How hard is it to assemble a quonset hut type bldg

[rims421]

Good luck with your project.
I built a 30x44 about 6 years ago.
I assembled all the arches myself in advance.
We opted for the concrete floor so I had that poured in advance.
I borowed some scaffolding with wheels and mounted some 2x4 lumber to the scaffolding to rest the sections on as they were stood up.
We were able to erect all the sections in two long days with a six person crew.
I tightened all the bolts myself and built the endwalls out of t-111.
Put a 10x12 overhead door on one end and a set of homemade barn doors on the other.
(wish I put a 12' wide overhead door)
The cost for the whole thing including, concrete, insulation, electrical, heater and lighting was around 20k.
We did everything ourselves except the concrete work.
Pretty cheap for a 30x44 building.
Now that I have it I can't imagine life without it.

 

[MotorSeven]

Score one for the home team. Approved tonight for a variance so I can move forward on this project. Time to get to work...

Excellent...I was kinda worried about that.

Rims I'm with ya, my 30x50 w/a 14' apartment was $25K soup to nuts.

 

[myslash]

I happened upon this site by accident while searching for help with putting up my SteelMaster 32 x 36 building. It's been sitting in my yard for 9 weeks. I thought I got such a great "deal" on it & like many others have said was told that it was easy assembly. But, what I wasn't prepared for was the cost of the footing. The keyway foundation is what I had assumed we'd do. When I was working with the salesman it was never mentioned AT ALL that we might consider the base connectors. He just kept reassuring me that my husband & I (along w/some help) could easily put up the building.

Well, my latest quote on this keyway foundation was $5880, I only paid $7100 for the building, which I thought was great but am learning otherwise. He (salesman) then suggested doing a pier foundation & gave a "good" deal on the connectors that had been used at a state fair but not bolted down. He talked w/my husband about that & husband got him down to $1385 on the connectors. Of course, when I called to actually purchase them they were already gone but the real kicker was as I'm talking to him about this type of footing that we thought we could do ourselves, he mentions 30 ft & less. I remind him that MY building is 32 ft & he needed to talk to the engineer to find out IF this is doable. Couple days later I get an e-mail that it is only for 30 ft or less. Really, you've wasted all my time on the building you sold me for a footing that I can't use???

Guys (& gals) help me!!! I don't know what to do. I surely didn't budget $6000 for a footing (& it's only a 3 sided building!) & don't know what to do. When I got the bid today I called the company (which were then closed ) & left a long message for the engineer basically saying I hate this non-building that I have, I feel like I was misled, & if I could do it all over again there's no way I'd buy another one. My neighbor in the meantime had a pole barn built that is much nicer than mine will probably ever be & her is up & going. I'm looking at spring probably before mine will now be up, summer before it's functionable. I have horses & am boarding them. This was my dream, to have them on my property. Now it's my nightmare.

Any help appreciated.

 

[MotorSeven]

MS, I am confused. $5880 just for a keyway footer...no slab?? Where are you located/how deep is the frost line? 72' of (average)footer should cost around $2K or less.

What are you going to use the building for? Hay storage? Shop? Depending on the use, I can give you my opinion on what to put under the building.

Don't let them fool you, the Industrial Base Plate can be had for $12-1300 and I have never heard it can't be used wider than 30'.

 

[myslash]

I am in S. Illinois, near St. Louis. Frost line is 32 inches. Yes, no slab, only the keyway on 2 sides, other 2 sides will be just regular flat footing. I don't get why they charge you a rental fee for their own forms??? $200 charge for that & $65 for trackhoe usage, which I also assume they own. Shouldn't that all be included in standard?

As I said before, I know nothing about construction & have never claimed to. I am a hard worker & can follow directions if you tell me what to do. Neither my husband nor I have ever taken on a project like this but were assured we could do it. I don't have the almost $6000 to spend on the footing.

MotorSeven, I would really appreciate ANY ideas/help you can give us. This barn will, eventually, be a 2-4 stall barn with hay storage & a small tack room. We will finish out the 3rd side on our own w/a roll-up garage, window, & people door. At this rate, I'll be too old to enjoy having my horses at home. :thumbdown:

 

[MotorSeven]

MS,

Ok, a barn w/ a tack room. The trough(Keyway) does work and it is the cheapest option....but(you knew there would be a but) as I have stated before I am not a fan of sticking the steel coated with Galvalume into concrete or mortar. I have seen these buildings that rusted off right at the top of the trough where it was backfilled with concrete. Yes, it probably took 15-20 years to start corroding/rusting, but I would rather have a "U" Channel base plate or the Industrial base plate. This sits on top of the slab which keeps the concrete from touching the steel if you just put down heavy tar paper or plastic first.

So, just figuring a 2' wide x32" deep x72' long footer(total for both sides not counting the ends), that comes to about 14 yards of concrete(less if you Keyway). Here concrete is about $120 delivered, so that's $1680 in crete, plus a couple of hundered in re-bar. The max labor I would pay to have that done would be $1200....$3k-ish total, so you should shop this around with some other concrete contractors. This is all assuming your site is basically level and does not need a bunch of dirt work.

Here I am fortunate to know a really good backhoe guy. He can dig and pour footers for a very reasonable amout of money and he does a good job. If I was unable to get someone like that, I think I would just do it myself. Trackhoe's are not expensive to rent and easy to operate. If your husband is handy or has some friends that have done form/footer work before, maybe they could be tempted for free food and beer:thumbsup: This really should not take more than one long day to dig them, form them and pour them. Just make sure they are the proper measurements and perfectly square/level.

Time is an issue as I don't think you want to be pouring crete in the dead of winter. We might have one more Indian Summer coming, so think about getting it done in the next few weeks. If you decide to go with the base plate, you can pour now and buy the plates later. Once you have them you can lay them out on the footer slab, mark the holes then drill them and put in the anchor bolts(redheads). A tractor with a boom on the FEL makes hanging the arches easy. If you haven't already, read my thread on the building of my Quonset so you can avoid my mistakes

 

[myslash]

Thanks for the tips, MS. I stopped at 3 other places on my way home from work Friday. 1 doesn't do footings but gave me 2 other contacts. One of those is coming this evening. I also talked w/my neighbor who built the same size barn this summer & had an individual do the work for her. She poured the whole floor, minus 2, 12 x 12 stalls, & also did a slab outside but right next to the barn to park her trailer. Her total cost for concrete was $1800 (my quote was over $2800) & her labor was around $500. The person who did hers is coming out later this week to look it over & give me a quote. My site is very level & will require minimal work. I had planned to have a rock/limestone floor but if he can do it similar to the neighbors, I may have him pour concrete where my tack/feed/hay storage will be.

 

[MotorSeven]

Excellent! If you have any questions, PM me and I will give you my contact info.

 

[myslash]

Will do, thanks so much!

The concrete guy tonight was a no-show. Weather was beautiful so I'm hoping he was working late for someone else. I will call him tomorrow & find out why. Grrrrr.:confused2

 

[myslash]

MotorSeven,

More questions. We are going to go w/the Industrial Base Plates. Are the all interchangable from company to company? Seems like each time we call or e-mail someone at SteelMaster, we get a different length that we'll need or a different price.

Thanks!