 10'h(wall) building and the prices are comparable????
Thanks,
Barney

I have been looking for awhile now myself. For what I want, steel is less than half of wood. I really want wood, but reality is setting in and it looks like I am going to have to go steel.

[landinista]

I wasn't as brave or skillfull as the rest of the folks in this post - I purchased a steel building and hired someone else to put it up because I knew it would be too much of a handful for me. We've got a 16'x32'long unit and built the front with traditional dimensional lumber and a 10' wide x 9' high steel sectional door to make tractor movements easier. A garage-door opener is next on the list.

While I don't mind the industrial look, be prepared for lots of condensation in winter and some summer days if you don't insulate (spray foam would probably be best). The inside surface will otherwise ice-up in winter. The building wasn't super cheap especially since I also had someone else put it up, and I needed foundations for it being in frost-country.

I sometimes wish that I had gone to traditional stick building with vinyl siding and asphalt shingles. I think it would look much better, no condensation, and easier to customize (mezzanines, shelves, etc.). Steel is probably safer for fires but more at risk for lightning strikes (if that scares anyone besides me).

[Foozle]

I'm getting ready to start figuring all this stuff out as well in order to build a storage facility for my boat, tractor, etc. I have a good friend who is a builder and he is telling me that a steel building would be much more expensive than a wood building because of the significant increase in the cost of metal. Does this make sense? I know commodity prices have increased a lot lately, in part because of higher oil prices, but a previous post said that the metal building was cheaper than wood, so I'm a bit confused on that point.

[MtnViewRanch]

Originally Posted by Foozle

I'm getting ready to start figuring all this stuff out as well in order to build a storage facility for my boat, tractor, etc. I have a good friend who is a builder and he is telling me that a steel building would be much more expensive than a wood building because of the significant increase in the cost of metal. Does this make sense? I know commodity prices have increased a lot lately, in part because of higher oil prices, but a previous post said that the metal building was cheaper than wood, so I'm a bit confused on that point.

I think that it makes a difference on what size and style that you want. The barn that I want and have priced is almost on the big side. It has a raised center section with windows to let light in below. I am trying to have it look as if it is 100 years old or so and that is not so easy with a metal building. I have priced out the same building three ways. All steel, all wood, and steel framing with wood siding. All steel is the least costly with all wood being double the steel and the wood over steel framing is about 35% more than the all steel building. I most likely will go with the wood over steel and at least have my barn look good on the outside.

Now if you do a stick built barn and T111 the walls, then that will certainly lower the costs of the wood. All of my wood is planking and costs are more. All of my most recent pricing is from March. I have prices from two years ago and they have only gone up about 5-7%.

I hope that this may help in some way.

Good luck

[HappyCPE]

Originally Posted by Foozle

I'm getting ready to start figuring all this stuff out as well in order to build a storage facility for my boat, tractor, etc. I have a good friend who is a builder and he is telling me that a steel building would be much more expensive than a wood building because of the significant increase in the cost of metal. Does this make sense? I know commodity prices have increased a lot lately, in part because of higher oil prices, but a previous post said that the metal building was cheaper than wood, so I'm a bit confused on that point.

Generally wood has gone down in price due to the huge slump in home building. Steel has gone up due to energy costs, the mine owners demanding more $ for the ore, China, and all the other usual suspects. That said, you should research both types and make sure you get what you need. I believe that the bigger the building the more attractive steel becomes.

If you are trying to build a place that has some eye appeal, or looks traditional, you're talking wood. The labor and material that go into the details drive the price way up, but at least you can acheive the look; steel is utilitarian, and that's it.

There's a labor component to this as well; some contractors have the metal thing figured out and run it like an assembly line. Conversely the Amish do the wood thing around here very well.

[MtnViewRanch]

Originally Posted by HappyCPE

Generally wood has gone down in price due to the huge slump in home building. Steel has gone up due to energy costs, the mine owners demanding more $ for the ore, China, and all the other usual suspects. That said, you should research both types and make sure you get what you need. I believe that the bigger the building the more attractive steel becomes.

If you are trying to build a place that has some eye appeal, or looks traditional, you're talking wood. The labor and material that go into the details drive the price way up, but at least you can acheive the look; steel is utilitarian, and that's it.

There's a labor component to this as well; some contractors have the metal thing figured out and run it like an assembly line. Conversely the Amish do the wood thing around here very well.

Actually a metal building can be made to look like an old traditional wood barn from a distance to the common by-passer. Adds a lot to the cost of the building though and most people just don't want to pay the extra amount just for looks.

[bindian]

I'm using Mueller. Go 26 guage on the roof. I'm just down the road from them also.
hugs, Brandi

[rayh76]

Has anyone dealt with American Duro I-beam buildings? I sure would LOVE to get the tractor out of the the attached garage and my wife would be happy also. I was searching on Ebay and I found the AmerDuro buildings there. Looks reasonable but shipping may be high for me. Any thoughts? Thanks.