considering a metal building as workshop

[Tom Hassad]

I would like a roughly 24 by 30 workshop and thought of stick construction but then someone suggested a metal building as being cheaper. I looked and they really varied in design, quality although it is hard to get a cost. What caught my eye was pwssteelbuildings but when I asked for a ballpark figure was quoted $45/sq. foot for everything, concrete included, which is roughly the cost by my estimates of a stick built shop.

I am considering metal as a cheaper alternative although I know you can make a metal building to be just as expensive as stick built. Does anyone have suggestions on keeping costs down to $25 or lower per square foot aside from getting the quanset hut type metal buildings? I want something to look nice as well in my residential back yard and I am in central california. Thanks, Tom.

[Tom Clark FL]

Tom,

Things must be higher in CA. My 36x60 cost 50,000 including concrete and doors and windows as shown. That's $23 a square. Then I added another $10k and built room dividers, added more insulation, a bath, and wiring. Finished, it came to $27 a square. Inside photos here.

[Alan Bienlein]

My 24 x 24 came out to $13 a square foot including the concrete and doors. I subcontracted the concrete and my wife and I put the building up.
116-1664_IMG.jpg3-07-09%20010.JPG

[Tom Hassad]

Alan, where did you buy your shop from? Are they national? That shop looks like what I want to get.

[Alan Bienlein]

Alan, where did you buy your shop from? Are they national? That shop looks like what I want to get.

I got it from Simpson Steel Buildings out of Kansas. They were cheaper than all the other ones local. No one local back in 2007 when I did this was willing to negotiate on price and they all wanted to charge me extra to deliver.

It's 12' tall at the peak and 9' at the eaves.

[Richard Cauman]

I had a 24 x 48 pole barn built a year ago, with upgrades including 12 windows, 12' ceiling, a 6 in 12 roof, 18" eaves, insulated walls and attic, and a cupola. It went up in less than a week and cost about 21K, plus the site prep and concrete floor, which I handled separately--about $4500. So that's around $22 a foot. This was without any interior walls, so I still had plenty to do, plus heat (an old pellet stove) and electric. This is in Maryland. The materials came on one truckload from Graeber in Indiana. Everything was of high quality. I would highly recommend going the pole barn route. If you want to see what I ended up with, you can see my photos at diypolebarns.com/gallery, scrolling down to "Richard in Knoxville." Small upgrades (like those I mentioned) can make a huge difference in how a pole barn looks.

[Jim Neeley]

"my wife and I put the building up"

Good for you, Alan, to have such an understanding wife!! You saved some serious money that way!!

Jim

[John Lifer]

I have a 30x30 in MS. Love the shop, but there are a lot of things to think about if you build a total metal building. If you want to put up cabinets, shelves or anything on the walls, you are in for a rude awakening. Very difficult. You really almost need to build additional wall, or mount from floor up, losing floor space. You can gain electrical reduction by using skylights.
I'd have to think about doing it a different way if I were to build again.

[Jim Andrew]

I have a steel building, not my woodshop, but could be made into one. I put insulation on the frame of the roof before the roofing, but the walls on mine have 4" c metal, and you could put 4" of insulation and screw metal or waferboard or drywall to them. Only downside, is you have to drill holes for wires and put a plastic bushing in the hole so the wire doesn't wear on a sharp edge. As far as hanging a ceiling, could put up a suspended ceiling.

[Jim Andrew]

I bought a steel building and put it up, and would consider it harder than stick building. Luckily I have a friend who has a telehandler, and it would have been impossible without that. Light weight trusses can be set up by 2 guys, so in my mind, stick framing is easier. Of course the steel building is 50 x 80, so have to consider the size. The frames are on 12' centers, and came with c metal 24" oc.

[Chris Parks]

Another thing to consider is if it remains unlined condensation becomes a big issue. They are very popular in Australia and condensation is the number one problem most people have to deal with.

[Shawn Stennett]

I had a 24x40 built this year with 10ft walls and it was $16500 with insulation and 7 windows two man doors and a big roll up.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Congrats on reaching the point where you are making the decision! I have both, and have worked on the structure of each. Both are good solid buildings, but I am a lot more familiar with stick built construction, so when I want to modify one of them, the stick built gets my vote. I'm sure that is a different response to a metal building builder, but it matters to me.

If you are going to be doing work on it yourself, pick the construction you are comfortable working on. Prices should be very similar on smaller buildings. Steel wins the pricing battle on bigger stuff usually. The current price of steel can radically change the price though, so lock in a price you are comfortable with if you choose that direction.

If you want to see some competitively priced stick built, check out the big box building kits.

[Jerry Hillenburg]

steelbuilding.com.

If you are a do-it-yourselfer, go to steelbuilding.com. On their website, within minutes, you can design your building and price it. When you are ready you can buy a package with the steel and insulation from them. I purchased a 42'X90', 16' height at the eaves, 1/12 pitch, from them in 2004.

For $23,000 ($6 sq. ft.) they provided everything above the concrete except the garage doors - all the steel, 3" insulation for the walls/ceiling, and the plans with Engineer certification that my state required. I provided the foundation, the concrete floor and anchor bolts.

I erected the building with the help of my 80 year old dad, a 25' scissor lift and a farm tractor with a front end loader. The building has six bays that are 15'X42' with each bay having a 12' wide X 14' tall garage door. I lease out four of the bays and use two of the bays for storage for my cabinet shop. I am retired now, but that extra space sure is nice and the four leased bays bring in income that helps defray expenses of my now idle cabinet shop. The cabinet shop is a concrete block building built in 1984 - if I could do it over it would be a steel building.

I am a wood guy so everything around me is wood, but because of the fire danger I do not feel comfortable making a wood shop building out of wood.

[marty shultz]

I went through the same mental exercise. Metal is likely faster to build and slightly cheaper depending on how the inside is finished. I didn't want to deal with hanging stuff on the metal walls and I preferred the look of the wood structure more than the metal. Tough choice. Good luck.