Armstrong Steel Buildings

[ctgoodman]

I've been looking at building a building for sometime. I've decided this spring is going to be it now that we have been in the house for a little over a year. I am just looking at my options now. I'm pretty sure a pole barn or all steel building will be the way I want to go.

Who here knows anything of Armstrong Steel? http://armstrongsteel.com/

I have filled out one of their online form and got a call from a rep. But what was so off-putting was he immediately went into a let me check and see if we can get you in on this sale that just wrapped up. Here is your quote of just under 20K for a 40x62x14. I thought the price was decent but this of course doesn't include the concrete, labor to put up the building, or any of the walk in doors, windows, insulation, or garage doors. I basically told him I could not commit to making any purchase until I had a ballpark figure for everything so I know what my bottom line was. He indicated that until they had a commitment (down payment) that their project management side wouldn't be able to get with me on the doors, and extras nor arrange a quote to erect the building. Too may if's here for me to do business with these guys.

I also have a call into a local steel building contractor that I hope won't have an issue getting a fairly close figure on a completed project.

just thought I would share my experience. If anyone knows any other steel building manufacturers (not brokers) that are better to deal with please let me know.

I've also considered pole barns from Morton and DIY Pole Barns which I know are already great to deal with. I have a local contractor that built my house and has put up several of the DIY barns and does a great job and a local concrete guy that has already poured more than 50 yards of concrete for me over the past year.

 

[vmusch]

My 38x48 Steel building from World Wide Steel Buildings will be delivered Wed. I paid 11, 300. I went with all steel to avoid truss clearance issues. I went with World Wide because the plant is here in Peculiar MO, might as well keep MO folks working. I do have additional lumber cost of about $1500 to get the building up, of course I still have erection cost. The one thing to check is the difference in concrete requirements from pole barn to steel building. The concrete requirements are more costly with a slab/footings or piers for steel buildings vs a slab for a pole barn type building.

 

[ctgoodman]

My 38x48 Steel building from World Wide Steel Buildings will be delivered Wed. I paid 11, 300. I went with all steel to avoid truss clearance issues. I went with World Wide because the plant is here in Peculiar MO, might as well keep MO folks working. I do have additional lumber cost of about $1500 to get the building up, of course I still have erection cost. The one thing to check is the difference in concrete requirements from pole barn to steel building. The concrete requirements are more costly with a slab/footings or piers for steel buildings vs a slab for a pole barn type building.

Thank you for your reply. I do believe a pole building will be a little less expensive. I still have a hard time dropping wood in the ground. Termites are notorious around here as well as the soil here holds a good bit of moisture which is a big issue with wood to soil contact. I'll look into World Wide Steel and see if they ship out to North Carolina. The materials cost just seems to be marginally more with steel over a pole barn too.

 

[vmusch]

I agree but I have a pole barn that has been in the ground for 30 years and have seen others longer. When I looked into getting a pole barn with 14 foot walls for ceiling clearance the price increased dramatically and of course then became comparable to steel cost, it got down to what was preferable. I talked to:
Pat Yentzer
Senior Building Consultant
Worldwide Steel Buildings
Office Ph: (866) 507-8335
Mobile Ph: (612) 220-2486
Fax: (763) 398-3939
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.worldwidesteelbuildings.com

I found them to be extremely helpful before and after the sale, when I had questions I always received prompt courteous responses.

 

[cbarnes]

My 38x48 Steel building from World Wide Steel Buildings will be delivered Wed. I paid 11, 300. I went with all steel to avoid truss clearance issues. I went with World Wide because the plant is here in Peculiar MO, might as well keep MO folks working. I do have additional lumber cost of about $1500 to get the building up, of course I still have erection cost. The one thing to check is the difference in concrete requirements from pole barn to steel building. The concrete requirements are more costly with a slab/footings or piers for steel buildings vs a slab for a pole barn type building.

We have just ordered a 40x50 hybrid building from Worldwide in Peculiar. May I ask how your experience was?

 

[vmusch]

Ridiculously good, would highly recommend the company and building.

 

[kc10a]

I just signed a contract today on a 30X72 steel building with 14' walls, 6 10X10 doors, 1 12'12 door and a walk door. Total cost, turn key $42,442. That includes R10 insulation, concrete site work. Everything but electric and plumbing. 140mph wind rating. That seemed to be a pretty good price. Should be up in 6-8 weeks.

 

[vmusch]

My opinion is if your happy then its a good price......... that is a lot of doors wow. Where are you located? I have learned that affects the cost tremendously.

