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Thread: Cost of Building Steel vs Wood-Framed Workshop?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Colorado Springs
    Posts
    2,742

    Cost of Building Steel vs Wood-Framed Workshop?

    My brother in Oklahoma is getting into woodworking. Unlike my situation with the proverbial tract house, bro has ten acres where he wants to build a workshop. I suggested going with a steel building. He insists steel is very expensive and it would be cheaper to build a wood framed shop.

    While I was pretty sure steel was less expensive, I admit I'm no expert. For anyone who has built a shop recently, what's the real deal? Is a steel building actually more expensive than a wood framed building sheeted with OSB and vinyl siding, for example?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Lewiston, Idaho
    Posts
    28,504
    Pat....I joined the Creek just as I was starting to build my shop. It's 24'x30' with 10' ceilings. I had an empty shell built..2x6 construction....poured footing, wall and floor. It has plywood sheathing and 30 year ashphalt shingles ...sided with Hardiboard cementous lap siding. It has a 10' insulated garage door, 3 4'x3' thermopane sliding windows and a 36" insulated steel walkthrough door. The empty uninsulated shell without electrical cost my wife $16,100. She could have retired but continues working to pay for it. God I love that woman!

    I did the electrical...it has it's own meter and 200 amp service. I insulated the walls with R-19 fiberglass and had R-30 fiberglass blown into the ceiling. I prepped the ceiling with the insulation barriers. They blew it in for almost what it would have cost me to do it myself.

    The walls are covered with 1/2" plywood. I wished I'd used plywood on the ceilings but it was cheaper to use sheetrock. My bad decision! The LOML gave me a natural gas Lennox hanging 75,000 btu gas furnace for Christmas 3 years ago.

    I've installed 11 8' 4 bulb T-8 flourescent light fixtures.

    I would guess I'm into the shop close to $26,000-$28,000. I'm still building shelving, storage and benches.
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Colorado Springs
    Posts
    2,742
    Wow, great information. Thanks, Ken!

  4. Steel and wood both fluctuate in price quite a bit, and steel was pretty expensive not too long ago. It has come down lately, along with all other commodities.

    Price out both, where he is. He might have a steel building manufacturer that is local, or picks up shipping, or is easier to get through the local code agency, etc. One advantage the pre-engineered buildings have is that you don't need an architect's stamp on them to get approvals. But not all locations require that, so its an individual thing.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Stanwood, WA
    Posts
    3,059
    Ken,
    I will keep all this in mind as when I retire I am building a shop from scratch.
    Dewey

    "Everything is better with Inlay or Marquetry!"


  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Independence, MO, USA.
    Posts
    2,472
    My brothers, brother in law, built a pole barn. He framed his shop inside of it, and that eventually got modified to his house, and the unfinished area, got finished into a shop and old tractor garage. As a home it is small, but as a shop it was good size. Above it is his storage/loft, from the garage, and he and his family are happy.

  7. #7
    I built a steel building 10 years ago. It is 40x60x10' high and cost $34,000. During this recession the prices are probably not much higher.

    The building was $17,000. What ran the price up was concrete - $9,000, insulation, air-conditioning/heat, and a small restroom.

    At the time I had never done any construction, but today if building it over would go with building frame construction myself. I could get better insulation.

    One point that needs to be made, price the minimum size you want, then price one much larger. The larger buildings are surprisingly not that much more expensive. You never hear anyone say, "I wish I had built it smaller!"

    If you want to see the inside: link
    Attached Images Attached Images

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Northern Oregon
    Posts
    1,820
    Get bids on the same specs from steel and wood frame builders and pole builders.

    The great part about steel is no painting in your lifetime,unless you're under 18 today! A steel roof ( the type with no exposed screws) will be leak free for longer than most other roofs.

    The downside with some "packaged" all steel buildings is insulation. They are more expensive/time consuming to insulate well.

    The weak spot with a pole building is the poles in the ground. No doubt they may last a long time,but less resale value and harder to finance. A pole building is probably the cheapest option.

    I hope for good luck with his project. One huge plus right now is all building materials are cheaper than they've been since 1980! I just bought some lumber and plywood for 20% less than the quotes I got just 3 months ago. My buddy who manages the lumber yard says some of the lumber is being sold at cost just to keep the doors open. Contractors are probably ready to bid very competitively.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,675
    I agree that it should be priced out both ways since costs are often localized and not necessarily completely dependent on material cost. Steel buildings and pole buildings can go up pretty fast so they should be considered in addition to stick built.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Northfield, Mn
    Posts
    1,227
    Don't rule out concrete. The preformed panels are supposed to be cheaper in the long run. Insurance is much less as it isn't a wood frame building (fire), and they stand up extreme weather much better. The insulation is already in the panels and goes all the way to the footing. And if you want add an addition later on, you just pop the panels on one end and re-use them. All you do is paint to finish the interior.

    For just the shell steel is generally the cheapest route, finishing the interior is a pain though. Pole Buildings aren't the easiest to finish the interior of either, but far less troublesome furring out off of steel I beams.

    Stud frame, or concrete are the two options that I'm most interested in for myself.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Fallbrook, California
    Posts
    3,562
    Pat,
    I'm with the rest when they say to price things out before you commit to anything. My wife and I did that for our area and decided to use Tuff Shed for the building. All things considered their part of the build was a good experience and the building meets my needs. For us it was the "best" we could afford that fit well with our existing house.

    Latest post:
    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=96581

    Analysis of the build:
    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=96769

    I need to add that I haven't moved into the shop yet. Our contractor is using it to store tools and material for another project and hopes to be finished by the end of the month. With the current rain delays it may take longer.

    As soon as he's out I need to finish some painting and epoxy the floor before I start moving in my tools. More pictures, etc. will be posted when that happens.
    Don Bullock
    Woebgon Bassets
    AKC Championss

    The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.
    -- Edward John Phelps

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