New 30x40x12 Steel Building in South Florida

mxhonda · Jan 9, 2008

30x40x12 Steel Building in South Florida

Hello all!

Here it is, the start of my 30x40x12 garage. Things have been moving very quickly from my building order date of 12/4/07. Engineered drawings took 2 weeks, permit only took a week, 1st inspection passed today, and the concrete will be poured 1/11/08. I am building it myself (with the help of friends). The building is scheduled for delivery 1/24/08.

Some of the specs are:

3:12 pitch roof, 140mph wind load, 10wx12h rollup door, and 3' access door.

It is going to be anchored to a monolithic slab with a 18"x24" footing. The fill compacted nicely to a 97% density and was termite treated per local code...even for an all steel building!

I purchased it from Bennett Buildings, a local distributor for Vulcan Steel Structures, that I found on Craigslist of all places.

My cost breakdown so far will be well under 20k for the entire project.

Building and Accessories $11,660 incl tax and delivery
Permit $300.00
Fill $500.00
Forms and hardware $400.00
Steel and hardware $750.00
Termite treatment $240.00
Soil Density test $200.00
Concrete Pour and Finish $4,100.00
Equipment Rental and Fuel $200.00

Total to date $18,350.00 or about $15 per sq/ft

2/18/2008 UPDATE

Floor Acrylic Silicone Sealer $320.00
Lighting and Electric $580.00
4 more loads of fill $440.00

Total to Date $19,690.00

cyclopsblown34 · Jan 10, 2008

Cool, definitely got to protect steel buildings from termites. Ain't building codes wonderful? Good luck on the build, sounds like you must have greased the right wheels to get through approval so quickly. I'm duly impressed.

cdrewferd · Jan 10, 2008

Sounds like it's going to be a nice building. What are your plans for the inside?

Bib Overalls · Jan 10, 2008

I went 30' x 40' x 10'. Looks good close to my house. But you will be glad you opted for the 12' walls.

URY914 · Jan 11, 2008

Where are you in South Florida?

mxhonda · Jan 11, 2008

I am in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County Permit. The permit process was slick! I dropped off the permit on Dec 26 and was able to track the progress online to the issue date of Jan 3. Palm Beach County permits are WAY down because of the housing slump and this went through the system really fast.

I opted for the 12' walls with a 3:12 pitch so I could fit the 12' high rollup door on one end. This will allow me to store my boat inside and give it a break from the elements. I am also planning for a 100amp electric service (I am an Electrical Contractor), Plumbing for a wash tub, a 2 post lift (extra rebar already in place), a 3 seat bar with all the goodies including a 42" flat screen with Directv and a computer, and a dedicated motorcycle area. I am also searching for some bargain Snap-On or Matco roller chests.

I am doing this so I can get my attached garage cleaned out and just have 2 vehicles parked in it with nothing else. No motorcycles, tools, yard equipment, compressor, generator, etc...

Concrete was poured today, 30 yards exactly. My form boards held up but had me flinching a couple times, especially when truck #2 dumped his whole load in about 30 seconds! The mud was flowing through the footings like a river, but they held strong. I just remeasured the slab and it is 1/4" out on one corner of the back wall. No problem because all the anchor bolts are on within 1/8" and corner to corner is 50'.

It will be a long 2 week wait for my steel to get here...

I will keep this post updated.

Jaytree · Jan 12, 2008

Very good progress! I'll be watching your build. It's pretty close to mine even down to your reason for building it!

mxhonda · Jan 24, 2008

Delivery day!

My dad and our family friend Larry flew in from Michigan yesterday for the construction of the new building. The truck driver called @7am this morning and said he was 30 minutes away. We got him unloaded and back on the road by 8:30am with a big smile on his face! He said it has taken him till noon before when people are not prepared.

We got a large amount of the red iron put up today. The most challanging part was the center beam. It was heavy and neither one of the Bobcats had enough reach to hang it from the center to bolt it up. We ended up putting a Bobcat on each side to get it in place.

