looking for feedback on a metal building kit....

[leeinmemphis]

We are looking at buying a 40'x50'x16'tall insulated metal building kit with two overhead doors for the farm. The kits are very reasonable IMO but I am a little concerned about assembling the actual building myself. I would likely have to contract the footings/slab out to someone and if I could find a local contractor to put up the building for a reasonable price then we would entertain that as well. My main question is I was wondering if anyone here had purchased one of these kits and installed them themselves? I have access to a pole truck and scissors lifts so putting up the main beams/perlings shouldn't be a huge problem but I do recognize that I would have to find someone to help me with that portion of the assembly. Does anyone have an idea of cost for a slab of this size or what it would cost to hire someone to put up the building. any input on people with these experiences would be greatly appreciated. thanks.


-lee-

 

[EddieWalker]

Don't know your area, your prices or who is selling you the kit, but the first place I'd go is the company selling you the kit to find out who they recomend. I use Mueller, and they have a list of builders who regularily put there buildings together. It really helps to hire somebody who knows the supplier and that particular kit.

Most of the bigger builders just make there own frames and only buy the skin from the metal building stores. Your building is probably too small for them to have any interest in, but you never know. Drive around and talk to the guys you see building them. If they got attitude, than you don't want them anyway.

Concrete has really jumped in price and rebar is up too. Rebar isn't as bad as some will tell you, but for some reason I've seen concrete contractors realy try to BS people into thinking it's gone up allot more than it has. I'd price rebar and concrete prices before talking to and contractors.

There was a time when I wouldn't even concider $3 a finished foot, but now that's a pretty good price that I'm not even sure I can get anymore. Ask who poured the slab when you look for contractors and ask what the slabs are going for. For concrete, you can also find some good contractors at residential developments. They do so many slabs at a time and then might be off for a week. If you work with them and there schedule, you can get a quality job for a fair price.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[MarEng]

After shopping, comparing, etc. ended up hiring a company from near S.A., TX to put up my 40x60x16 all steel barn. WDMB.com Their price for all steel and erected was substantially cheaper than the local guys prices for steel over wood and only about $2000 more than a kit. Building was up and done in three days versus ??? days of my time and aggravation. Unfortunately they don't go to Tennessee. Shop around.

To keep initial price low I had them build on grade. Poles are concreted into 3'x20" holes. Had the lower purlin dropped to be flush with the bottom of the steel and galvanized. Will use this as a form board when I pour the partial floor early next year. First time they have been asked to do this so they did it for free. Will provide them some pictures for their web page when we pour. If it works as well as I suspect, they may begin offering it as an option.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

I built my own 40x40x10 steel frame building. Did it all myself including slab (big job!) with the help of friends. I rented a small all-terrain forklift to unload the truck and erect the steel. The frame went up pretty nice in one weekend. The siding is a little awkward because you have to put up the insulation (mine had 3" fiberglass covered in vinyl) with carpet tape then screw the panels over it. Even more awkward on the roof with skylights. It took 14 days of weekends and evenings to have it dried in after the building was delivered. It's been almost 5 years now and I am really happy with it.

 

[dfkrug]

Nice pix, Brad. Thx for posting.

Is that a "red iron" bldg frame or all light guage studs? It looks like red iron.
What was the cost of the kit only? No labor & no foundation.

Any condensation issues in the winter?

 

[texbaylea]

I will second Eddie's recommendation about Mueller Mueller, Inc. - Steel Buildings and Metal Roofing however the nearest sales location to you is probably the one near Tulsa. Check them out.

Vernon

 

[kmdigital]

Have someone do the concrete for you, and then setup the building which is the easiest part. Concrete is expensive, requires skill and the right tools to do a good job on a large slab quickly and efficiently. A power trowel and power screed can be rented, but the screed especially takes a lot of skill to do a good job and get it level and flat quickly and efficiently.

