Steel buildings?

I had about a 25' x 50' pole with metal sides building put up on a pre-existing slab. About $16K finished with two entry doors and a doublewide lift-up door. What amazed me is a crew of four guys put it up in a day and a half. When they left it looked like it had been there for a while. One end is butted up against an older structure.

A friend drives by occasionally. Apparently he did so the day before they arrive and late afternoon on the day they left. His reaction was one of those 'Say what!'.

I'm in the process of building a 30X50 steel sided building right now. Here are the costs I have in it at this point....

Friend $200.00 labor (1/2)
Menards $39.11 concrete
Menards $4,472.85 steel and trim (refund of $200?)
Menards $864.92 doors
Menards $2,140.92 lumber
Menards $84.53 lumber
$7,802.33

I still owe $200 for labor (when it is all done) and I still need to put stone or concrete in it. The $39 concrete charge was for the bottoms of the holes. I've got a lot in doors because I have 3 overhead garage doors (one 8', one 9' and one 16', plus a service door). The steel prices are higher because I have a one foot overhang all around, and that means I needed all the trim and soffitt, etc.

Also, I used their top-of-the-line premium stuff, which cost a bit more, but I figure I'll have this the rest of my life and it has a lifetime warranty against EVERYTHING...even fading!

My son builds barns for a living, so he is providing most of the labor, but we are having someone help him so agreed on paying him $400 to do it. That doesn't count the case of beer we paid another friend to help with the trusses.

My son says they build this size all the time and they allow 100 man-hours to do it. So with a crew of 4 people (which is probably too many), that's only 25 hours. Start to finish.

cc-rider -

You are only putting concrete in the holes of the poles, and no actual foundation right?

Had I been able to avoid a foundation that would have lowered our price a lot.

Yep, that's how this company does all of their buildings. They dig 4' holes and put "cookies" in the bottom. They add more concrete if it seems wet there, or if they can't get down the entire 4'. The 6X6 posts are treated, by the way. Then they put greenboard (treated 2X8, looks like) around the perimeter at ground level.

Don't know how that compares to having a regular foundation, but it sure beats the cost. And they've been building them that way for many, many years, so they must last.

how can you have $39.11 total for concrete with all them poles?? It took me a concrete truck load to do mine, 9 yards.

12 bags of kwik-crete or whatever it was called. One bag per hole. There was already a concrete "cookie" in the bottom to level off the hole and sit the pole on. Then, since it had rained since the holes were dug, they pumped out the water, dumped a bag of kwik-crete in each hole, set the pole, and then backfilled with dirt.

I think that I prefer how mine was done.

A solid foundation five foot deep with a footer on the bottom, lots of rebar running through it, and long anchor bolts in that. Bolting onto the girders holding them in place and holding the building down should a gale force come along.

You're right...I'd prefer that, too!!!! My problem was $$$$$. It was this (which is good enough), or nothing. I'm happy with it.

True enough, at $7800 for a 30 X 50 building, is pretty good.

My 40 X 60 cost a lot more:
$10k foundation,
$16k for the building.
$150 to erect the girders.

After it was up and solid, then I went around cutting holes for more windows [$], and spraying the inside with foam [$], and I am now in the process of hanging R-30 fiberglass batting and wood paneling [more $].

We are living in it, and have been for six months; but by the time it is finally finished, it will cost close to $50k.

I choose Sunward, about 11 years back. Been very happy with them. All quotes were in same ballpark. But Sunward had their own trucks and included shipping. Only surprise I had was when county made me put up a full foundation (added another grand to cost).