Whats the cost of the concrete.....I probably struggled with that more than anything, prices were more than the cost of the building. Eventually found a guy that worked with me and we poured it saving a little money.

BTW I am still putting mine up....first roof panel went up today.

 

[ctgoodman]

I just signed a contract today on a 30X72 steel building with 14' walls, 6 10X10 doors, 1 12'12 door and a walk door. Total cost, turn key $42,442. That includes R10 insulation, concrete site work. Everything but electric and plumbing. 140mph wind rating. That seemed to be a pretty good price. Should be up in 6-8 weeks.

Who did you go with on your building?

 

[ctgoodman]

We have just ordered a 40x50 hybrid building from Worldwide in Peculiar. May I ask how your experience was?

What is the hybrid building?

 

[vmusch]

A hybrid uses wood for the girts and purlins instead of all steel.

 

[vmusch]

I went with WorldWide Steel building. Several reasons, customer service, built in MO-I like to purchase as local as possible, price. Honestly I was tired of talking to all the different manufacturers and listening to how freaking great they were compared to everyone else. I thought this was the most complete package. I am happy with my choice. The customer service continues to be excellent.

 

[Riverside]

If you want a low-priced metal building, you might consider TNTcarports.com in Mt. Airy. They make them as large as 40x62x14, and larger. They include installation, on your concrete slab, so it is relatively easy to predict your costs. The insulation options are limited, and may not work for you. For a more substantial rigid-frame metal building, you might check with Premier, Arco, or A&S (all in the southeast).

 

[motoguy]

I'm interested in how you Worldwide guys are feeling, a year or so after the sale. I'm looking at putting a shop up at our new home. It's going to house some CNC equipment, eventually a car lift or two, etc. I really want a 40x60, but I think our budget at this point will limit me to 30x40, which we will expand (40x60 cut in half).

The rough estimates I've received on slab/ground work are a real slap in the face. It'll be as much, or more, than the building it appears. So, I'm thinking we may have the full slab poured now, put up the 30x40, and add on the other 30x40 (for 40x60) at a later date.

I'm in central MO, and I just don't like the idea of a pole barn. The idea of sinking wood into dirt (or gravel) just bothers me. I also have an issue with all-steel. My last shop (24x35) was all steel, with traditional "steel building insulation" inside (white backed stuff). The skin metal was bolted directly to the structure metal, and I had all sorts of humidity issues in that building. As such, I'd like to avoid direct interior-metal-atmosphere contact in the next building.

Based on the above, a Worldwide Hybrid building sounds very appealing. Metal structure, wood purlins/girts eradicate the metal condensation/indoor humidity issues (I'll still have a vabor barrier under the roof metal), freespan, easy to add an addition, the 2x4 girt/purlin system lends itself to regular 24" batt insulation, etc.

I'll have the dirtwork and concrete done. Undecided on building erection. The idea of having it up in a weekend, vs the months it's likely to take me, is a selling point for paying for erection. Depending on garage door prices, I'll install those myself. I'll stub electric/water to the building. My goal is to have a slabbed, enclosed structure, and finish all the rest (insulation, wiring, plumbing, wall treatment, etc) myself.

Due to these issues, the metal truss, hybrid style Worldwide building is currently at the top of my list. I'd like to know what ideas you all have, and / or how you Worldwide customers feel about your experience/purchase.

 

[vmusch]

Happy with the building but then again what is really going to go wrong in a few months. Extremely happy with my decision to use spray foam for insulation. As always would have gone higher and bigger, lol. I made several phones calls during construction all were answered. You are correct the building cost is nothing. As you know I constructed the building myself, I would do it again. I had friends that provided some essential equipment which made the construction reasonable.

 

[Garage5.9]

Anybody make living quarters in their metal/pole buildings ? Living in hawaii is so damn expensive buying a new house right now is out of the question but if I can buy land for a fair price and build a metal or pole type barn would it be feasible to live in one comfortably ?

 

[ctgoodman]

Anybody make living quarters in their metal/pole buildings ? Living in hawaii is so damn expensive buying a new house right now is out of the question but if I can buy land for a fair price and build a metal or pole type barn would it be feasible to live in one comfortably ?

This is totally possible. After seeing some of the Morton buildings that have been done like that I was wishing I maybe should have opted for that instead of our stick build house. The old lady probably would have shot that down though for aesthetics reasons. There are several build threads on here of people doing just that. Most you can't tell it's a steel building from the inside.