And it really helps to have a laser level also. Otherwise you need some method of determining when the concrete is at the right height, which is hard to do if you want to get a large slab of 30+ yards all poured quickly, and have it setup at the same time so that you can use the power trowel on the entire floor at one shot.

The building is just bolt together, and follow the instructions that come with the kit. Generally you bolt a set of collumns and the rafter together while it is laying flat on the concrete, and then set it up over the bolts. You set up and plumb at least two interior columns, if your building is large enough for that, and then work you way to the ends as these rafters are much smaller due to having end wall columns to help support them.

The key is having the bolts in the correct locations in the foundation, and having the foundation level and square so the building comes together properly. After this it is just bolt and screw together.

Usually, these building also are insulated at the same time which makes installing the steel a little more difficult and time consuming, but it really isn't that hard if you have several people to help you.

Putting up a building like this definitely isn't a one man job!

By the way, rebar is pretty expensive, at least it was back in 2004! I poured a 20'x65' apron on my shop that fall, and the rebar was 1/4 the cost of the concrete, which I poured 6" thick. And I only put it in on 3' squares, not 2' like some people say you should. I did this all myself by hand, with only 1 helper, including hand troweling it, which about killed us! Next time I am renting a power trowel! And I poured 1/2 one day and the other half 2-3 days later.

But only it cost me about 1/2 of what it would have if I would have hired it done. This didn't need to be flat, so I wasn't afraid to tackle it. It slopes down 6" in 20', so any minor low or high spots aren't apparant because at at that slope water never ponds anywhere on it.

 

[TomKioti]

Lee,

The single biggest PITA is going to be laying up the insulation the same time you place the PBR if you decide to DIY. I watched my contractor struggle with it and he's been doing it for years. Don't do your slab. Have the pros do it. Make sure the erector (if you choose to hire one) uses boca code specs and local specs as well. Mine didn't and he had to go back and insulate the inside walls again. This was retail space and not a shop or barn but the codes are pretty much the same and the building was 40' x 80'. There's alot more I could share and I will as the thread developes and I feel my input is relevent. Picture is attached. This project actually was 250K when it was done.

Tom K

 

[Brad_Blazer]

Nice pix, Brad. Thx for posting.

Is that a "red iron" bldg frame or all light guage studs? It looks like red iron.
What was the cost of the kit only? No labor & no foundation.

Any condensation issues in the winter?

It's red iron. Just 1 large center span plus 2 endwalls. The purlins are about 5' apart. I agree with everything Tom K. and kmdigital said. The slab is tough unless you have lots of experienced help. Mine isn't as flat as I had hoped but it's not gross either.

My kit was just over $9k delivered with 3" insulation, 4 skylights, raingutters, and doors - 8x12 rollup and 1 walk door. I won't recommend the roll up door - it doesn't seal well. I think a normal garage type door is less expensive and closes tighter.
I got it from Heritage Building Systems | Steel Buildings, Prefabricated Metal Building
At the bottom of their home page click on Quickbuildings for an instant quote
and you can see that my building kit would be ablut $15,000 now. That is actually close to my total cost w/ power!

I get a little condensation from the skylights. Insulated skylights would have been a worthwhile option. One of the options for insulation was some thin foil backed plastic touted for it's effectiveness as a radiant barrier, outperforming fiberglass with a much higher R-value. I think the steel is a pretty good radiant barrier so I am pretty skeptical about it's effectiveness even though it looks easy to install compared to the glass.

Good luck on your decision,
Brad

 

[hbarski]

Lee, I am building a 30x50x12 pole barn at the farm over in Arkansas. The local guy that I am using does buildings for Tyson. It is insulated, with two garage doors, one 10x12 and the other 10x10, and a man door. Slab (6") and all is running me $10 a square foot, or $15,000. If I am not mistaken, I think he said that the slab, material and labor, was about $4,000. That is with wire and fiber mesh.

Like I said, that is over the bridge near Jonesboro, two hours from here. I know that he does stuff over on this side of the bridge too.

I priced the metal kits, but found local contracting worked out best, money wise.