Pole Barn VS Red Steel building - Need some more advice

[ultrarunner]

This is 40 x 96 stick framed... it had to have the dormers so it wouldn't look commercial...

Was in backup position to buy the place but after 59 days it closed... not to me ;-(

 

[Creamer]

I built a 40 x 60 x 16 steel building 2 years ago. It has a 3:12 gable roof, R19 pole-barn type insulation, 8 windows, one 14 x14' overhead door, and two walk-in doors on an insulated 6" slab. It came out to almost $23/sq ft with electricity, gas heat, and water all included. I did the site prep.

 

[plowhog]

I am just finishing construction of a 60x60 steel building. My costs are well above every other cost quoted here. All subcontracts were bid out. So maybe construction cost is highly variable by area, or I over paid by a lot, or, ???

I did spend more money on the steel building than necessary. 3' overhangs, 3' eaves, 4:12 roof pitch, 5 rollup doors (two electric,) residential style windows instead of self flashing, 125a subpanel, nine 30,000 lumen high bay lites, heaters, fans, interior and exterior RV hookups, concrete apron, and on and on. Inside the building I framed up an 8x16 structure with power, heating, internet, cable tv. About 6x8 is allocated as a bathroom and shower, the rest as a small office.

The bare steel building was less than a quarter of the cost of the finished product. The excavation, trenching, etc was tied in second place at the highest cost, followed by the concrete. So it all depends on building design and what features you choose to add vs either not have or add in the future.

The steel building by itself was about $17/ft. If you look at advertisements for steel buildings, it seems the prices are half of that. But that's without the framed openings for doors, windows, no eaves and overhangs, flatter roof pitch, etc.

 

[ultrarunner]

A square footprint gives you the most square footage for the lineal feet of wall going up.

A 50x50 building is 2500 square feet with 200 lineal feet of wall.

A 25x100 building is also 2500 square feet but with 250 lineal feet of wall.

An old time self taught builder of multi-million dollar homes taught me this simple fact... he was very successful by delivering more square footage for the buck.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

A square footprint gives you the most square footage for the lineal feet of wall going up.

A 50x50 building is 2500 square feet with 200 lineal feet of wall.

A 25x100 building is also 2500 square feet but with 250 lineal feet of wall.

An old time self taught builder of multi-million dollar homes taught me this simple fact... he was very successful by delivering more square footage for the buck.

But the cost of roof trusses goes up significantly as they get longer. Also, due to the pitch of the roof the roof is longer than the width of the building, a square building uses more roofing than a rectangular building of the same area footprint. A wider building has higher gable ends and uses more siding. So the lowest cost is usually a building somewhat longer than wide. It seems like the sweet spot is a length to width ratio somewhere between 2:1 and 4:3.

 

[Peter 315]

But the cost of roof trusses goes up significantly as they get longer. Also, due to the pitch of the roof the roof is longer than the width of the building, a square building uses more roofing than a rectangular building of the same area footprint. A wider building has higher gable ends and uses more siding. So the lowest cost is usually a building somewhat longer than wide. It seems like the sweet spot is a length to width ratio somewhere between 2:1 and 4:3.

Cost also depends on the snow load when designing the roof trusses

 

[woodlandfarms]

So in your guys estimation, what is better, a metal building or a pole barn?

Also, I hear some people say build a pole barn because you can add windows and doors much easier. Is this true?

 

[Stimw]

My Red Iron Building is rated for 130 mph winds, roll up doors have extra cleats that increase wind resistance. (forget rating)
"Tryin' to reason with hurricane season" - Jimmy Buffet
Windows and doors can be placed when designing. I layed out door placement when I ordered with salesman.
I got quote and ordered roof insulation also, much easier to install when assembling.
More fire resistant- welding or wild fires.
A pole building will be cheaper for DIY if you don't have local building inspection.
So much depends on planned use.

 

[plowhog]

This is my second steel building. The first one has been a good investment and maintenance free since I bought it in year 2000. I don't have a pole barn to compare it to.

For me, doing it all at once has an advantage. If I instead planned to do a more limited pole barn, then come back in the future to add doors, windows, etc., I probably would never get around to doing that. So an advantage for me was doing the entire project and when it is completed I can go back to working on other things. And with a completed building I have it fully functional for my needs.

As said above, my building is also rated for 130mph wind speed, 30psf snow load, and has the special roll up doors rated for wind. Plus it has 6" insulation. After watching the insulation be installed during the construction, I realized that trying to retrofit insulation later would likely be inefficient or a disaster. Glad I did it up front.

If you buy a steel building, shop around and find someone very knowledgeable about buildings. I'd also suggest hiring an engineer to engineer the concrete slab including any utilities you are running. My engineer reviewed the steel building, and requested a quote on making it stiffer. An extra $1,200 took my building to a much stiffer and stronger level. I engineered three RV hookups, a bathroom with shower, and lots of other utilities in the slab.

An experienced installer of a steel building is a necessity. I ran extensive electrical conduit under the slab, bringing up steel EMT conduit through the slab at each red iron location plus for the utilities in the office/bathroom. Doing it that way eliminated a lot of surface and overhead conduit-- saving time and money plus it looks cleaner.

If you go the steel building route, insist that your installer do a complete inventory of items immediately after delivery. Mine did not do this and I paid the price. There were parts shortages and that created a lot of headaches and delays during construction. At one point I had rented two scissor lifts plus a four wheel drive scissor lift (for exterior.) All that equipment was sitting idle while I was paying for it because the crew was waiting on material. All in all, I am pleased with the building. But get good professionals on the job if you go the steel building route.

 

[EddieWalker]

So in your guys estimation, what is better, a metal building or a pole barn?

Also, I hear some people say build a pole barn because you can add windows and doors much easier. Is this true?

Better is a loaded word. If money was not an option, and if I was paying somebody else to build it, then I would say that a metal framed building would be better. You can go higher and span farther.

Windows and doors on a metal building are about the same amount of effort and expense for either type of structure. You place them where there is no load bearing post and you just frame them out with whatever material you are using. That would not be a factor for me either way.

When I build, I'm going with wood because it's what I prefer to work with, and I feel it will be more cost effective doing it myself. I also want a flat ceiling in my barn so I can put a ceiling on it and fill the attic with 2 feet of blown in insulation. If you go metal and you want to insulate, closed cell foam is your only real option for insulation. I also want to finish off my interior walls with OSB, so framing the walls is necessary. If you go with metal, you will have to frame in the walls with wood after it's built, which is pretty simple, but it's an extra step creating a second wall. My exterior walls will be Hardie Lap siding, not metal. I personally do not like the look of metal walls, so stick framing the walls is also a big part of installing Hardie lap siding.

Before you decide which way to go, you need to decide how you want to finish it off.