DIY Pole Barn - How much can I save?

[TheGunCollector]

Hi guys. Been a lurker here for a while, and after searching all the posts on pole barns, I'd figure I'd ask this question as the costs of materials are quite different than they were 1+ years ago.

I'm in the process of planning a ~42 x 60 x 12'4" pole barn. The price Morton gave me was $33,000

This included :

(3) 10'x10' garage doors. ( I might change this and go wider)

(2) Entry doors
(2) Windows
(6) Skylights


Do you guys think I can build this thing cheaper if I do it my self? I have plenty of free time, but just am not sure about buying the materials myself as opposed to them being able to buy cheaper based on volume.

Thanks for any help you can render, and it's great to be here!!

TheGunCollector

 

[Leadfoot3232]

You can save a bunch by DIY..I got a quote on my 30x40x10,no windows,sliding doors..basic building for $6800.. Material cost is gonna run me right at $3200 to do it myself..
Morton builds a decent building,but they ain't cheap..If you have a local "pole barn" builder they could probably do it for thousands less..
Tim

 

[larry_g]

If you have a materials package then shop it around to a few different lumber yards. I recently finished a building, buying a kit from a local pole building business. The kit came with good instructions, high quality lumber where needed, all the pieces. After all was said and done I wished that I would have let them erect the building. I worked for very cheap wages on this and the time lines streach it was just not worth it. Do you have the skills and equipment to set the poles, get the roof trusses up, and the girts up. If you have to rent the equipment, and hire some helpers the numbers don't add up. We erected ours but I would not do it again.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Palmetto]

I built mine myself. Took me a whole year, but I was saving money as I went, and paid for the whole thing in cash.

$18k total (incl concrete)
$12k in materials from Mueller.
14' eves
70x40 total
1600 sq ft enclosed
20' lean to on both long sides.
4" pipe poles
2-7/8" drill stem rafters
(2) 14x14 roll up doors
(1) man door
Low profile ridge vents
Double Bubble insul. on roof

 

[rodnok1]

You can general save at least half the cost by DIY. My 40x60x12 was 12k for the package, plus walk doors and windows. Morton does make a good building. Buy a package from alocal lumber yard. The only real difficult part was setting trusses and steel for the roof, other than that just hard work.

 

[Possum]

A Morton building will generally have all the bells and whistles - eaves, overhangs, wainscotting, etc. Trust me from personal DIY experience - to finish all that out in metal adds a bunch to the cost over a plain metal box with just rake and corner on the edges and a few pieces of J around the door. Not to mention quite a bit of work to finish. That being said you can save money still. Just don't think it will be up in a week or two.....

How good of friends do you have?

 

[bimmer1980]

My bro and I had a Foltz building (similar to Morton) put up for about $35000 back in 2001. It was 50x96 with 16' side walls. They had it erected in 3 days! the craftmanship is the best I have ever seen for wood buildings. these do this day in and day out, so they are good at it. I like to think of myself as a perfectionist, but there is no way my bro and I could have done this at the time.

We have since done most of the interior work ourselves. The interior is where you can save some money by doing it yourself, but you are not fighting the elements as much. I would definitely have the Foltz guys build the building again.

 

[Ryan10700]

I'm hoping to do my own pole barn this summer as well. I looked at Menard's and Sutherlands for packages and they were close to $6,000 after taxes for a 24x30x10. I checked with one of my local lumber yards and got a price of $4500 without the garage doors and built twice as sturdy with 6x6 posts instead of 4x4, trusses on 4' centers instead of 9' 9 1/2" and includes basic bubble insulation. After pricing garage doors locally, I can get 9x8 doors for $250 each after tax, without an opener. So I'll have right about $5,000 in material for the building, plus rental of an auger to dig my pole holes, preformed concrete pole bases, bobcat rental and rock delivery to bring the floor to grade, welded wire mesh, and poly vapor barrier. Concrete is running about $98/yd where I live, and should require about 11 yards for this size building. Figuring $1,000 for the rock and equipment rental after checking local prices, and another $2,000 for concrete and labor to finish the floor, we're at about $8,000. After lights, and typical overages I'm hoping to finish up at $10,000.

Having said all of that, the best quote I've gotten for an erected building of the same size, without concrete, lights, etc. was $8,650. Finishing up the math, I should come out a few thousand dollars ahead by doing work myself. *Note- this includes the help of some skilled friends and several cases of beer and pizza at the end of the day on a few weekends

 

[krooser]

I bought a used 50X100 building, tore it down and rebuilt it in my yard as a 30X50... sold the rest.

