30' x 58' Arch Metal Building Project

[Marshall2u]

Hi all. Last winter I bought a used 30' x 70' metal arch building. I had to take it down and transport it to it's new home. The building is largely finished now (the outside, that is). I will post my pictures and the corresponding stories, as well as any other issues I faced or will face. Just to start out, these 4 pics are the building as it looked prior to taking it down. The purchase included the building (obviously), the office inside the building, a heat pump, and all the lights and wiring. I hired a couple of guys to help, and, needless to say, it took much longer than I expected! Sorry that these pictures are blurry, as I pulled them from the sale ad online (Craigslist).

 

[930dreamer]

Very nice shop.

 

[Marshall2u]

Very nice shop.

Thanks! It's ugly, but it's pretty big, and will accomplish what I need!

 

[Marshall2u]

First, we started with this property that we bought for business. It has an 1800 sq. ft. house and nearly 3 acres. I do mobile oil changing and the wife does wedding (and other) invitations. We both got out of our previous businesses (I sold mine after 18 years (I was a military contractor), and she closed her gift shop after 14). We decided to scale back. Anyway, here is the house:

And here is the the shop in relation to the house:

 

[Marshall2u]

We did the inside of the house first. Here is my attached garage-turned-office space.

Truck tool box turned into step:

 

[flybefree]

Dude that is SO green! The office color and recycling your building....looking forward to seeing more.

Shaun

 

[Marshall2u]

Seems people either love or hate the green. When a friend of mine first saw it he asked if they were giving the paint away, and was I so cheap that I took it.

 

[Marshall2u]

The property is outside the city limits, but within the ETJ, so I have to deal with city building codes. They would only let me put up 58' of the 70' I purchased.

Slab prep from back in Feb.:

 

[cyamaha2007]

love the idea of taking down a building a re using a member here took down a large pole barn then put back up half of it and sold the rest for i believe a small profit.

 

[Marshall2u]

I haven't updated my progress in quite a while, so I'll post a few things over the next couple days.......This was posted elsewhere, but I'll put it here also. I turned the old well house into a new home for the compressor.

 

[Marshall2u]

I'm all about re-purposing stuff, so I had 6 of these old electrical test benches which I turned into various things in the shop.

First, they were the framework for the front workbench (approx. 25' of bench). The wood (not including 2x4's) was purchased from a mfg. of wood products. It came in the form of a 7' tall pallet of 11.5" x 48" strips of 5/8 plywood, so I had some design limitations, but since the whole pallet only cost me $20, it was well worth it. I used that stuff for MANY other projects also :

[/IMG]

$10 TV

I stacked the aluminum faced top portions of the test benches 4 high and added wheels to form another storage unit (I would have stacked all 6, but it would have been too tall):

I still had 2 base units left which I added wheels to to make 2 nice sized rolling tables.

All in all, including the 2x4 I had to buy new, I have less than $150 in everything mentioned in this post.

 

[bdkw1]

They would only let me put up 58' of the 70' I purchased.

Could you put some up in front of the front wall and call it a "car port"

 

[wrigh003]

Those metal roll-front doors are neat. Why the kidney-bean shape, I wonder? Seems like a waste of space vs a plain old rectangle. Maybe they were more style-conscious when those were made.

 

[Kevin54]

We did the inside of the house first. Here is my attached garage-turned-office space.

Truck tool box turned into step:

I only have a couple of things to say about the color and the steps. That is badass

What is the color of the green you used and that's a hell of an ingenious idea for truck boxes.

Not everyplace can rock the green, but you pulled it off. And those are one of the best steps I've seen in a while. The beveled edges really add to the look.

 

[Marshall2u]

Could you put some up in front of the front wall and call it a "car port"

Not now, because I haven't gotten my final inspection.....afterwards....hmmmm....maybe so! As a matter of fact, I have several plans that I can't put into play until I know the inspector won't be showing up anymore.

