Morton Buildings Worth It??

[FrogLick]

Correction, that last line should read "Contingency" fee.

 

[FrogLick]

Those change orders did result in an additional $900 on top of the original price. The manager/salesman claimed that he wrote off some of the additional expenses without really considering the "contingency" fee to come up with a figure that he thought was fair. He accepted no responsibility for not writing the order specs. correctly (or following up with the plant) to assure that things were as we discussed in detail before signing the contract, but did acknowledge that the Morton computer specification program had some deficiencies that could mislead the less experienced and that the plant didn't question anything submitted that seemed odd or unusual.

Since the "contingency" fee would not have been deducted from my final payment had everything gone without any problems, it's my view that it's just additional profit built into their pricing and prehaps recognition on Morton's part that systematic errors are not all that uncommon. Perhaps they've grown too large and operationally complex and developed a system wide CYA mentality?

I will say that the building is constructed with first rate commercial grade materials and the construction crew was very professional. There were also a couple of minor surprises on some of the options I included that I didn't expect for the superior building Morton claims and their premium pricing. Would I go with Morton again? I'm proud of the final product but would think long and hard about using a smaller, more local builder before making that decision again. For those with more "standard" size requirements and perhaps not considering quite as many customization options, Morton's new "Country Craft" line would be a good choice with a much more competitive price.

 

[eric5899]

Just wanted to add onto this thread since it helped me in researching buildings and making a decision. I received bids back from two post frame builders and two fabric hoop builders. My building size is 2880 square feet. The biggest surprise was the fabric buildings were more than steel buildings even thought they claimed to be less than a traditional building. ClearSpan which looks inexpensive for the base package ended up being almost double the price of a steel building once they added endwalls and doors. So then I was down to Wick and Morton. The Wick bid was $28k and the Morton was $34k. I have one Wick already so I knew it was a good building. I gave the Morton rep several opportunities to get closer to Wick or even explain where I get $6k more building but he couldn't come up with anything but saleman one-liners. "We don't cheapen our buildings to compete on price" and "Don't be so hard on yourself, spend the money and get a Morton". I told him if he could get close, I'd give him the contract but he never moved a dime from his first price. Plus, he was hard selling nails even though the Morton brochure says their stainless screws were part of the Morton difference. He said if I had to have screws, it would be an extra $1k. Wick only uses screws. Anyway, thanks for everyone that contributed to the thread. It really helped me in my search.

 

[sixdogs]

This is a really old thread, and I may well have posted earlier but I have since built a Walters barn to go with my Mortin barn plus have met some Amish builders as well so may have a new view.

Morton is a nice building and a good deal if you get a great and advertised price from a farm show come-on ad and don't change a single thing is the design of it. Not one thing and build it in their off season of late fall. I would use them on the terms stated earlier and remember they, like all builders, have a high cost and low cost version. I am 100% happy because I built a farm show package on their terms and made no changes.

Walters is a great building at an excelent price and I am 100% happy. They had a great crew and even though I built their lower cost version, was treated very respectfully. I would use them again.

Since then I have seen a number of Amish built barns and the quality and price was excellent or better. This would now be my first choice if I was in an area they were and if I had seen work they had done. And while we are at it, remeber to build a barn that's waaaayyy bigger than you need. Time has a way of changing expectations.

 

[Cpjlube]

Walters built our 36x63 several years ago. Nice building. I was satisfied with the whole process. Didn't experience too much up charge. But I was pretty specific about what we wanted.

Chuck

 

[robot]

I don't recommend a Lester Building at all. Lester Bldgs. engineered my building and recommended one of their Dealer/Builders telling me that they do "Good Work". What I got was that Lester Bldgs. shorted me on drip stop and exterior plywood and engineered the plywood incorrectly. Their Lester Dealer/Builder built my building in less than 10 days and left town, weeks later we had our first rain at which time I found that I had 25 leaks in my roof, I had puddles all over inside my building. This Lester Builder/Dealer told me that if they had to come back for anything it would be a $500 minimum so I got up on the roof myself and found that they had installed the roof screws which didn't even hit the Purlins, I fixed all that myself. It took me 2 years to finish and move into my building at which time the more serious problems were found. 8 Roof Purlins not nailed, not one nail holding them in place which would explain why on windy nights it sounded like my roof was going to blow off. Gaps/Openings in my roof valleys that caused my attic insulation to be blown away and rain coming in. Bird Blocks not installed, blocks that were installed were not nailed, not one nail in them. A lot of the soffit pieces only had one staple holding it on. Facia boards barely on the Truss, nails missing the Truss. I paid an Amish Crew from Graber Bldgs. just weeks ago to come in and fix my building problems, but I first called Lester Bldgs out for help, but after they discussed it with Lester Bldgs. Upper Management they advised that they feel no responsibility for any issues on my building and also its out of the 1 year warranty. My building issues were done in the initial Lester engineering and construction of my building by both Lester Buildings and the Lester Dealer/Builder that they told me did "Good Work", so I don't recommend buying a Lester Building at all, you may end up going thru what I had to deal with.

