Got a quote from Morton,,, now what???

[rapidride2]

First of all i am a newbie here. I know little about building construction but i am slowly learning from this wonderful site.

I recieved a quote from Morton buildingsthis weekend. I am totally aware that this is one of the "cadillacs" of the pole barn manufacturers. I don't mind paying a little more for quality but,, i was floored!!!

For a 60wx72' deep with 12' walls with a 4:12 pitch roof. 2 man doors approximately 5 windows 1-13highx12wide electric door and 1-10highx12wide manual door. A 16' long overhang above one of my man doors. the interior walls was quoted to be insulated by them and the ceiling by me. They would install the ribbed metal on the ceiling and walls.

The quote: Around $93,000 not counting about 15k in concrete, no electric etc. This is too high for me. Not to mention possibly adding a 20x72' living quarters.

However i was equally shocked to price a stick wood sheeted traditional type garage materials at around 35-40k? This doesn't include the increased amount of concrete for footing. I still thought this was somewhat reasonable.

I always thought a stick , wood-sheeted bldg. would cost more than steel sheeted wood bldg.

Sorry for the book any advice or direction would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Scout Driver]

I'm pretty familiar with Morton Buildings and I appraise a lot of new construction. Their quote sounds a little steep, but not out-of-line.

Morton will usually cut you a better deal if you order in the wintertime and schedule a summer build. (this is what I did) I don't know if they would be too receptive to change their quote for you now though.

BTW, I see that you are a new member (1st post anyhow). Welcome to the Garage Journal.

Scott

 

[PurdueSD]

Honestly that seems pretty reasonable for over 4300 sq ft finished on the interior. Morton makes nice buildings but you pay a little more.

That's a big building.

If you are looking to be more cost effective you may want to consider going a little smaller and adding attic storage trusses or a loft? Cheaper to build up than out.

 

[CUSTOMMANCAVES.COM]

For a 60wx72' deep with 12' walls with a 4:12 pitch roof. 2 man doors approximately 5 windows 1-13highx12wide electric door and 1-10highx12wide manual door. A 16' long overhang above one of my man doors.

The quote: Around $93,000 not counting about 15k in concrete...

A 4320 s/f building for $25 s/f ?!? I'd be all over that like a pit-bull on a poodle. Around these parts, you're looking at $85 s/f for something similar and $139 s/f if you have to buy the land.

 

[moparmuscle88]

as an introduction, i work for a small company that builds pole buildings as well as many other structures, and that is a little high

trusses are the most expensive part of the building, poles, depending on treated, laminated and height run from $50 to $100 apiece and they are every 8 feet. standard rule of thumb for overhand is $8-10 per linear foot.

if i were to guess without really figuring everything out, i would say it could be done for $75k ballpark figure

to put things in perspective a 40 x 80' 4 / 12 pitch with 4' overhang, gravel floor is around $30,000 in material

now figure yours as another $12,000 for trusses, a couple grand for a garage door entry doors, extra metal for the length, i would say your material would run $60,000 give or take a few

im just guessing at this, its not exact, but another quote from a smaller company in you area may help put thigns in perspective

 

[green.bubbly]

I got a quote on a 50x60x14 with a 7:12 pitch and 6 inches of roof and 4 inches of wall insulation from ICON for under $34,000. That is with 140mph wind load, six windows, gutters and 26 gauge metal??? That was towards the end of 2009 so maybe prices have gone up a lot?

 

[DIC]

Sounds like a bit too much......But that is a huge building.........Might consider a smaller building that could be added on to later or an all steel building...........Keep us updated................

 

[IndyGarage]

I have a buddy who had a nightmare with a Morton Building. To be fair, it wasn't Morton's fault, it was the installation crew they sent. The building wasn't square.

When he asked them to fix it, they made it worse. After he called them on the bad repairs, they didn't show up for months. Eventually Morton must have decided he was an impossible to please customer just ignored him. I think he sued them, but I never heard how that turned out.

Bottom line, I think they do good design and good materials, but you are still at the mercy of the construction crew. I would probably hire somebody local that I know is good.

 

[Mattlt]

Consider a narrower, longer building. You might save some money in truss costs.

