Fired Morton Bldg-Need another builder

[skipperbrown]

Hey guys, I need to find the next best thing to having Morton Buildings build me a hobby shop/barn. I have talked to a couple of metal building contractors but they just want to build an uninsulated barn. I need something insulated with the possibility of installing HVAC if it gets uncomfortably warm in the summer. When I start mentioning insulation, interior walls, electrical, concrete, etc., I find I am getting out of their comfort zone very quickly. These guys construct pole barns and that's about where their expertise ends. Does anyone know of a firm like Morton who does everything from design to completion?

Here is the backdrop: Last year we bought a place in Tennessee near Chattanooga. This is to be our retirement place. The first task is to build a hobby barn to store our RV, be my shop and my wife's dog training facility; just a big open span building. I posted up a few questions here and it seemed the best way to go was with Morton. We worked with Morton (3 people, as 2 left during our planning) from Sept 2019 until we signed a contract on a 48'x108'x 16' building with a 10'50' covered porch, a 14x14' and 2 10'x10' garage doors, a couple of personnel doors, and a about a dozen windows in Feb this year. I was responsible for the site work, concrete, electrical, and plumbing. Morton was just going to build the shell, wait until my subs were done and then they would come back and insulate, do the interior walls/ceiling, and hang the doors/windows.

They told me they would start in June. Dang, 4 months? Anyway, we agreed and I got on the site work. I called Morton in May and asked them when they would start and I was told Covid was slowing them down, it would be August before they could start. I should plan on the second week of August. OK Covid is slowing down a lot of businesses, but dang, six months to start? I called in July to see when the start date was and they told me they didn't have any crews available but they MIGHT be able to start in November. They were having trouble keeping crews together and were going to try to hire a new crew to do my job. Now, I put down $60K in Feb expecting a June start and this news that they MIGHT start in November didn't sit too well and after some discussions we decided to part our ways. I honestly expected to be using my building by now. I will say neither of us are happy and I don't even have a set of plans. I doubt I could use their plans anyway as they use proprietary materials/techniques.

Now I have a big 80x130' pad with 2' of gravel waiting on a building. I live in Florida and I'm finding out that conducting business 400 miles away from my construction site is incredibly frustrating. My experience with getting anything done on my farm 400 miles away is an exercise in futility. Therefore, I need someone to build me a turnkey building and let the contractor deal with scheduling et al. Our home will be started next spring and I talked to our home builder about building my barn, but he has no experience in metal buildings and can't refer me to anyone who can build what we need. Suggestions please!

 

[EddieWalker]

I understand the desire for having one person, or one company, do it all for you, but in all reality, that's where all the problems happen. Being farther away, it's critical that you don't get too far out of the loop and not be able to stop a train wreck before it gets out of control.

If it was me, I would focus on the plan first. You will never be able to compare apples to apples unless you are talking about the same thing with every potential contractor. Even then, a really good contractor is going to spot issues with your plan and offer suggestions, or make sure you understand that if he does what you want, you will be spending stupid money on something that can be done in another way for a lot more reasonable money.

Avoid any of the online agencies like Angies List, Houzz, and Home Advisor. They are all run by sales guys that give out leads to contractors that pay them for those leads. Even then, most wont follow up on the leads because they have to pay for the contact information. They also don't do any background checking, or eliminate bad contractors that have burned so many bridges that the only way they can get work is from people that are desperate. Here in East Texas, where I work, I'm booked up for the year and working on bids for next year. If you can find somebody that can start in less then a few months, you should be SUPER EXTRA cautious in why they are not busy. Red Flags should be everywhere!!!

How do you want your building finished off on the interior? You mentioned insulation. That's super easy to find an insulation contractor to come in and do their thing, and then move on. What's more important is to decide if you should stick frame because it's less money to insulate and finish off the interior walls that way, then to build a pole barn, and then add walls between the poles so you can hang sheetrock.

If it's more of a barn type building with exposed insulation, like spray foam, then there is no cheaper building to build then a wooden post pole barn. They are also the easiest and fastest building to build. If you want a super wide span, and open ceiling, then a metal building is best because once you get more then 50 or maybe 60 feet of span, wood trusses become extremely expensive to build, transport and install. With your 48 foot width, you are bordeline on which way is best and both should be considered unless you are wanting a flat ceiling. I like flat ceilings in barns because it's cheaper to blow in R30 to R60 fiberglass insulation then it is for closed cell foam to get the same R value.

Once you get your floor plan figured out, talk to some of the home building contractors in the area. You might be surprised in what they can do for you if you are willing to go with stick framing.

If not, go to the best, high quality, metal building supply company. In my area, I believe Mueller is the best. I don't know who it is in your area, but I would find out and ask a dozen people or more. Then I would take my plan to their sales person in their office. If they do not have a local office, they are not one of the best suppliers in your area. I would show them what I wanted to build and ask for a list of builders that they recommend. Then I would contact them and get references. DO NOT TRUST ANYBODY!!! Go look at their buildings. Go look at what they are working on right now. Try to talk to the owner of those buildings one on one, face to face. This is where you will learn who to hire, and who to avoid. When on a job site, look at how clean and organized it is. That's a huge clue in how well they will finish off the building. Are the crew working well together, or are they half naked, drinking beer and taking cigarette breaks every ten minutes?

I doubt that you will find somebody that does it all, but it's worth trying. I would focus on doing it one step at a time. Get a plan, find somebody to build the structure and get it water tight. Ensure that it's perfect before making that final payment. NEVER TRUST anybody to finish a job once they have been paid!!!!!!