 

[paulharvey]

I don't recommend a Lester Building at all. Lester Bldgs. engineered my building and recommended one of their Dealer/Builders telling me that they do "Good Work". What I got was that Lester Bldgs. shorted me on drip stop and exterior plywood and engineered the plywood incorrectly. Their Lester Dealer/Builder built my building in less than 10 days and left town, weeks later we had our first rain at which time I found that I had 25 leaks in my roof, I had puddles all over inside my building. This Lester Builder/Dealer told me that if they had to come back for anything it would be a $500 minimum so I got up on the roof myself and found that they had installed the roof screws which didn't even hit the Purlins, I fixed all that myself. It took me 2 years to finish and move into my building at which time the more serious problems were found. 8 Roof Purlins not nailed, not one nail holding them in place which would explain why on windy nights it sounded like my roof was going to blow off. Gaps/Openings in my roof valleys that caused my attic insulation to be blown away and rain coming in. Bird Blocks not installed, blocks that were installed were not nailed, not one nail in them. A lot of the soffit pieces only had one staple holding it on. Facia boards barely on the Truss, nails missing the Truss. I paid an Amish Crew from Graber Bldgs. just weeks ago to come in and fix my building problems, but I first called Lester Bldgs out for help, but after they discussed it with Lester Bldgs. Upper Management they advised that they feel no responsibility for any issues on my building and also its out of the 1 year warranty. My building issues were done in the initial Lester engineering and construction of my building by both Lester Buildings and the Lester Dealer/Builder that they told me did "Good Work", so I don't recommend buying a Lester Building at all, you may end up going thru what I had to deal with.

If you had all these issues, you really should have raised them before final release on payment. I'm not blaming you for a bad contractor, but as the owner, you really need to look at the work before paying.

 

[robot]

Paul, If you don't know that these issues exist, you can't hold payment. I didn't find the 25 leaks in my roof until the first rain, which was weeks after this Lester Bldgs. Dealer/Builder left town. The other issues would not be found until moving into my building which took me 2 years to complete and move into. I put my complete faith into Lester Buildings which was a mistake on my part.

 

[LesterBuildings]

The customer should review the building with the builder before the builder leaves. Most builders offer a one-year workmanship warranty. Customers should contact their builder if they see any workmanship issues during the first few months of it being up.

 

[dave1949]

The customer should review the building with the builder before the builder leaves. Most builders offer a one-year workmanship warranty. Customers should contact their builder if they see any workmanship issues during the first few months of it being up.

This is a pet peeve of mine: Why should a person hire a builder if their work needs to be inspected? By whom? The customer who thinks they are paying for good craftsmanship because they don't know how to build it themselves? But they should be knowledgeable enough to inspect a professional's work?

That makes no sense. Why isn't the building company, Lester or whoever, inspecting the work to protect their own interests, let alone the customer's? You wouldn't have to be here defending your company if you used sensible and fair business practices IMO.

 

[paulharvey]

This is a pet peeve of mine: Why should a person hire a builder if their work needs to be inspected? By whom? The customer who thinks they are paying for good craftsmanship because they don't know how to build it themselves? But they should be knowledgeable enough to inspect a professional's work?

That makes no sense. Why isn't the building company, Lester or whoever, inspecting the work to protect their own interests, let alone the customer's? You wouldn't have to be here defending your company if you used sensible and fair business practices IMO.

When you build anything for some one, low income apartments to very nice commercial buildings, the owner or owners rep walks through after the builder is "done" and makes a punch list of things they feel need corrected. This can be small things like dented panels in a metal building, paint issues, door fit, ect. No, the owner isn't expected to climb up on the roof and check screw pattern, but everything I've ever built professionally there has been an owners walk.