5wndwcpe · Jan 24, 2008

That was the one thing that kept me from moving to Florida. I figured I couldn't afford to build a hurricane proof garage. Good luck and keep us posted !

Jaytree · Jan 25, 2008

Excellent progress!! Your pitch is higher than mine so it probably took more enginuity on your part. Also, I had the forklift with me an extra day because the rental company couldn't get back out the same day.

A friend and I had my framework up in two days including girts and purlins. Then it slowed down considerably with the base angle, all of the clips, cables, days off from work, etc.

I'm having issues leveling all of my columns, and my main rafter is bowed still even with the cables tightened up and tweaked. I'm hoping that we didn't rush the main cloumns and rafter before starting on the ends! I'll be on mine again today trying to plumb it up. Open to suggestions on this

My brother will be up tomorrow to help me. He's wanting to put some walls up and the roof, but we have to have the frame level, tightened, and inspected first. Weekend is gonna shoot that one down as far as the inspection goes unless they inspect on weekends.

Keep your pictures coming.

SILVERPLATE · Jan 25, 2008

Very cool. Look forward to the finished photos.

mxhonda · Jan 25, 2008

Jaytree said:
I'm having issues leveling all of my columns, and my main rafter is bowed still even with the cables tightened up and tweaked. I'm hoping that we didn't rush the main cloumns and rafter before starting on the ends! I'll be on mine again today trying to plumb it up. Open to suggestions on this

My only advice is to loosen all the bolts to finger tight and use shims under the column bases to get everthing straight. On my building, the girts are adjustable about 1/2", so if a column was a little off you could adjust the girt to make up the difference.

Construction day 2. All purlins, girts, and cables are installed and the building is ready for final plumb, bolt torque, and sheeting. After installing all parts finger tight, the building leveled up with just a few cable adjustments. I got to ride around on my OSHA approved pallet on the Bobcat forks lift for the better part of today. We are down to just a few parts left and the red iron is 98% installed. Tomorrow will be a day of getting ready for sheeting and maybe even hang a few pieces, time to break out the screw guns!

Here are today's pics...

Jaytree · Jan 27, 2008

Great job! Sounds like I might have done better by doing the anchor bolts and concrete myself! Turned out one of my end columns was off enough at the base to make my life miserable. I pulled the base clips off, slotted them about 3/4 of an inch with the torch, bolted em back down, and then drilled four new holes in the column. Pulled it all back apart and painted both brackets and column to match. Everything lined up after that and you can't tell it was done except for the brackets being a little off-center of the column.

Do you have to get an inspection before siding is done? They told me I didn't need one until I told them I was insulating it. I'm not sure what the insulation will cover up that they need to see. It installs with the sheets outside of the girts and over the purlins. I still have to install the rake angle and adjust the base angle where the column modification moved inward.

mxhonda · Jan 27, 2008

Jaytree,

Sounds like you have had your work cut out for you! Glad to hear you could improvise and get things back in line. I was told that since this in a pre-engineered building, the only inspection required is after it is complete but before insulation, so they can see all the screws and bolts in place.

We got alot done today. 90% of the roof and 75% of the walls are in place. I have already put over 500 screws in the roof and am only 1/2 way complete! Dad and Larry have been screwing the walls on and are about 1/2 way done with what is installed. I have to go to the office in the morning so Dad and Larry are going to work on putting the rest of the screws in.

I am really suprised how close everything has lined up. I guess being square and plumb really pays off! The trim pieces included look like they could compenstate for alot of error.

We have all been sleeping good!

Jaytree · Jan 27, 2008

Questions;
Your rake angle, you're cutting it to length after the endwall is up?
Same with the endwall sheets, ou have to cut them with that much roof pitch right? That last picture must be before the roof sheets were put up there.

