Want to put up a shop..

[Arc weld]

I'm looking at getting a shop built and could use some of you guys experience. I'm leaning toward a pole building because no concrete is needed. I can't afford a concrete floor right now anyway. I pretty confident the new laminated poles will last indefinitely and from what I can figure are quite a bit cheaper than putting in a grade beam for a metal building. I looked at fabric buildings but they seem to have gone up in price quite a bit from a few years ago. Originally I thought a 30x40 would be adequate. Price installed is $16-17,000! I was a farm show and got one quote for a 30x42 pole barn with 12'x12' door for $29,500. A couple other places said to figure about $25/sq.ft. Another place said about $20/sq.ft. but had a quote sheet at the show of $38,866 for 40x60 with a 14'x14' insulated door with chain hoist and a walk in door. This seemed like a way better deal, $16.025/sq.ft. I know it's cheaper per sq.ft. the bigger you go and I need to get a quote from them for a 30x40 but if they come in under $20/sq.ft. would seem like a way better deal than the fabric building but maybe going twice as big for not much more money is the better option? The pictures on their brochure look like very well built pole sheds. Is it common one place can be so much cheaper or are some places just lining their pockets? They all look well built. I have some stuff in a storage lot and had I known I would have put up a shop a long time ago. They keep raising the rates every 6 month's. I think the payments on the building won't be much more than the storage charges if I put a good down payment on the building. Is it better to put the building on the mortgage or to just take out a 5 or 6 year personal loan? Will a better building appreciate in value when I sell the property down the road? I don't live at the property but need a place to store and work on equipment. A couple guys suggested the DIY metal buildings you bolt together cause they're cheaper but I'm not real sold on those.
Just looking for your guys thoughts on putting up a building and what to look for.

 

[NewfieDan]

What will you be doing in the shop? Going by your screen name I would think that you may be doing some welding? Would a fabric building be the best idea with that?

As for me I would get a personal line of credit to finance. The rate is usually close to that of a mortgage. And once you have the credit it can be used for anything you want.

A more permanent building is more likely to appreciate more in value for resale at a later date. A fabric building is great for storage but they are not really designed to be a work shop. Too easy to get into for my taste.

What about wind? Is there a lot of wind where you are? Will the fabric hold up well enough? Or will it need repairs on a regular basis?

Can you get a larger door? Think down the road, will you want to store larger equipment/vehicles than a 12x12 door will allow? For example I have a a fifth wheel, but when I built my garage I only had a tow behind that was much lower. I wish now I had a 14ft high door. This is only food for thought.

My work shop originally had water issues. A grade beam will help to stop that. The original owner here never had it done. After about 9-10 yrs I had to put one in. Would have been cheaper and easier to put in first.

I lived in Alberta for 25yrs. Will you be working there in winter? Any heat needed? It can also be warm in summer. Will you want to open the door for a draft to help keep cool or to vent welding smoke?

 

[GPintheMitten]

Have you thought about building it yourself? I built a couple of pole barns with some help from friends. You can get a lot done on a couple of long weekends, or take a week off for a work/vacation.

 

[wolftree]

Make the doors at least one foot taller than you think you need, preferably two feet. Design for adding a shed roof on at least one side at a later date.

 

[flusher]

My 24x42 ft steel shop building cost $16K when I had it built in 2005. Includes two 10x10 ft roll up doors, 1 man door, one window, 12 ft tall walls.



Concrete floor (6" thick, #4 rebar on 24" x 24" grid, 4000 psi concrete) and outside concrete apron cost $6K.

Good luck

 

[KennyG]

Flusher, it looks like you've got several projects going at the same time. what is the old tractor?

 

[flusher]

Flusher, it looks like you've got several projects going at the same time. what is the old tractor?

That's a 1951 Minneapolis Moline BF wide front high crop tractor. That photo was taken a few years ago. The restoration was pretty much completed late last year. That tractor along with all my other tractors were sold last December while my place was in escrow. Sale was completed in mid-Jan this year and I moved back to the city.

 

[s219]

My 24x42 ft steel shop building cost $16K when I had it built in 2005. Includes two 10x10 ft roll up doors, 1 man door, one window, 12 ft tall walls.

View attachment 419310View attachment 419311View attachment 419312View attachment 419313

Concrete floor (6" thick, #4 rebar on 24" x 24" grid, 4000 psi concrete) and outside concrete apron cost $6K.

Good luck

That is a nice building, but it looks like you should have built it 84 feet long instead of 42! I know my barn should have been at least 50% bigger, but at the time it was already 4X bigger than the old one!

 

[rogerius]

I'm looking at getting a shop built and could use some of you guys experience. I'm leaning toward a pole building because no concrete is needed. I can't afford a concrete floor right now anyway. I pretty confident the new laminated poles will last indefinitely and from what I can figure are quite a bit cheaper than putting in a grade beam for a metal building. I looked at fabric buildings but they seem to have gone up in price quite a bit from a few years ago. Originally I thought a 30x40 would be adequate. Price installed is $16-17,000! I was a farm show and got one quote for a 30x42 pole barn with 12'x12' door for $29,500. A couple other places said to figure about $25/sq.ft. Another place said about $20/sq.ft. but had a quote sheet at the show of $38,866 for 40x60 with a 14'x14' insulated door with chain hoist and a walk in door. This seemed like a way better deal, $16.025/sq.ft. I know it's cheaper per sq.ft. the bigger you go and I need to get a quote from them for a 30x40 but if they come in under $20/sq.ft. would seem like a way better deal than the fabric building but maybe going twice as big for not much more money is the better option? The pictures on their brochure look like very well built pole sheds. Is it common one place can be so much cheaper or are some places just lining their pockets? They all look well built. I have some stuff in a storage lot and had I known I would have put up a shop a long time ago. They keep raising the rates every 6 month's. I think the payments on the building won't be much more than the storage charges if I put a good down payment on the building. Is it better to put the building on the mortgage or to just take out a 5 or 6 year personal loan? Will a better building appreciate in value when I sell the property down the road? I don't live at the property but need a place to store and work on equipment. A couple guys suggested the DIY metal buildings you bolt together cause they're cheaper but I'm not real sold on those.
Just looking for your guys thoughts on putting up a building and what to look for.

The same here in Ontario, ridiculous quotes. I was looking for quotes to build a pole barn 32x40 and the range was between 30K to 45K so I decide to build myself this year. You mentioned about laminated poles; where did you find that? I check around here and not available in Canada.

 

[jwayne14]

I looked at fabric buildings but they seem to have gone up in price quite a bit from a few years ago.

A couple guys suggested the DIY metal buildings you bolt together cause they're cheaper but I'm not real sold on those.

what is a fabric building?
any inputs on the diy bolt together buildings? they are attractively priced.