Why? Because you as the builder miss things, you don't know what there quality threshold is, and of coarse so they don't call you in a week about touch up paint (after they scratch it all up moving in).

I'm sure everyone gets the "missing things part" but I don't think people realize what all you can miss when you are working on something every day. You get so used to seeing something you forget about it. The builder also typically has bigger things on think here mind then the things home owners notice. You worry about "ghosting" doors, he's thinking about a 100 yard concrete pour next monday...

Quality threshold is where a lot of people get lost. Nothing built anywhere, ever, is 100% perfect. If we say everything build could be rated 1-10 on quality, there would be very very few 10s. Your average production home would be maybe a 4-6 depending on builder, designer, inspector, ect. Your barn, first; temper your expectations a bit; it maybe is a 3-5 in quality; everyone thinks they deserve a 10, but that's several million dollar hand crafted custom homes... most builders will do what it takes to get done and gone; many will do their best out of pride, but even still you have to insist making sure it meets your standards (with in reason).

There is such a thing as "good enough". What is good enough in a low income apartment would be a joke in a commercial office or government building. You (with in reason again) define what is good enough on your building. This isn't an excuse for crappie work... and you can really get in a dangerous spiral of good enough, but the dirty truth is everything is gray, not black and white.

 

[paulharvey]

Paul, If you don't know that these issues exist, you can't hold payment. I didn't find the 25 leaks in my roof until the first rain, which was weeks after this Lester Bldgs. Dealer/Builder left town. The other issues would not be found until moving into my building which took me 2 years to complete and move into. I put my complete faith into Lester Buildings which was a mistake on my part.

Roof leaks are a common issue with metal buildings. There shouldn't be a $500 mobilization fee for legit warranty work. I do understand charging remob for honeydos. You had every right to stand up to them on the leaks.

The stuff two years later... that's not warranty; that's what a lawyer would call "hidden defects" and you probably would/should get a lawyer involved at that time. If the builder covered/disguised known major problems, you probably would have a leg to stand on.

 

[wngsprd]

This is a pet peeve of mine: Why should a person hire a builder if their work needs to be inspected? By whom? The customer who thinks they are paying for good craftsmanship because they don't know how to build it themselves? But they should be knowledgeable enough to inspect a professional's work?

That makes no sense. Why isn't the building company, Lester or whoever, inspecting the work to protect their own interests, let alone the customer's? You wouldn't have to be here defending your company if you used sensible and fair business practices IMO.

Well said.

 

[rtimgray]

Something handy (I think) to remember is that pretty much any company or contractor that is building anything is going to use the following formula:

Cheapest labor x least amount of time + cheapest materials = most profit

It would be wonderful to think that a contractor/builder actually cares to put out a quality product, but for the most part, they're not interested in good work, but instead "good enough" work. If an owner can't take the time to educate themselves on the details of the project that they're working on, then they are going to have to rely on the virtue of the contractor. And again, just because a contractor foreman may be a good guy, he may be overseeing multiple project and the knuckleheads that are nailing on purlins or screwing down metal know that if they get done quicker, the sooner they get to go sit in the truck since the foreman's on another job.

Having said that, I'm sure that there are good and virtuous contractors that ensure quality work is done, but I would say they are the exception rather than rule. Like pretty much every other transaction between people, I would caution "Buyer Beware". If you can find a contractor that you feel you can really trust to do quality and timely work, then that is awesome. Otherwise, I would take the time to educate myself as much as possible and inspect the work as much as possible.

Good luck and take care.

 

[sixdogs]

As I posted way back in this thread, I believe Morton is worth it IF you buy a farm show "package" with special pricing. You can get a great price this way. JUST DON"T CHANGE ANYTHING in the plans or kiss the price goodbye.

This matters because many of the Midwest farm shows are starting soon and that's when the deals are. It's when I bought my building.

 

[robot]

One thing to mention is that the Lester Dealer/Builder that built my building was on the job pounding nails himself. I can see forgetting to nail a Purlin or even two purlins, but not eight. And what about all the bird blocks on two gable ends. He left 2 out, but what rally got me as that not one of the blocks that he did put in place were nailed. It was just him, his father and another worker. Theres no doubt in my mind that he knew about these mistakes and poor workmanship issues. And what about the soffit? The company owner, Willis Childress, installed all the soffit himself, he used staples that by the time they went thru the steel soffit only 3/8" went into the facia board and what about all the soffit pieces that only had one staple in it? And the facia boards that were barely on the trusses and their nails missing the truss? This poor workmanship was covered up by the facia cover, you will not see these with a walk thru. Its not until the Amish crew took all the facia covers off and even the roof metal off before alot of the poor workmanship was discovered.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

I looked at Morton buildings, and a number of their competitors, off and on for several years. Yes, they build a quality structure - relative to much of their competition. For me, however, Morton has become a "label" - for which you pay as you would for designer jeans.

