Concrete + Building cost, Red Iron vs Pole Barn

[Smiles79]

It seems like I have heard that red iron buildings are generally less expensive than a pole barn. Is that correct, or did I misread this information?

Also, would this include the different concrete costs? Seems to me like the concrete for a red iron building would be much more complicated than a pole barn.

 

[dcg9381]

These things are often based on the spot price of materials. When lumber was way up, you'd spend a fortune on a pole barn versus steel. Labor costs can be different too. My guess is the "vs" pricing is best taken up regionally. I have literally seen it flip-flop on what is more expensive in different states. I know around here that red iron building supplies are in high demand in Texas right now, I've seen contractors offer to "buy back" steel building kits at 100% pricing.

I'd much rather have the red iron for span reasons.

Concrete on red iron (weld-up) is dead simple. You just put weld plates into the pour. Probably the same thing with bolt up, but requires a little more precision.

 

[racecougar]

There are too many variables at play to make one blanket statement here. That said, there is an active discussion that just began yesterday that covers the same topic: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...he-ground-pole-barn-vs-steel-building.503771/

 

[quakerj]

I completed my 30x50 Mueller red-iron building last month. Depending on your county/local requirements you may be required to have an engineered foundation plan, which is often pretty elaborate and expensive.

I didn't need an engineered plan where I live, but used a concrete contractor that deals with commercial buildings and has experience with red iron foundation requirements. A lot of residential outfits that deal primarily with pole buildings and stick built will tell you to pour a simple 1' wide footer down to frost depth (to meet your county requirements) and wedge anchor the columns into the slab. They don't realize that these buildings have special requirements due to the uplift potential (they're lightweight and only held down by a few columns), and assume they just need the foundation/footing to bear weight, which is not true.

I ended up spending basically the same in concrete as I did the building. ($17K concrete plus $17K building). I did 2' wide perimeter footing all the way around to about 30" deep, plus 5" slab. That price is just the basic building + concrete, I had extra cost for insulation, and did the erection myself.

In hindsight I should have gone with a pole barn. It would have shortened lead time dramatically (there was a cement shortage here when I built mine and had to wait months). In the area I live, nobody builds red-iron buildings (for home use), so finding a concrete contractor that knew something about red-iron AND would take on a "smaller" job like this was a real challenge.

Depending on where you live and how popular red-iron buildings are, your mileage may vary.