New outbuilding suggestions wanted.

[tracecom]

I am planning a new outbuilding for my small farm in NE Mississippi, and currently am thinking of a 30' by 30' by 12' metal building. The building will have two overhead metal doors - one 10' by 10', and the other 18' by 10' on the opposite end of the building. There will be two 36" people doors.

The building will be insulated and built on a 4" slab. I am planning to box in one corner for a commode, lavatory, and a shower. There will be no heating or cooling except for a small heater for the bathroom (althought I have thought about radiant heating elements in the floor just to avoid below-freezing temperatures inside.) Lighting will be commercial sized fluorescents.

The building is to house my L3830GST and attachments, my fishing boat and trailer, my Polaris Ranger, and assorted hand garden tools. Eventually, I will move my tools there and hope to add a welder.

Please give me your thoughts on this whole project. Are there real differences in the quality of metal buildings? What brands should I seek or avoid? What have I not thought of?

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[patrick_g]

TRACECOM, I don't know your climate so I can't offer much radiant floor advice beyond: 1. check in over at the RPA (radiant panel Association web site to get in touch with a bunch of really good experts on radiant floors, 2. Don't even think about using copper tubing (use PEX that has not been stored in the sun) and insulate under the slab and around the periphery. If you want radiant floors but don't have the budget for the whole shebang at once, insulate the slab and periphery and install the PEX. You can finish the job anytime. Even if you change your mind about radiant, the insulated slab will be warmer with any heating system than an uninsulated slab.

Just this one reminder (unless you request more info)...

You can NOT use setback strategies when heating with a slab. You will have to heat the slab 24-7 unless you can schedule your use of the space or heating requirements a couple days in advance. It takes a long time to heat a slab and you can't decide after breakfast you will heat the space for a few hours and work till lunch time. It takes a long time to heat the slab and it takes a long time for it to cool off. The only practical approach is to heat it all the time which means you are paying for a lot of Btu that you don't personally enjoy.

If you are using a wood fired boiler and firing it with brush and wood cut on your place then there is no big economic penalty. If instead of heating the space with the floor and just warm the floor enough to make it more tolerable to be on, then it isn't such an expense.

Of course maybe you can tap a natural hot spring.

There is no other heating system that is as miraculously comfortable as radiant heat. I have about 1500 sq ft of radiant slab and 3 other rooms with radiant ceilings. Ceilings have much faster response times and can be turned up and down withoug such a loooooong wait. You still want to insulate the slab underneath and around the periphery under a radiant ceiling.

Pat

 

[schmism]

steel structures are a nightmare to hange anything in.

price a standard pole barn.

usually the floor is poured after the building is set.

to save $$ build the shed and store the stuff in it on a gravel floor. you can always add the concrete later when funds allow.

 

[Humbleto]

I think your building will be full on the first day. I'd suggest a little larger one. Are the doors to be insulated too? If not the insulation may not be very effective.

 

[mikim]

I have to second the idea that you're going a bit small - if it's in the budget at all - build bigger. I just had my 30x50x12 completed and I'm worried about it being too small. Unfortunately - bigger was not in the budget. I added a 20x50 leanto on the side to make up for it at a much reduced cost - and I'm sure I'm gonna like that leanto.

 

[turbo36]

I built a 40' x 60' x 12' high pole barn two years ago that at the time I thought was way more then I needed, now I'm glad I went that big as I filled it up fast. A few suggestions; I would make it at least 30 x 40, look at standard pole barn construction, make the OH doors as big as you can.
I went with a shingled roof and vinyl siding to give a better look and match the house.

 

[firemanpat2910]

I have to agree with the others, At my buddys place where I keep my tractor,We just put in a 40x48 pole barn just for the tractors,trailers,boats and such. It filled up so fast the implements are still outside. Stake and string an area the size you plan on building then try driving in with all the "toys". is there room to get the tractor out without moving the boat? can you get the boat out with out moving other stuff out of your way? can you get to the implement you want without hooking/moving/unhooking another implement?

why dose it seem like the toy you want is always at the bottom of the toy box?