I ultimately hired a local Amish builder to construct my barn. I feel, in the end, I have a larger, better insulated and better finished building - for much less than I would have dropped on a Morton. This barn is 30x50, 12 foot ceilings & 10 ft doors. It set me back about $34K.

 

[robot]

Very nice building KiotiKowboy, I went with the clay also, and you made the right choice by going with an Amish Crew. I had the Amish Crew from Graber Buildings come in and make all the repairs on my Lester Building and I recognized their attention to detail is far beyond most others. I say this to others out there thinking about which company to have build your buildings, the Amish seem to have quality in mind more than anything else so again I would not recommend Lester Buildings at all, but I would recommend an Amish Crew.

 

[sixdogs]

Yes, Amish crew trumps Morton big time. They put up some real first class structures around here and are priced reasonable.

 

[robot]

I don't recommend buying a Lester Building at all, I bought one and just weeks ago had to pay an Amish Crew to come in and fix the mistakes and poor workmanship on it. I paid Lester Bldgs. extra for them to install roof Dripstop on the house portion of my bldg., but they shorted me on that, I also paid them extra for 3/4" plywood to be installed on all exterior walls, but again I was shorted and Lester incorrectly engineered the exterior of my bldg. I dealt mainly with the Lester Regional Manager who provided me with one of their Lester Dealer/Builders from out of state telling me he did "Good Work", which turned out to be a lie. It took this Lester Dealer less than ten days to build my building and then he left town, but before he left town he told me that if he had to come back for any reason it would be a $500 minimum. Just weeks later we had our first rain, at which time I noticed that I had 25 leaks in my roof, I had puddles all over inside my bldg., so I got up on the roof only to find that this Lester Dealer had installed the roof screws missing the roof purlins and some screws were too short. Well, I wasn't going to pay this Lester Dealer to come back and fix his screw ups, so I fixed them myself, it took me two days to do it, but I did it myself. I found out later that he was supposed to come back for free on repairs like that up to a one year period.
It took me two years to finish and move into my Lester Bldg., at which time we started noticing more serious problems, to the point where I had an Amish Crew from Graber Bldgs. come in and check out my Lester Bldgs., who found several problems, but before I paid them to fix my bldg., I first called the Lester Buildings Regional Manager out and asked him for help. This Manager was shocked at my bldg. problems, but after he spoke with Lester Bldgs. Upper Management he told me that Lester Bldgs. doesn't feel any responsibility for what they called "My Building Issues" and I'm out of my one year warranty period so they won't be helping me. I at that point asked him if Lester Bldgs. could at least give me a discount on the soffit materials for the repairs, which totalled around $2,500, and he said no to that too. So, I at that point paid the Amish Crew to come in and fix my Lester Building and the following is what they found:
8 Roof Purlins not nailed at all, they actually pulled one up and out to show me, which would explain why on windy nights it sounded like my roof was going to blow off. A lot of the soffit only had one staple holding it on, and when the staples tried going thru the steel they bent only allowing 3/8" to go into the facia board, which would explain the rattling we were hearing. Lester also used vented soffit on the gable ends, which should have been solid soffit. Gaps/Openings in the roof valleys where wind was blowing in and had blown my attic insulation away in those areas, cold wind was finding its way into my furnace plentum/duct work, rain had to be coming in too. Facia boards barely on the truss and nails missing the truss, we had to sister nailers on the sides of some trusses. Facia cover not cut to fit properly causing the ends to dip down an inch.
After I turned Lester Buildings into the Better Business Bureau they responded to the complaint by putting most of the blame on their Lester Dealer, you know, the one they recommended to me as doing "Good Work". This Lester Dealer/Builders name is C&C Construction, Willis Childress is the owner and he definately did poor workmanship on my bldg., but Lester Bldgs provided him to me and Lester Bldgs. shorted me on roof dropstop and incorrecly engineered the exterior of my building, but they feel no responsibility for my "Building Issues". With that in mind, I would not recommend buying a Lester Building at all.