Teach me....metal shops

[RET]

Looks like I need to give Mueller a good look...especially since they have a store in Baton Rouge!
Thanks a bunch folks!
The CFO wants a travel trailer....she says that's the only way she will become an outdoors person like me and the kids...she has to have all of the luxuries of home with her.
So, I am now working this slant: I CANNOT get a travel trailer without somewhere to park it out of the weather (will probably get a carport extension to whatever shop I buy, so I can park trailer there when I have large projects going on inside). I MUST get a shop before getting the trailer. I have to do this slowly and methodically...if I don't push too hard, she will come around to my thinking within a few months. So, the target is to put it in this fall (too wet in the spring, WAY too hot in the summer). Fall is dry here and temp.'s are great.
Thanks!
roger

 

[disk_drive_eng]

I don't know if you can use pole construction there, but if you can it may be less expensive. Then you put a steel roof and siding on it.

I am having a large steel building put up right now, and it has turned out to be quite a bit more expensive than anticipated due to the engineering requirements for the foundation.

Check with your county building dept. on whether they require engineered foundations for either one. Here they now require it for the steel but not yet for pole buildings (neighboring counties just started requiring it for pole too). So the pole structure turns out to be cheaper, although the engineers will tell you that to meet the same standard you need to beef up the traditional pole foundation.

The problem here is that you need a stout foundation to resist the wind forces generated on a large lightweight building. I would think your requirements would be similar due to tropical storm and hurricanes.

 

[accordionman]

SIR,
i would suggest you go with as large a building as you can afford. also install the insulation,
you will never regret it. i had a 30x50 wick building put up in 1985, i paid $5995. insulation in the
ceiling, $750. extra. i did the insulation in the walls myself. my only wish is a larger building, for
an extra $750. i could have had 30x60. i had a leanto installed in 2001. so i could store my
L3000DT. i ask the wick man how much my 30x50 would cost now. he said $14000.00. wow!
that's inflation for you. good luck with your project.
accordionman
william l. brown
wright city, mo.

 

[RET]

Disk_Drive,
One advantage of living in a rural area of a 3rd world country (Louisiana) is that nobody around here has to worry about meeting the letter of the law in regard to county (in our case 'Parish') requirements. Theorietically, the laws are in place requiring inspections, construction permits, etc.
But, I don't know anyone around here who does that when it comes to shops on their property.
My neighbor had a really old (20+yr) ~20X20' open-sided shelter in the back of his property that he had built out of scrap wood and tin roofing. A real eyesore. Zero $$ invested...just scrap stuff he had gotten for nothing. He used it to store lumber for future woodworking projects. It was located near some large trees. Recently, a wind storm caused a large branch to fall on this decrepid structure, collapsing the center of it. His insurance wrote him a check for $800 for it...no questions asked.
So, yes, a pole barn is well above the 'standard' in my part of the country. It's on my consideration list.
Thanks!
roger

 

[MF1455v]

What about sky light panels? My neighbor didn't get them on his shop due to concerns that they would not last...so his shop is a little on the dark side during the day, forcing him to use lots of electrical lighting.


RET
I had also had the same conserns about sky lights not lasting. Last week I was looking at a new building close to me and I remembered this thread. The building has 14ft side walls and they placed the sky light panal on the top 4ft of the wall. They place the panals 1 about every 4th sheet. This was done down both sides of the building. The building had enough light in it at 9am (when I was there) to work fine without any add light.

This (I would think) should help the sky light last longer and It could be replaced some what easy.

Building was tan in color and the sky light was tan. Looked good from the out side too. If it was another color it might not look as well.