Need advice/suggestions on metal building mfg/install

[leeinmemphis]

Hey everyone,

I have an open air barn that is crammed full of equipment/implements/trailers and I really need to get a building built. I started out thinking a 40x50 but I think I'm probably going to be in the 40x60 range or maybe even a little bigger(with two lean too's on each end). I am planning on keeping the less expensive/implements that being outside won't bother being somewhat in the weather.

I need to put the following items in the barn:
kubota m5040 with loader
tandem axle car hauler trailer 16' plus tongue
20' deck with 5' dovetail gooseneck trailer(probably 30-33' overall length)
5x10 trailer plus tongue
d4 dozer
cat trackhoe(20' digging depth) e30c-I think a little bigger than a full sized backhoe
Utility vehicle
f450 with a 12' flatbed on it

under lean to I need the following:
two disk harrows (one pull type and one 3pt)
auger
front end loader bucket(have two and one will be on tractor)
spreader 3pt
sprayer 3pt
two row planter
spike harrow
tiller

What sized building would you guys recommend for something like this? Also how would you lay out the overhead doors? I am thinking 3 overhead 14' tall doors on one side plus a man door. I would like for the building to have a slab and be fully insulated(including overhead doors). I was wondering if anyone here also had any info on national companies that sell a turn key product? I have a few leads locally but honestly I haven't contacted them yet because I don't know what size I should go with. I don't see me getting anymore equipment and I actually think I'll be ditching the trackhoe in a year or so for just a 3pt backhoe for the tractor. The trackhoe and the dozer could stay outside but if possible I'ld like it all under roof. Any advice/tips would be greatly appreciated.

[EddieWalker]

Your needs are not what most people have, so you might want to consider a more unique building to meet your requirments.

I'd reconsider the two lean too's and orient the building like a storage unit. Put your doors on the long side so you can pull in and out with everything. Long and thin or put doors on both sides. Doors will get really expesensive, but I'd price it both ways. Thinner and longer with allot of doors on one side, versus wider with doors on both sides.

For the tracked vehicles, I'd extend the roofline out to cover them, and park them on dirt or gravel. You can put up walls on one or two sides to partially enclose it down the road, but it's not an expense you need to consider right away.

If you make it long and thin, you might think about wood. With a smaller span, wood framing and trusses might be cheaper than a metal building. The advantage of metal is the large clear spans you can get fairly cheaply. On smaller buildings, wood becomes cheaper. The trick is to figure out when that happens.

Eddie

[leeinmemphis]

Eddie,

That may be a better idea about having multiple doors on one long side. I don't know that I'll be able to get much shorter than 40' because of the overall length of my gooseneck. However the ideas of multiple doors is something I was considering. I'm going to call a couple of places that I have found online to see what kind of prices we are talking about for a couple of different layouts. I thought about maybe making it long and somewhat thinner so that way I could pull the truck in hooked up to the gooseneck and then on the other wall putting multiple doors for the equipment but that would be a significantly longer building. Thanks again I appreciate the advice.

[EddieWalker]

If you want to save on concrete and construction costs, you could also make the building 24 feet deep and long enough for everything you need to put in it, plus storage and a shop.

The gooseneck seems to be the issue here, so why not extend the building out under the back of the building, and into the wing area. If you made the building 24 feet deep, and made the lean too 16 feet, you'd have your 40 feet. Just decide where you want the trailer to park before hand and enclose that portion of the lean too with the rest of the building.

From the air, it would look like the letter L in one form or another, or kind of like the letter T, but in the proper prorportions. I kind of like the L shape since it will give you a wall on two sides for your lean too.

The dimensions might not work for you, I don't know, but for parking space, there's no advantage to allot of extra building if you don't need it. I would make the building 24 feet longer than you need for parking just to have a shop if you don't already have one.

Good luck,
Eddie

[leeinmemphis]

thanks for the great advice there. I've called a local mfg and installer. They are going to give me a turn key price and I'll go from there. thanks again.

[firefighter9208]

What about 40' wide x 60' long pole barn with 14' sidewalls. Place a roll up door on each end, maybe 16'wide by 12' tall. Put a 12' lean-to (open) on each side of the building. You could back your deck-over and car trailers in from the end of the lean-to and put other equipment (tractor buckets, discs, etc...) in from the sides. You should also be able to get the dozier in from the end of the lean to. I would concrete the floor in the main building, but use #57 stone for the floor of the lean-to.

I would just let the track-hoe sit out in the rain. Too heavy to try to get on the concrete floor and that's what most people do anyway.

Look at the following picture. A building like this, but with a lean-to on each side. Your building would be 60'x64' total. You would leave one or both ends of the lean-to open to back in the trailers.

[leeinmemphis]

well I thought I would update you guys. I got a price on a 40x50' wood structure/metal skin with two sky lights, three overhead doors , one man door, full concrete slab inside the building but not the lean to ,with a 50' x 20' wide lean to for under $30k. I can't believe it but my wife gave me the go ahead.

I'm going to meet the fella on friday and probably give him a deposit to get it started. He said since he can get to my site on a gravel drive that he should be able to get it installed in the next few weeks. Apparently he orders his woods trusses prefabbed so putting the building up will only take about a week. I am very much looking forward to having this building. This place is truly becoming the place I always wanted! Right now I have all my stuff in an open air barn and I will sleep much better knowing it is in an enclosed building and more secure.

[EddieWalker]

That's $15 a square foot and with the concrete slab, it sounds like a pretty good price. If you shoped around, you might find it for a buck or two cheaper, but I kind of doubt it.

One thing I'd caution you on is the skylights. I put them in a barn I built and really loved the amount of light they gave me, but it's one of those things I'm not comfortable with. The panels don't have much, if any, warantee. Your metal skin should have a 25 to 25 year warantee, but not the skylights.

They break down fairly quickly and may leak on you in just a few years.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!!

Eddie

[leeinmemphis]

The skylights will actually be on the side eaves and not on the roof. He told me that usually they last 7-8 years and will need to be replaced but at that point it is a simple bolt/replace deal. I'ld like to have them if possible and if they deteriorate fast and I don't like them then I could always place a panel over them to cover them up. The other thing I am going to see is about him framing in a square for a large exhaust fan to go in with a set of louvers. That way I can get some of the 100 degree heat out of the building during the summer times.

-lee-

[The Baron]

We just put up a metal building and our contractor told us to stay away from the skylights also due to their failure rate. What he did recommended and what we installed were ridge vents with a light panel built into them. They have a better warranty and let in a large amount of light. We also put one window on each wall. Good Luck.