Mother of God Pole Barns are Expensive!

[k0ua]

Soldier,
I have a thread in this forum called "Raising a barn" it shows all the steps I took to build my barn. They really are not that hard to put up. Airbiscuit hit the nail on the head about making sure things are straight and plumb. I used a water level to set the building up. Getting it square was just dumb luck.
Here's my favorite picture, taken only about 3 weeks ago.


View attachment 509185

Wow. Postcard pics for sure. Just beautiful.

 

[cat fever]

Thanks K0ua,

Not sure if I've ever mentioned it to you or not, I have a son who works at Whiteman AF base. So we come to Mo about every year. YOU live in a beautiful place.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

That's a 42x40 for 40k, for about $28/sf. That's a decent price. Enclosed with doors and a slab you aren't going to get under $25.

 

[Soldier415]

Appears you are doing quite well if you need that size building to protect all your tractors, attachments, ATVs from the elements.

Not doing terrible

While I could probably get away with a smaller building, I'd rather have more room than I need initially as I already know more stuff will eventually be acquired.

Will Menard's go to Vermont?
I think not!

Nope. Bummer

I gave you my figures so at least you have one benchmark. I picked my builder because he used laminated posts (no warping or twisting) and heavier truss rafters (snow load). Building was up in 3 days! If I were you, I would:

1. Go to local lumber yards for referrals or quotes
2. Drive around and ask pole building owners who built theirs
3. Ask cement contractors who they recommend
4. Put it out on Facebook

The above is excellent advice, and advice I will act on. Thank you.

 

[JerryK]

Not doing terrible

While I could probably get away with a smaller building, I'd rather have more room than I need initially as I already know more stuff will eventually be acquired.


Thank you.

Mine is 40' by 80', and I wish I had another one at least as big setting beside it. Never hear someone wishing he had built something smaller. Most folks around here keep adding on.

 

[RPW]

Soldier, I never done anything close to this. I am a so so handyman but I do have enough smarts to ask a LOT of questions and did a fair amount of reading prior to building plus I had the help of my wife and some help from a 70+ welder friend to assist with the structural side.

 

[J0be269]

Soldier,

Don't forget to check Craigslist for pole barn builders too. I spent over a month contacting all the local people getting high prices and becoming frustrated, until finally someone asked had I checked Craigslist. Glad I did too! I found a company 75 miles away that gave me a good price, unfortunately I am still waiting for them to get to my building but should only have a couple more weeks of waiting. Grading number seems way high to me as well, maybe it is more difficult or time consuming in your area. In lieu of a building pic I have attached a picture of my magnificent flat spot on the ground which will one day house a nice big building. I'll put my figures below to give you an idea of what is possible to find at least in my region. Also I have figured the materials and these guys are still making a nice amount for their labor.

grading (12 hours with excavator for tree removal and large skid steer for dirt work) $1,000

40'x60' with 12' walls fully enclosed with insulated roof
2 10'x10' roll up doors
1 man door
4" concrete floor smooth finish
$26,800

 

[TheMan419]

Ask neighbors and lumber yards locally. Morton, FBI et al are going to be way higher. They simply hire the local guy and tack on some $$ for themselves. We did a 36x72x10 for horses (dirt floor) for about $25K plus excavator costs.

Excavator costs will vary depending on if you have to bring in dirt. Thankfully we did not.

 

[teejk]

Visited a friend last week that bought a house with a pole-barn that was erected about 20 years ago. His posts are rotting at grade (some are even floating). He builds these things on the side and commented that he would only build on slab now. Maybe his posts were not properly treated but how does any body know until they rot?

 

[fried1765]

Visited a friend last week that bought a house with a pole-barn that was erected about 20 years ago. His posts are rotting at grade (some are even floating). He builds these things on the side and commented that he would only build on slab now. Maybe his posts were not properly treated but how does any body know until they rot?

I would assume that the speed of rot may also depend on how well drained the soil is.
I have a Morton (36 x 48) that was built in 1984.
33 years ago, and so far no signs of rot. My posts are solid,.. not built up.
I seem to remember, that back then, Morton had a 40yr. warranty against post rot.
My soil is pure clean sand.