Then go on to the next step. Find plumbers, electricians, HVAC, trim, and sheetrock guys to do their thing based on your plan.

Step One. Get a plan down on paper.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

It seems to me that your scenario requires a General Contractor. Have you checked that out? Morton isn't what it used to be.

 

[fried1765]

Hey guys, I need to find the next best thing to having Morton Buildings build me a hobby shop/barn. I have talked to a couple of metal building contractors but they just want to build an uninsulated barn. I need something insulated with the possibility of installing HVAC if it gets uncomfortably warm in the summer. When I start mentioning insulation, interior walls, electrical, concrete, etc., I find I am getting out of their comfort zone very quickly. These guys construct pole barns and that's about where their expertise ends. Does anyone know of a firm like Morton who does everything from design to completion?

Here is the backdrop: Last year we bought a place in Tennessee near Chattanooga. This is to be our retirement place. The first task is to build a hobby barn to store our RV, be my shop and my wife's dog training facility; just a big open span building. I posted up a few questions here and it seemed the best way to go was with Morton. We worked with Morton (3 people, as 2 left during our planning) from Sept 2019 until we signed a contract on a 48'x108'x 16' building with a 10'50' covered porch, a 14x14' and 2 10'x10' garage doors, a couple of personnel doors, and a about a dozen windows in Feb this year. I was responsible for the site work, concrete, electrical, and plumbing. Morton was just going to build the shell, wait until my subs were done and then they would come back and insulate, do the interior walls/ceiling, and hang the doors/windows.

They told me they would start in June. Dang, 4 months? Anyway, we agreed and I got on the site work. I called Morton in May and asked them when they would start and I was told Covid was slowing them down, it would be August before they could start. I should plan on the second week of August. OK Covid is slowing down a lot of businesses, but dang, six months to start? I called in July to see when the start date was and they told me they didn't have any crews available but they MIGHT be able to start in November. They were having trouble keeping crews together and were going to try to hire a new crew to do my job. Now, I put down $60K in Feb expecting a June start and this news that they MIGHT start in November didn't sit too well and after some discussions we decided to part our ways. I honestly expected to be using my building by now. I will say neither of us are happy and I don't even have a set of plans. I doubt I could use their plans anyway as they use proprietary materials/techniques.

Now I have a big 80x130' pad with 2' of gravel waiting on a building. I live in Florida and I'm finding out that conducting business 400 miles away from my construction site is incredibly frustrating. My experience with getting anything done on my farm 400 miles away is an exercise in futility. Therefore, I need someone to build me a turnkey building and let the contractor deal with scheduling et al. Our home will be started next spring and I talked to our home builder about building my barn, but he has no experience in metal buildings and can't refer me to anyone who can build what we need. Suggestions please!

I think you very likely made a mistake by giving up on Morton!
As an absentee owner (400 miles), I would be very reluctant to reach into the ($120K?) unknown metal building contractor grab bag.

 

[TractorGuy]

Check with Carolina Carports. They list insulation on their options page. They showed up to build my barn in the midst of all this in 6 weeks and had it up and done in 3 days. It was just a 3 sides enclosed with no insulation but I figure 6 days tops to build a fully enclosed with insulation. They only sent two guys to my property. I understand they usually have a crew that knocks them out in hours rather than days.

Here is a link to their Florida pricing. The Florida spec buildings are a bit stronger than regular with standard 26 gauge sheet and 12 gauge frame option.
https://www.carolinacarportsinc.com/images/brochuer-page/pdf/FL-Commercial.pdf

 

[jaxs]

If you were in N. Texas,I could reccomend contractors but on a national basis Mueller is the only one that I would reccomend. Mueller will give customer a list of vetted contractors to choose from based on type building being constructed.

 

[JethroB]

Tyson Steel built my insulated all metal shop a couple of years ago. I am very pleased. They are family owned and located somewhat between your two properties in SW Georgia near Albany. You will likely still need to sub out the finish work though. I suggest calling them and explaining your needs. No high pressure sales just honest folks. Lots of pictures on their Facebook page (including my little building) . They serve the SE US.

Tyson Steel Building - Home Page - Tyson Steel Building

 

[Industrial Toys]

I had builders delay projects decades before COVID. It's the way it is. IF it's a good builder in quality and conscienciousness, then being late is the least problem.

If for no other reason, good contractors always have customers add to the job (I do the same) when you have them around. That can't make a contractor keep on schedule.

 

[ovrszd]

For me, your biggest obstacle is physical distance.

I would go to TN and drive around the community looking at buildings. I would stop and talk to property owners that have anything resembling what you want. They will give you contacts. They will also have an example of their work for you to look at.

There are local, quality contractors in your area that can build what you want. Find them. After all you are going to retire there and will get to know them eventually.

P.S. It concerns me that your house builder doesn't know anyone? Assuming he's local to the area?

 

[Ford850]

For me, your biggest obstacle is physical distance.

I would go to TN and drive around the community looking at buildings. I would stop and talk to property owners that have anything resembling what you want. They will give you contacts. They will also have an example of their work for you to look at.

There are local, quality contractors in your area that can build what you want. Find them. After all you are going to retire there and will get to know them eventually.

P.S. It concerns me that your house builder doesn't know anyone? Assuming he's local to the area?

That seems odd to me too.
As for delays, even before this covid mess kicked in I doubt I could have found a reputable builder in my area to build in 2020. They were all booked for many months with no openings. I'm sure I could find someone who wasn't as busy, but that says a lot and would be a big risk to me. Now?... Forget it. 2021 is the earliest with demand far exceeding supply.