Metal Building

[micromike]

I bought a Steel Master Arch (Type A) Building. It was 16'by30' and $2,500 delivered. I got sucked into the supposed simplicity and cost. I still haven't put it up and am trying to sell it and will put up a pole building instead.

For the steel arch building you have to pour a footer with a key way for the metal to set into. And yes, you bolt the individual arches together on the ground and lift them up individually. What they don't tell you in the sales literatre is you have to build a frame inside to hold the arches up because they are so flimsy than can very easily twist out of shape. They also STRONGLY urge you to buy a rider on your homeowners insurance incase a strong wind comes along and blows it to pieces before you get it completed. Nowhere do they tell you all metal buildings have a tendency to sweat. Fiberglass insulation would be a major pain and probably not very effective against the sweating. The best insulation for an all metal building is the spray on stuff. Expensive but effective. Running electric has it's own unique problems. Keep in mind if you want to add on or build a car port on the side you are out of luck with the metal building too.

I suppose steel arch buildings have their place but I have to believe a pole building would be at least as easy to build and probably no more expensive. A pole building with metal sides and roof is also a good inexpensive alternative and you would be able to do much of the work yourself if you need to. With a steel arch building you really need three people minimum.

I bought mine as an inexpensive garage because I thought I may be moving in a couple years. Thought I would just unbolt it and take it with me. That is unrealistic too. The final reason I wouldn't do it is...they are ugly. Not a problem for a storage building on the back 40 but really not a good alternative for a residential area.

Anybody want to buy a good steel building CHEAP? Lol!!

Mike

 

[Daryl]

Just talked to a guy on the phone and he quoted me a price of $9300 on a 24x30 stick built building. 2x4 walls 16" on center.Vinyl siding, shingle roof. 2 9x7 garage doors,4 windows, 1 walk out door. 4 inches of concrete.Only problem and I forgot to mention it to him is my TC 30 won't go in a 7 foot garage door. Height of building was to be 8 foot so a door probably could not be over 7 foot. Is that correct?
Thanks
daryl

 

[Anonymous Poster]

daryl,you are correct about door hieght. it is because of header to support roof.did you tell him how level ground is, this affects price.more exc., taller found., more labor, more fill = more$ in my area that would be a steal.you didn't mention footings. don't let him do it w/out footings.the building will sink, shift, crack,etc.

 

[yooperdave]

You can have a 8' door height with a 8' eave if the door is located at the gable end. Top of door = top of ceiling.

You could also use scissors style trusses which would give additional clearance at the peak. This option would be more realistic, but would also force you to have a gable roof configuration. The additional volume would be nice and would give you some room to mount the overhead track and a electric door opener.

Some food for thought.

Yooper Dave

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Steel arch is great for big storage sheds, but they are more difficult to make into an insulated, electrified, warm shop, and smaller buildings stick-built/ pole can be pretty cheap. I hear it is much wiser to bolt the angle iron to your footer, & bolt the building to that, than to use the trench idea.

Wish the person with on were closer to MN, I'd love to have it even tho it is about 1/2 the size I want.

--->Paul

 

[BB_TX]

Daryl - I put up a 30'x40' prefab metal building. See attachment. I had help putting up the I beam frame work, roof purlins, and roof sheets. Otherwise I put the whole thing up by myself. It is fully insulated, plumbed for water and septic, and wired. It would have been much easier to have help on some parts, but I managed OK. As someone mentioned, squareness is the key. Mine has a concrete slab with anchor bolts set in the slab and the frame bolts directly to that. It is important that whoever does the slab make sure the anchor bolts are correctly set.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

even with doors on gable you can't squeeze 8' door because as door rolls around corner it has to go somewhere. this eats about 7"-8".I'm not sure about roll up doors,think it's about the same. With the expense of scissor trusses it would be cheaper to do 104 5/8" studs (9' walls).just my 2 cents.
BTW, I do this every day and every time I think I've seen it all I see something new.Whatever way you go (steel,wood,etc.) check out your contractors references.It costs 2-3 times as much to fix screwed up work

 

[boustany]

I did a steel arch building and consider the whole experience a mistake. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif I was supposed to go up over 2 days with 2 guys, but it was unbelievably hard to set up, and after trying for about 10 days (spread over 6 months, my brother and I gave up and I paid a crew to do it. 2 experienced guys took 4 days working 10 hours a day to put it up.

Now, I may be a desk jocky, but my brother is the sort of hands on guy than can do anything. Together, we have torn engines our of cars, rebuilt transmissions, and built entire houses (including the one I'm living in). I have never paid anybody to finish a job for me before, so this was quite the defeat.

I could have built a traditional wood building in less time for less money. Then I would have had windows, insulation, good weather seal, and so on. The wiring is a MAJOR pain /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif because everything has to be conduit, which is bad enough, except bending conduit around curved surfaces is more of a challenge than I have the skill for.

So, after build my workshop, which will be next door to this garage, I'll tear the garage down and rebuild it in wood. Hopefully I can recouperate some of the cost by selling it.

Until then, it keeps my Kubota relatively dry.

I would never recommend an arch building to anybody.

 

[cowboydoc]

I totally agree on the arch buildings being a royal pain. You couldn't give me one of them. They are also prone to leaks as well.

 

[elmerinva]

Daryl, I bought a metal building 24'x32'including 6 windows and a slider 12' door and 2 skylights from National Barn Co. for $8700. They delivered material and assembled it in 2 days. I couldn't do better than that with a kit. I had a 4" slab poured after they left. I've had it now for over 2 years and am very happy with it. They have a website www.nationalbarn.com. The only requirement is that you have a level site. You can have a pre-built slab but then you must put in anchor bolts for the poles. Good luck. http://www.nationalbarn.com