Fabric shelter vs metal building vs pole barn cost

[WM75Guy]

How about either a 20' or 40' conex box? They do come 9 1/2' high. Tractor might be tight but the other stuff will fit in it. After you get your permanent structure built sell it to someone else. I see the 20' advertised all the time for $2000-2500 delivered. You can get them customized with side doors and vents for not a lot more.

 

[PhysAssist]

Hi Ken,

We lived in our house without outbuildings, except for a woodshed and a tool shed for 18+ years, until we gpt a Kubota B3230, and all of a sudden my SWMBO started to agree with me that we not only needed a barn/garage, we could afford one.

In the interm (fall 2011) we bought a temporary "tent" garage made by Shelter Logic from The Sportsmans Guide (it was a standard model, they just had the lowest price on it. It was 10' w x 20' l x 10' high (at the peak).

Then we built a 30' w x 45' l x 16' high (at the side wall) pole barn with concrete floor (12/2012).

We kept using the tent garage for miscellaneous storage until it fell down in January of this year under the combined effects of 24"+ of packed snow and ice on top of it, and 50 mph winds with gusts to 85-90.

That said, I wouldn't recommend one, even though it was cheap and yet lasted a long time. The reason I say that is because it only lasted that long by diligent action on our part in the form of reinforcing, and re-reinforcing the tie downs, the bungees, and both screwing and tying the pipes together.

On the other hand, I have some neighbors who have agricultural grade "temporary" fabric structures (from Farm Tek, for example), which have been up for as long as I have been in my house.

One of the differences I see between the agricultural grade and consumer grade fabric structures is that the covering on the Ag grade ones is usually one piece, as well as being of a heavier construction.

I also recommend you check out Hansen Pole Barns- whether you buy from them or not, their site: Hansen Pole Buildings | Affordable Pole Barn & Building Kits has a lot of good information and may help your thought processes.

I have to agree though that the Morton Buildings are top notch, but they were out of our price range.

Best of luck,
Thomas

PS: As we were told and has been said on here numerous times: "Build it bigger than you think you are going to need it, or you will run out of room too soon.

 

[brown40]

By conex box, do you mean a shipping box? If ultra-cheap with no workspace is what you want, you could get a 40'-54' shipping container for under 5k usually. Won't be pretty. The other option is to just do your pole barn frame and roof, then close it in as time and money allow. As quick and easy as it sounds to throw in some poles and have it done--it takes a while. You'd have to build it to take the wind uplift. The roof will keep the bulk of sun and rain off--of course blowing snow, and critters will go where they see fit, and everything will still get wet from condensation regularly.

 

[newbury]

How about either a 20' or 40' conex box? They do come 9 1/2' high. Tractor might be tight but the other stuff will fit in it. After you get your permanent structure built sell it to someone else. I see the 20' advertised all the time for $2000-2500 delivered. You can get them customized with side doors and vents for not a lot more.

By conex box, do you mean a shipping box? If ultra-cheap with no workspace is what you want, you could get a 40'-54' shipping container for under 5k usually. Won't be pretty. The other option is to just do your pole barn frame and roof, then close it in as time and money allow. As quick and easy as it sounds to throw in some poles and have it done--it takes a while. You'd have to build it to take the wind uplift. The roof will keep the bulk of sun and rain off--of course blowing snow, and critters will go where they see fit, and everything will still get wet from condensation regularly.

Just went through that in a thread with Mossflower Woods.

I've been tracking military surplus 20' connexes for the last month out of Delaware and Virginia. YOU have to arrange the shipping, they may be beat up, but prices have been about $1000 and lower.

Last time I looked into buying them from a vendor they ended up being $2K plus w/ delivery of about $600.

Considering many of us could rent and haul a 22' gooseneck trailer for $200/day they may be useful if you need security.

However if you are handy and have some sticks (wood, bamboo, recycled lumber) a tarp from HF for $150 can cover quite a bit and if properly "tented" will keep the rain, wind and snow off. Temporary Shelter in Nepal / Charles Lai + Takehiko Suzuki | ArchDaily

 

[RSKY]

Check our eaglecarports.com. We are finishing up on a 26x22 with boxed eaves and vertical siding on the roof. By the time we finish we will have about $5000 in it counting the concrete slab. Slab was about half the price. A fully enclosed 20'x31'x8' garage with two overhead doors is a little over $4200 on their website. Get the area ready for them and it will be put up in one day.

It was the cheapest route for us to get a party awning in our backyard.

RSKY

 

[doxford jim]

I like the used shipping container idea. If you have room to do it, a used container is a great way to go. It can be very secure and weather proof. It would be easy to add on at the sides and rear of the container. It's box design is extremely strong and a sloped roof could be added to get rid of accumulated snow.
I had a cheap portable garage that ended up being a total waste of money. I ended up building a proper 24' x 26' x 9' high carport but that became expensive in the end, but does add value to my property.

 

[check]

Well, again, Id like this on the super cheap for the temporary..... I did get a quote for stick built and brick front with 14' door opening for 50k. (This was without electoral or the doors.... However, I will be cutting that price down drastically with my own labor and some changes. But as for now, I'm looking super cheap to get my tractor out of the elements.....

Were super cheap, buy one of the $200 enclosures from Costco or even Home Depot or Lowe's. I have one from Costco that is 10' x 20' and cost me $200. Lasted several years, but you do have to rake the snow off the roof in the winter.

 

[PhysAssist]

Just went through that in a thread with Mossflower Woods.

I've been tracking military surplus 20' connexes for the last month out of Delaware and Virginia. YOU have to arrange the shipping, they may be beat up, but prices have been about $1000 and lower.

Last time I looked into buying them from a vendor they ended up being $2K plus w/ delivery of about $600.

Considering many of us could rent and haul a 22' gooseneck trailer for $200/day they may be useful if you need security.

However if you are handy and have some sticks (wood, bamboo, recycled lumber) a tarp from HF for $150 can cover quite a bit and if properly "tented" will keep the rain, wind and snow off. Temporary Shelter in Nepal / Charles Lai + Takehiko Suzuki | ArchDaily

If you are even thinking about the stick-built tarp shelter idea, consider ordering a used billboard vinyl either locally or from here: Repurposed Materials - - Repurposed Materials

A coupla years ago, we bought one at auction, and while it was expensive for shipping [which they arranged]- it is also seriously heavy duty, and will prolly be in use covering our firewood for a decade longer. We bought a 20x57' vinyl for $55 but shipping pushed it to around 100$.

...and it has pipe pockets built into all four sides from the original hangers.

Thomas

PS: The "temporary" building site you linked to was very cool- I have been trying to find a timber bamboo that will tolerate our winter weather and growing conditions off and on for at least the past 15 years, AND trying to talk my SWMBO into eventually buying and planting some for production [just for home use].