Nice to be able to stay on it the whole time even when you have to work. You should be done in the next couple days shouldn't you?

mxhonda · Jan 29, 2008

I cut the rake angle and the endwall sheeting with a Dewalt SawZall after they were installed. This made it very easy to put the panels up and cut them straight. 98% of the entire job was done with cordless tools. We used a Milwaukee Impact Gun for the bolts and 3 Dewalt hammer drills for the screws. I bought 3 of the new Dewalt Nano lithium ion batteries and have only good thing to say about them. They lasted twice as long as the XRP's and charge completely within 45 minutes. All of the cutting and drilling today used 3 Nano and 2 XRP packs total without any recharges. The only corded device we used was a circular saw to cut the panels for the garage door, and that was only because I did not have the correct blade for my Dewalt cordless circular saw.

Dad and Larry leave tommorow AM so I am on my own for the trim and rollup door. Overall I feel we made very good progress in 6 days with very few injuries (a few minor hand cuts from the metal) and I could'nt have done it without them although a few time I thought I was stuck in the "Grumpier Old Men" movie!

All in all, pretty good for a 40 year old (me), a 62 year old (dad), and a 72 year old (Larry)! :beer:

Jaytree · Jan 29, 2008

Bravo!
I was thinking that the roof overlapped the endwall sheeting.
I would be more than happy to have grumpy old men helping! Send em up since they'll be going in the right direction.

mxhonda · Feb 5, 2008

Here are a few pics of the door installation. I had to complete this by myself but I got it! The Bobcat was about 3' short of reaching so I had to lift one side and then the other from a ladder. After that, it was pretty easy.

I got the front trim finished tonight and the back trim 1/2 way complete. Once that is complete, I can finish screwing the roof down and get my final inspection!

RattytatTom · Feb 5, 2008

Can I ask the door size and ballpark cost?

mxhonda · Feb 5, 2008

The door was included in my original building cost (see beginning of post for breakdown). It is a "Janus 3100" 10' wide x 12' high wind rated w/chain hoist. A quick E-bay search says it is worth about $1,067.00.

cdrewferd · Feb 6, 2008

Great progress on the shop. Looks like it's going to be a nice place to play.

mxhonda · Feb 7, 2008

Here is a final trim and roofline pic. Notice the amount of screws holding the roof down! Now for some interior work...

Jaytree · Feb 8, 2008

Beautiful!
Have you added up your times that it took you for each section by chance?

mxhonda · Feb 11, 2008

I have not addd up the time, but from the day I place the order to final inspection was 2 months (Oh, I passed final on 2/8/2008). If somebody told me that when I ordered, I probably would have called them a liar!

I sealed the floor this weekend w/ H&C Acrylic Silicone Sealer. I think it turned out pretty good for a few hundred bucks

Jaytree · Feb 12, 2008

I think it looks damn good from the pictures! That's a two-part epoxy? I'm still undecided what I'm going to do to mine. It's going to have a lot of kickstands and wrenchs connecting with it.

You got me already on the timeline! I ordered on 11/20, the building shipped 12/28, and got here on 01/02. I have a wrecking crew coming over this Saturday to knock out as much of the walls and maybe the roof as time permits over the weekend.

Yesterday I cut 4x4's for girt supports and got both of the sidewalls spaced at 3' 9" between girts for the entire 40' length. After each wall is done, we can kick those out and use on the other two walls.

My insullation has been covered with a tarp and hopefully has stayed dry. We have had quite a bit of rain since the rolls were stacked there on the 2nd of last month.

FL_Javelin · Feb 12, 2008

Nice looking project, definitely looks beefier than my steel bldg but then its bigger too. The floor looks great. The high door should help with ventilation as we both know how hot our summers are. Nice work, keep us posted

mxhonda · Feb 18, 2008

I have LIGHT! This past weekend I lit the place up and today had 4 more loads of fill delivered for final perimeter grade, maybe some sod this weekend...My dad is coming back to visit for a while so I am sure more will get done soon

Bevis · Feb 18, 2008

It really lit the place up. Looks good.

blueviper06 · Feb 19, 2008

MX, where in Palm Beach County are you? Would love to check out that garage.

