Considering Iron framed over Pole or stick built

[Lockjz]

Hey everyone, to make a long story short i will hopefully have a shop being built this summer as we lost our 3-car detached garage last month to a fire. it was 30x24 and fully finished/heated, that garage wasnt nearly big enough and i have 5 acres to build so i will be going as big as the county will allow. I was just wondering if anyone has experience with Rigid framed shops as i am considering the iron framing over using post frame or stick due to the insane lumber prices. The size i am thinking is 36x64x14 however that could change per the county. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

 

[Tman]

Years ago I built several Butler steel buildings. Steel is nice, strong, fast but you will spend as much to trim them out as a pole building. So, unless you are fine with the exposed insulation and purlins the cost will be the same in the end. Most folks do them for the free spans. Might also want to check with your homowners policy to see which style benefits you.

 

[readhead]

Steel comes in three different flavors these days. Tube steel, cold formed and red iron. For the potential size I would recommend one of the first two. Cold formed will give you more options for insulation. Interior finish can be accomplished with little or no extra framing depending on how the girts and purlins are designed.

You mention a 14' eave height but do you need a specific interior clearance? In a red iron building that can be as much as 3' lower at the haunch.

I would start with a plan for the building showing a floor plan, elevations showing window and door layout, snow load, collateral load and a site plan. So no matter what building system you end up using everyone will be looking at the same information.

 

[ericm]

Get some quotes/estimates for each kind of construction. Then estimate the cost to finish them out if that's not included.

I did that and it looked like once fully finished inside, stick built would cost more than steel (tube frame is what I got quoted) but the percentage increase was not that much. So I am going with stick built.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

You know...something you never consider, but that bit us at work....

We had one of the "red iron" kit type buildings installed behind our original concrete block warehouse, and it was fine. Then we wanted to add on to it a few years later and it was pretty much impossible. To add additional SF we were planning on taking off the steel siding to open up to the new building we proposed and found out that is a no-no and some serious engineering was going to have to be done to even see if it was possible.

What I was told is the building is engineered as a complete structure. The siding is needed for rigidity, so basically, you can't alter anything about the building without a s-ton of hassles.

At the end of the day....this issue scuttled the expansion plans. Too much $ to redo what was already done before we could start adding on...so management said "forget it".

Phil

 

[readhead]

Someone gave you some bad information. Adding on is very simple unless there are some odd issues. Red Iron buildings can be designed to be expandable which simply means that one or both end walls use a rigid frame rather than a light weight end wall. If the building has a light end wall then a second building is built right next to the existing building. From the outside the siding and roofing will continue from the existing building right on to the new building. On a red iron building the building frame is rigid and the siding serves no other purpose than to cover the frame.

 

[nadogail]

Every method has it's pluses and minuses. If you want to be really cheap, you might consider a method completely out of the boxes you mentioned.

 

[bmcneil]

I'm in the same boat. I really wish I had put down my deposit at the beginning of December. Wood and Iron quotes were up 20-25% or so since then and I'm definitely going to hold off on some of the interior plans now.

Good luck with your building! I'm thinking Red Iron may be the better option, and then it's scalable. Maybe go with a 30x40 for now and have them design it so that I can another 30x40 once things aren't so crazy.

BM

 

[toolchaser]

My fab shop is metal sided red iron, & my garage is a pole barn framed in & sided with Hardie. Did all the fabshop myself with friends, jobbed out the pole barn basic & framed walls ,sided,insulated, ran elec,sheathed interior myself. If you're jobbing it out it doesn't make as much difference IMO since the hassles are on the builders back.

 

[Gunfixr]

I got my garage put up in early '16, it's a tube frame metal building. There were several options on tube size and thickness, I went with the largest, thickest tube. While not near as large as you're planning, stick built was over twice the cost back then. I had even added extra windows, insulated the ceiling, and turned the siding ribs on the roof vertical, which all cost extra.
I was in a hurry, so I had it put up.

It is drafty, and humidity is an issue, as these buildings have gaps in places. No rain comes in. When I can, i'm going to spray in insulation, which will seal it up, so I can turn it into a proper shop.

 

[Lockjz]

Toolchaser- Id like to do the work myself however i am at the tail end of a complete exterior/interior remodel of my house and have to concentrate on finishing that now. Not to mention the fact that im sick of working on it haha i just want to build cars now...

Another question here and some might call me crazy but what about a block building? i mean like cinder block walls or is that just way out of the question as far as cost goes??

 

[tez929rr]

Someone gave you some bad information. Adding on is very simple unless there are some odd issues. Red Iron buildings can be designed to be expandable which simply means that one or both end walls use a rigid frame rather than a light weight end wall. If the building has a light end wall then a second building is built right next to the existing building. From the outside the siding and roofing will continue from the existing building right on to the new building. On a red iron building the building frame is rigid and the siding serves no other purpose than to cover the frame.

Yup. We have added on to our firehouse red steel building twice. No issues.