Averadge Turn Key Metal Building Costs

[alskdjfhg]

Long story to get to this point, but here I am regardless. Buying a kit building, hiring someone else to do the dirt/concrete work and erection was never part of the plan.

But I'm afraid that since I'm now working on my own, Dad died suddenly and unexpectedly recently and I'm 19 in engineering school. I just don't have the time to build the building I want right now.

Thinking about a Mueller 45x80 with at-least 16' eave height (20' if I can afford it), with two 16x16 rollups and a 30' open end wall.

What I'd like to know is what would be an average/reasonable cost for the erection of this building?

And would there be anyone seeing this thread that could recommend someone or a company that would want to do the site work, concrete and and the erection?

I could do the dirt work and erection myself, but again, it's a question of time. I'd really like to have something up by the time I get out of school for Christmas vacation.

I'd also like to keep the cost below $15 ft^2, but that may not be realistic without modifying the building kit some.

I'm probably looking at around $8 a ft^2 for the kit alone, and I've been estimating concrete at $5 a ft^2. That doesn't leave a lot for site prep and erection.

This building would be built outside of Houston and will be farm use, permits are not as odious as they would normally be, the process is simple as I'm not in the flood plain and non commercial ag use.

Only posting here because I've seen other threads about similar topics, if this isn't the right place to post I apologize.

Thanks for any and all info.

 

[Steve from Socal]

A rough rule of thumb, the total cost to construct a metal building is, building itself 1/3. site prep/foundation 1/3, completion 1/3.

The regional cost vary widely, find a few places near you and ask the owners.

Steve

 

[astrohip]

Welcome to the forum from a fellow Houstonian. Most of my time is in Brenham these days.

This building would be built outside of Houston and will be farm use, permits are not as odious as they would normally be, the process is simple as I'm not in the flood plain and non commercial ag use.

Where in the Houston area? Depending on the general direction, I may have some references. I'm in the final stages of completing two barns on our ranch in Brenham, horse barn & tractor/storage barn.

 

[alskdjfhg]

Thanks guys.

It would be in southern fort bend county, the needville/damon area.

Any leads on who to talk too would be appriciated. Alhought I may be too far way.

 

[sberry]

Depends on features also. Insulation, windows and doors.

 

[alskdjfhg]

I was planning to do all electrical, source and install all doors myself. No windows and only the openings mentioned in the OP.

I'm having Muller make the estimate for insulation on the walls and roof. As hot as it gets here over the summer, I don't think I want too skimp on that.

I also noticed on the estimate page there is a line for "crane loads". Going to ask if they would make the building for a small 5 ton crane. But I'm sure this would blow my budget way out of the water.

 

[matt_i]

Sorry to hear of your loss.

I've been through this road in 2008. The concrete work quoted to me for a 40' x 70' with 4" insulation was more than the Gulf States building, delivered, no dirt work. Building delivered flat was in the $20k range.

I had my building quoted with the option for haunches for a 3t bridge crane, I forget the exact quote but it was $7-10k additional. As was explained to me, the vertical column loads aren't that big of a deal but the structure for bracing the building against the side loading in both directions as a heavy load is inched forward on the rails, is much more substantial to fabricate and needs more engineering. The cost to buy heavy raw steel to fab the crane (bridge & runway rails) myself was somewhere in the $10k range, no track, no wheels/bearings/shafts, I have the 3t hoist, no cables no busbars no controls I had a 4-way but not a 6-way + Estop pendant. So I was priced out of the bridge crane business pretty fast and went into forklifts.

The concrete work for such a building isn't a flat slab, its huge cubic-ish monoliths to support the columns, grade beams to connect them, rebar throughout, and 12+" J-bolts (studs) which all have to be critically placed within 1/8" more or less to keep the building erection straight and square.

I am aware you have heavy machine tools from PM, and probably move them with a forklift. I built my slab for similar duty, with 6" 4ksi concrete, #4 rebar placed & tied @ 16 on center with a 6-ish" washed 3/4" limestone base compacted by me.

My free advice is this with ~25 years of hindsight and similar interests. I would strongly focus on your engineering studies and not worry about building construction right now. An unsupervised contractor is the absolute worst. You don't have the time to do this no matter how great your ambition may be. Back to school, the coursework is built to test you mentally (as well as teach some useable skills), and as such its a grind for 4-5 years that will make you eventually question a lot of things. This is the goal: to weed out the people who don't have the mental toughness to do this and to build that of those who do.

In 25 years of working I've moved to 5 states with my job which is not something I ever planned to do. Adding a wife and kids someday will also push you into choices that won't have your workshop as #1. It takes some years to get to a position where the shop can come back up a few notches.

What I would do is this, try to put out feelers to people you might know, to rent some shop space. Talk to enough people and you will find the right situation where there's a large building you could move stuff into and have a working workshop without planting a stake in the ground.

 

[alskdjfhg]

matt, thanks for the info, I think I recognize your screen name as well.

The overhead crane I'm afraid will add too much complexity and cost in this case.

But I need a building of some sort, If you know what I've got from PM, you also know how they are being stored right now. That arrangement simply won't work for the long term.

As far as finding another location, I don't think I've got that in me. It was a Herculean task enough to get all that iron moved in. Dad and I moved a farm twice, I don't want to do it again much less by myself. If I move it out, I'm afraid it would be on a one way trip to the scrap yard 2 miles way. At least they would be able to unload.

Even if the decision is made to sell the farm (which is not something I want), I need to clean either the machines up and sell them or scrap them so someone else would even be interested in the property. Dad and I collected about 100 tons of junk iron that needs to be dealt with in any course of action.

I do appreciate what your saying about school and about life changing. Dad's death is an example of this. Essentially he dropped dead at 53 with ZERO health conditions. Within 20 hours he went from picking me up from the University and planning what we were going to do the next day to extreme pain and then death.

The lawyers have asked me to avoid talking specifics due to the circumstances, so I'll leave it at that.

Right now I'm in the tentative planning stages, so this is all talk right now.

 

[matt_i]

A possibility...have a simple, 6" thick slab poured. hooked wire mesh. Build a couple of standard "carports" around 25x 25 on them, ideally joined together and extend the height by concrete posts that are poured first (sonotubes or the like) to the minimum height you can work with. Now you have a somewhat-dry roofed area to work with to consolidate things. Eventually if you do a mass-move, wherever that might be, you have a place to work with forklifts and flatbed semi trucks (some of the concrete could be a "parking pad" to work outdoors) or even gooseneck trailers.

 

[Steve from Socal]

Young Matt,

Take Matt I's advise, focus on your future. Without a solid base, your life will be a rough road. I am aware of your plight from your PM post. While building your shop my have been your dream when your dad was here, the situation has changed, don't take this the wrong way but, step back and let things settle a bit. Doing things impatiently under the circumstance is a bad choice. Don't make any rash purchases, you and your family may the need money for other things. The shop can wait until the shock and grieving subside and, the estate is settled.

Spend a little time doing what you can to preserve what is out in the open, if I recall you had a shed or barn with some stuff inside? Do what you can with what you have, slather the stuff with chain bar oil or grease and cover them loosely if at all. The winter weather projection calls for moderate temps and little rain in the southern US. It may sound harsh but, the machines will survive.

Take care young man; I do know what you're feeling, my dad died the week I turned 20.

Steve