Also as someone else mentioned, maybe you can go higher and add some mezzanine space instead of such a large footprint.

Overhangs add a lot to the cost of the building. They look nice and keep the building cleaner, but they add a lot of cost.

Another thing that adds cost is wainscoting. Again, it looks nice but it adds lots of cost. Looks better on a taller building.

Maybe consider sheeting the inside yourself, or check out a local contractor to do the inside. I'd think some of these guys would be a little hungry and would cut a good deal on it. I would not recommend saying you'll sheet the inside later. This is what I did and 15 years later I'm still working in an uninsulated shop! I wish I would have at least done the ceiling.

Ask your neighbors who built their buildings. They will tell you if they're happy with their building. Word of mouth is good advertising.

 

[sledzz]

If you have a Menards try them. I saved quite a bit by buying the material from them and then hiring the crew to build it. Fortunately the guys that built mine also build for one of the big name manufacuters and did a great job.

 

[Red05GT]

Length of trusses are definately a big factor in cost. Maybe consider a raised narrower
center section, say 36' and then a 12' lean to or rafter frame extension on each side to
lower cost but still have the same footprint size. +1 on considering doing more of your
own interior work, i.e. insulation and liner panel.

 

[rapidride2]

Honestly that seems pretty reasonable for over 4300 sq ft finished on the interior. Morton makes nice buildings but you pay a little more.

That's a big building.

If you are looking to be more cost effective you may want to consider going a little smaller and adding attic storage trusses or a loft? Cheaper to build up than out.

Actually that quote is WITHOUT any living space!!!! I was thinking of actually thinking about finishing 20'x72' later on. I could easily see with electrical, hvac, plumbing, i could see an end result of 140k with the 1400 square foot of living quarters.

p.s. it is early but i am recieving quotes for $9 sq ft for a sheeted 2by building! I thought this was really reasonable??? Any qualms about an old school ply sheeted stick garage?

 

[csp]

Just for comparison, I got a quote from Morton in 2000 for a 30x48' building which was $28k. This was just a shell with a walk-in door, one roll up door and one slider door at the other end. I ended up signing a contract with Cleary buildings for the same building at $16k.

 

[Scout Driver]

Just for comparison, I got a quote from Morton in 2000 for a 30x48' building which was $28k. This was just a shell with a walk-in door, one roll up door and one slider door at the other end. I ended up signing a contract with Cleary buildings for the same building at $16k.

Building costs have gone up dramatically over the past few years. Another option is to see if they have any buildings "on sale". Sometimes Morton has special pricing on certain buildings.

Scott

 

[tdkkart]

I'll 2nd the suggestion to get a quote on a narrower building, long trusses cost lots of money.

I haven't checked lately, but the prices on the building steel was way high for awhile, and I noticed awhile back that it was on it's way back up again. I know scrap prices have been back up, which would force the steel price up also. The swing was about 30%.
A 60 x72 building is gonna have a **** load of steel on it, a 30% price jump would raise the price considerably.

 

[csp]

Building costs have gone up dramatically over the past few years.

That's a given. The point was the price difference between the two builders for the same building.

 

[rapidride2]

I am still gonna shop around for both steel sheeted and full wood as i was shocked to see how cheap wood w/wood sheeting is compared to stick with steel sheeting (pole barn) in my area.

Other than possibly higher homeowners insurance premiums with wood sheeted bldg. and increased concrete due to necessary footing, wouldn't a stick with wood sheeting bldg. be just as good or better due to insulating properties and ease of working with etc?

 

[Bull]

Wow, that's a large facility you are planning.

It wouldn't hurt you to get a quote on a post and beam Geobarn from George Abetti at geobarns.com. I started with a Morton quote that made me fall out of my chair and then ended up with a Geobarn for a lot less money. He builds throughout the country, from small to gigantic structures.

 

[Mr. D]

I have a current quote for a 40' deep X 65' across the front X 14' walls w/ a 20' overhang on the side for RV parking (85' roof @ 2:12). Gutters, 3 colors and insulation. Doors provided by builder.

Material only: $18,766 or roughly $7.22 per sq ft.

I have been told erection would run $2,600 or $5.00 per sq ft.