Those metal roll-front doors are neat. Why the kidney-bean shape, I wonder? Seems like a waste of space vs a plain old rectangle. Maybe they were more style-conscious when those were made.

You're right, they are a seriously inefficient use of space. When I bought the units, at an online auction, I didn't realize how large they were. I am kinda hard-headed, so once I bought them, I was determined to use them, especially since each entire unit cost me less than 10 bucks. I placed them in a corner, which reduced the wasted space a bit....

I only have a couple of things to say about the color and the steps. That is badass

What is the color of the green you used and that's a hell of an ingenious idea for truck boxes.

Not everyplace can rock the green, but you pulled it off. And those are one of the best steps I've seen in a while. The beveled edges really add to the look.

Thanks about the steps....I'm really happy with how they turned out. Two years later, and I'm still happy with the green. Wondered how long before I tired of it, but that time has not come yet! I have the color number somewhere, which I will find for you. I bought the paint at Lowes.

 

[draider]

Looks great! Got any pics showing the overall size/layout of the space?

 

[Marshall2u]

Thanks! I don't have anything for the overall, but I'll post some more later, and you can get a feel for the overall by piecing them together.

 

[mitusa]

I like the green and the steps, steps look slick (maybe too slick...wet shoes?). Looking forward to more pics.....

 

[Marshall2u]

Actually, the steps are just fine, I've never come close to losing grip, even while my feet were wet.

 

[Marshall2u]

Here is one of the rolling tables derived from the test bench:

And here is the front of the shop currently. I want to reduce the "ugliness" somewhat, but not sure what I'm going to do. Painting the walk-through door is obvious, but I'm also thinking about painting the rest. White to match the house? A color to help camo into the trees in the background? Suggestions welcomed!

 

[little jimmy]

Your building is looking great. I was wondering how hard it was to put the sections together? I have a new 40x62x18 that was delivered last week and am waiting on concrete work this summer to put it up. Thanks for any and all advice.
Jim

 

[neonnblack]

Love the green.

 

[Marshall2u]

Your building is looking great. I was wondering how hard it was to put the sections together? I have a new 40x62x18 that was delivered last week and am waiting on concrete work this summer to put it up. Thanks for any and all advice.
Jim

Damn, I answered this over the weekend, so what the help happened to my repsonse?? Grrrr....

They say to assemble the sections on the ground then lift them into place. It might work for the smaller widths, like 20', but not with my 30'. These things are like rubber bands on their own. I assembled piece by piece. I started by renting an articulating man lift. This was fairly expensive, costing me over $1200 before I had to pause the project. When I resumed, I went out and bought an old scissor lift for $2000 (delivered), which I figure will always be worth pretty close to what I paid. A good investment when you have a building with 14' ceilings. The scissor lift was not as efficient as the articulated lift, but got the job done. IMO, an impact driver is a must (this may seem obvious to some, but I had never owned or used one prior!). One thing I will tell you: you will have nightmares about all the nuts and bolts needed to put these things together! Oh, don't tighten a section until you've moved a few down. I may have had additional alignment issues because mine was used, not sure though.

Love the green.

Thanks!

 

[Marshall2u]

More re-purposed stuff......bought a bunch of these metal pieces at auction for $20. Included were the triangular pieces, round and square tubes, threaded on each end, and flat pieces (used these for the shelf on the rolling table):

With all the unused upper space in the building, I wanted to build a storage piece that could be raised and lowered (for light stuff). This is what I came up with, using the above parts:

It's raised and lowered using an old winch I didn't have a need for:

 

[gibby64]

dig the ron paul stickers.... have a rand paul 2016 at my desk.

 

[dubber]

Love the garage/office space. I think your a lime green fan haha.

 

[kevin47]

Yep...Pretty cool...I passed up on a piece of property that had a 4,000 sq ft arch metal building on it (plus 5 acres) 'cause I didn't think the walls were straight up and down enough...Big mistake...The place went for $88,000...including a one bedroom house in the country...My Bad...