I paid a guy $1,000.00 to pull the 50' trusses and the poles and reset them at my site. I did the trucking.

I've got about $5500.00 in my shop with everything including concrete, electrical, insulation, interior lining, etc. DIY is pretty cheap... used is even cheaper.

 

[TheGunCollector]

A Morton building will generally have all the bells and whistles - eaves, overhangs, wainscotting, etc. Trust me from personal DIY experience - to finish all that out in metal adds a bunch to the cost over a plain metal box with just rake and corner on the edges and a few pieces of J around the door. Not to mention quite a bit of work to finish. That being said you can save money still. Just don't think it will be up in a week or two.....

How good of friends do you have?

Part of the reason of my leaning towards doing it myself is so that I could finish the exterior in something other than metal - I was thing a cement based siding i.e. James Hardie.

I'm sure I can get a few days out of 1 or 2 of my friends for the erection of poles and setting of trusses, but the majority of the work will be done by me.

Thanks EVERYONE for the feedback thus far. As you all know I'm sure, this is both a fun and stressful process.


TheGunCollector

 

[JOECOOL]

Just doing a 24x32x10 Menards building now.It was less than $6000 delivered, I was going to do it myself but found a builder with a idle, hungry crew that is erecting it for $1.65 a square foot. That $1270 ,I can't wear out my friends for that.
I am now looking for a spray foam installed that is hungry also. Best of luck.

 

[Possum]

I can't blame you for wanting something a bit more appealing than metal. I made the call and decided that I didn't want to have to touch (aka paint) the exterior for a loooong time and went all metal. For me it was going to cost slightly more on the exterior to use OSB, vapor barrier, and Hardie lap siding. But figuring the amount of work to put it up, the paint, and then probably painting again down the road made it an easier choice. If you put up the Hardie panels, you may have to address the problem of the vertical seams of the panels on the horizontal laying girts. I suppose you could put OSB horizontal on 2' spaced girts and then put Hardie panel over them.

 

[Flathead Youngin']

real quickly...

i wanted a 40x80 and was dead set on doing it myself......just the shell, one man door and one 12x12 slider was 22,500

my material quotes from 84 lumber, carter, and whoever does quotes for menard's website, was about 19-24k......

i used an amish fella for mine.....great guy, great worker, quality, fast, communicates and followed through...always.....

i'm a diy'er, i don't like to let ANYONE do things for me.....i'm glad i did on this, now.....but having the amish guy is what made the difference......

as a matter of fact, i used to hate hearing guy say things like; "oh, you can't do it yourself," or how some blow people off for not just handing someone the money to do it....i read it here a lot before i built mine......

i still have a lot to do myself; over-head doors, electrical, dividing wall, shelf/loft, insulation, finishing one side, etc....

just depends on the situation and what materials are running, how much time you have available.....

 

[benson.racing]

Just wondering, what pitch is that on your roof. Also do you think I could use 2 7/8 pipe for the entire structure including the posts on 8-10ft centers?

 

[Deltarat]

I priced all the materials for my 30x62 with 12' door and walk in door and insulated. Maderight put up the building for 1k more than the materials would have cost me. The savings was in the concrete. They poured it for $2.65 a square foot and the best price I could get was $4.50 a square foot. That was a $3500 savings.
For $1000 I didn't have to rent a crane to lift the trusses and got my shop in a week in 106* heat.

 

[Half Baked]

Here's Mine.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83650&highlight=xpr-10acx

 

[cyamaha2007]

i just bought a kit from diy polebarns.com. It was way cheaper for me to get the kit. Im waiting on the kit to be delivered. The shell with windows and walk doors with all the options/ overhangs/ wainscoating/ vented sofit/ some other little stuff. Was around 12k. my shell with a gravel floor was best quoted erected at 20k without over hangs on a 36x56x14h. I have 1200 bucks in the floor and leveling the pad. Hope it all works out.

 

[Sureshot]

I have a 42x60x16 and got it done inside and out. The difference and time involved was not worth it. I did do all the plumbing and electrical though. When I priced out doing the interior I could barely buy the material for what they did the whole job for.

Mine is from Goodon Industries.

 

[Dredwolf]

This is a great thread, it pulled me out of lurking on the board. The Commander In Chief (aka Wife) has finally decided that I really can't have a decent workshop in the attached garage because of the on-going battle with stuff from the house as the kids grow up and the garage keeps being "temporary" storage that seems permanent.