cdrewferd · Feb 20, 2008

Great looking space.

eljefino · Feb 21, 2008

Love the lights but wonder if they could have thrown a couple of those translucent roofing panels in for natural diffuse light. Or are they not hurricane proof or does the greenhouse effect add more unwanted heat?

mxhonda · Feb 24, 2008

I would have liked the clear panels for natural light but was advised against them for the high wind load. Here are some pics of the start of the move in with a little break for some Nascar. Also, I got sod installed last Friday.

rmchevelle · Feb 25, 2008

mxhonda said:
Hello all!

Here it is, the start of my 30x40x12 garage. Things have been moving very quickly from my building order date of 12/4/07. Engineered drawings took 2 weeks, permit only took a week, 1st inspection passed today, and the concrete will be poured 1/11/08. I am building it myself (with the help of friends). The building is scheduled for delivery 1/24/08.

Some of the specs are:

3:12 pitch roof, 140mph wind load, 10wx12h rollup door, and 3' access door.

It is going to be anchored to a monolithic slab with a 18"x24" footing. The fill compacted nicely to a 97% density and was termite treated per local code...even for an all steel building!

I purchased it from Bennett Buildings, a local distributor for Vulcan Steel Structures, that I found on Craigslist of all places.

My cost breakdown so far will be well under 20k for the entire project.

Building and Accessories $11,660 incl tax and delivery
Permit $300.00
Fill $500.00
Forms and hardware $400.00
Steel and hardware $750.00
Termite treatment $240.00
Soil Density test $200.00
Concrete Pour and Finish $4,100.00
Equipment Rental and Fuel $200.00

Total to date $18,350.00 or about $15 per sq/ft

2/18/2008 UPDATE

Floor Acrylic Silicone Sealer $320.00
Lighting and Electric $580.00
4 more loads of fill $440.00

Total to Date $19,690.00

Very nice!

Thanks for the budget breakdown. It helps newbies like me get an idea of the costs involved.

mxhonda · Mar 24, 2008

It's filling up fast!

I picked up 2 BenchPro Stainless Steel 7'x3' benches last week for $100ea and when I look around at most of the other stuff, I found it on Craigslist.

My Mom and Dad were down for 5 weeks and Dad and I spent ALOT of time in the "Man Cave". We built the bar last week and I am very happy with it. It was a design and build project that turned out pretty good. :beer:

FL_Javelin · Mar 25, 2008

Very nice build! Flooring looks great! Love the bar, very simular to mine including the T111 siding. I put rope lighting under my bar for a nice effect. Enjoy! Heres a pic of my bar.

Jaytree · Mar 25, 2008

Looks great!! I like the corner bar idea!
Have you thought of covering the girts with something or are you just gonna keep the 'natural shelving'? I have to cover mine due to the insullation. Otherwise there will be at least one set of handlebars ripping it when one of the bikes fall over next to the wall. With seven dirt bikes it's inevitable.

I had the under-mat idea as well. I found a 7½' x 20' rubber mat in the Northern Tool catalog and ordered a tan one. They have several colors to choose and also two more sizes. I'll let you know how it works out when it gets here in ~14 days UPS.

Where did you get that mat you have under the mx's?
Is it thick rubber?

kowalski · Mar 27, 2008

Love the bar idea.....
I'm having a 20 x 40 x 9 built next week, will see if I have the room

Jaytree · Mar 28, 2008

kowalski said:
Love the bar idea.....
I'm having a 20 x 40 x 9 built next week, will see if I have the room

Seems tall for a bar. Nyuk nyuk.

Seriously though, is there ever 'not enough room' for a bar??

mxhonda · Jul 12, 2009

Well, its been over a year and I'm already wishing I had more space!

My wife actually believes that the rainbow is hiding a pot of gold in there

hypnotoad · Jul 12, 2009

How about a little info on the Camaro?! Shop looks great.

New 30x40x12 Steel Building in South Florida

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