We are looking at what can be done, I am out of the city, with acreage. I grew up with everybody having a barn, so I like the idea of a pole building (my father built a huge barn on his property next door 20 years ago by Hoover, its still doing well). BUT I need to keep costs down, or it won't get done/finished. I am pretty handy (thanks Dad), but the idea of someone else getting it done in a hurry is nice too. The local Hoover place has a $10K special (with 4' concrete) which beats the heck out of the 2-car I now have that has not had a car in it in 15 years. I do all of my own electrical and plumbing repairs now, so I know I could finish the inside.

Dad's huge (100+') pole barn was first built with huge sliding doors to fit an 18-wheeler loaded with hay, and he had roll-up doors installed later, they were easier for my mother and sister to open. But he is gone now, so I can't ask him how much additional the roll-up doors added. Do the slide doors save you that much?

Thanks in advance.

Dredwolf

 

[rieferman]

This is not directed at anyone in particular, no flames please:

While I understand budget constraints, I have trouble understanding the search for the cheapest possible pole barn. Every business is in it to make money, so a cheap price stems from somewhere. Whether it's materials, labor, taxes, building standards, site cleanup, customer service during/after, warranty, etc. etc. etc. Cheap price comes from cheap something else in the process.

For many, the garage or pole barn (or whatever structure) is a long time dream finally coming true. Of all the places I'd save a nickle, it wouldn't be on my long time dream if I could avoid it. I'm NOT saying that DIY is a bad way to go, just that price is not the FIRST and only thing I'd review when building my house, garage, barn, shed, cabin, fire station, whatever...

Again, this is not directed at any one in particular, just rambling

 

[Wastedwagesracing]

Two weeks ago I just signed a contract for my building. this is the info.

60x64x16.5 (4:12 pitch)
24' Steel overhangs all four sides (6" facia?)
8ft O.C poles
(1)-14x14 door opening
(2)- 12x12 door openings
42" Wainscot
(2) Large Copulas (framed in/on)
(2) 36" walk through door/punched for dead bolt locks
Colored Roof
Bookshelf purloins
Vented ridge cap (with mesh protection)
Gap sealed for shop use
Roof and sidewall 2" insulation between tin
Upgraded Tin
(6) 4x3 windows@240
Nested Purloins
(2) 18x25 Vents
Overhead door and service door trim out

Material cost on that building is right around 32K. It just shows how a few extras drive the cost up in a hurry.

 

[nascamp]

I got a price today from Armstrong steel blds for a30x50x12 for$15,400 Hansen pole barns quoted me a price on a 30x40 pole barn for around $12,000

 

[Old Moparz]

Wonder how much more the prices are in a 3-1/2 year old thread.

 

[Boyd]

Anyone have recent costs on a pole barn kit?

 

[ghostknife]

I just priced a 40x64x14 on DIY's site, with a 16x12 overhead door, a 12x12 overhead door, a 36" residential door, 12" overhangs on all sides and a 12' Lean-to. I was quoted $20255.08 and another $9875 if i wanted to use their preferred builder. If i wanted to step up to a 40x72 it would be $22014 with $10800 labor with the same doors and such

 

[cj7jeep81]

Granted it's an old thread, but I have a quote for just under $22k for a 40x64x16. You really, really have to check the details to make an apples to apples comparison. This kit includes perma-columns, 2" insulation on walls/roof, 2 insulated 14x14 doors, 12" overhang, etc. If I took off all the extra cost options (and got something similar to what I'm sure a lot of people in here were quoted), it'd be about $16k.

 

[ryan77]

CJ- I am also in S. Indiana and lookin to build a pole barn, P.M. me the builder that quoted that

 

[rancherbill]

Yes you can save money.

Be aware it is a lot of work. If it takes a builder 1 hour to do something, it will take you 3 to 4 hours. They have experience, don't have to check and double check everything, re-do mistakes, properly research the project in the first place, have the proper equipment, don't have to fiddle for quotes, are in physical shape, etc.

 

[red5001]

The one thing I learned when bulding my or having it built. Was the extras is what drove a lot of the cost. So depeding on the building depends on what you save DIY. My was 32x60x12 with a 12' lean to and 3 overhead door etc. DIY I would have saved about 6-8K depednign on who I got the materials from. It also depends on the type/brand of materials drives some cost as well.

I ended up having it built it was done in 3 days as opposed to who knows how long since I would have only worked on it weekends and such. If you got the time you can save some money

 

[oscar80]

I am paying an experienced construction guy to help on his off time. Saves me from the learning curve but I can do the manual stuff with his guidance.