Concrete is also about $2.50 a sq ft finished plus 86 yrds @ $90ish per for a 3400 6" slab. $16,240

Roughly $37,606 ($14.46 sq ft) and I still need doors. I'm also sure my concrete number still needs work as I don't really need 6" everywhere but again I have not gotten a hard quote.

Waiting on a turn key quote form another company to compare this with.

 

[rapidride2]

I have a current quote for a 40' deep X 65' across the front X 14' walls w/ a 20' overhang on the side for RV parking (85' roof @ 2:12). Gutters, 3 colors and insulation. Doors provided by builder.

Material only: $18,766 or roughly $7.22 per sq ft.

I have been told erection would run $2,600 or $5.00 per sq ft.

Concrete is also about $2.50 a sq ft finished plus 86 yrds @ $90ish per for a 3400 6" slab. $16,240

Roughly $37,606 ($14.46 sq ft) and I still need doors. I'm also sure my concrete number still needs work as I don't really need 6" everywhere but again I have not gotten a hard quote.

Waiting on a turn key quote form another company to compare this with.

Is this from a local builder or a nationwide builder? What type of building are you quoted? That seems reasonable.

 

[D KRAGER]

I see you are in near St. Louis. Check out RC buildings. They are in Altamont, IL That's what I ended up getting. Also my Dad just put up a new shop build by Cleary, I think they have a crew located out of Breese, IL.

Screw Morton. They wouldn't even give me a bid cause they knew they'd be "too high". That's straight out of the salesman's mouth!!!! They asked if I was shopping around or gonna go off of pure quality, I said well both. They said they couldn't compete and to go somewhere else!

Also you can see a pic of mine in my avatar, this is RC's cheaper building. They also have the packages with roof overhangs and all the fancy stuff.

 

[ddawg16]

I think your big cost is that 60' width.

Length is pretty much a linear # when it comes to figuring cost....want to add 20'? Well, it's x$$ per/ft.

But, when your talking about width...not linear....hence, adding 10' on the width could easily drive the cost/ft up quite a bit.

I would go back and ask what the cost would be for a more narrow building....I bet the price drops quite a bit....

 

[Mr. D]

They wouldn't even give me a bid cause they knew they'd be "too high". That's straight out of the salesman's mouth!!!! They asked if I was shopping around or gonna go off of pure quality, I said well both. They said they couldn't compete and to go somewhere else!

If I owned that company that salesman's would be fired, somehow I don't think thats Morton's business plan.

 

[Mr. D]

Is this from a local builder or a nationwide builder? What type of building are you quoted? That seems reasonable.

Building is your run of the mill red iron free span type construction you see on all metal buildings. Company is local that was recently picked up by a larger company that appears to be national in nature. So far the quoting process has been very painless and no BS salesman stuff. I have been very pleased with Inland Buildings and they even offered to run me around town and look at some of their product that has been built to date in the local area.

http://www.inlandbuildings.com/

 

[Mattlt]

Check out Lester Buildings. They have an online price calculator. I just did a quick online price quote, and came up with $65,600 for a 54x80x15'6"... lined and insulated. I doubt that includes concrete. A 42x56x13'6" came up as $41K. This is with a central MN snowload.

Anyway, I have to give them a shameless plug - their headquarters is in my hometown.

www.lesterbuildings.com

 

[rapidride2]

I will check out all the previous places. This will take some time to do research but appears to be well worth it. Good thing i'm not in a huge hurry.

 

[Dave in VA]

Lester will be putting up my building in about a month. 30'x40', 9'3", 2-10'x8' roll-ups on the end and a 8'x8' roll-up on the back side, 1 people door, 3 windows, insulated walls and roof, 12" soffits, ridge vent, 4" concrete and site prep for $28,800.

I didn't get any other prices--I need to get this done, now. The builder is local, the factory is only a couple of hundred miles away. I guess it's a fair price.

 

[rapidride2]

I recieved a quote from Cleary in Breese Illinois. They came in constructed at $60,500. However this is with them spraying in insulation in the roof at r-30 and r-19 rolled insulation for the walls and installing all interior wall and ceiling metal ribbed liners. This is with no living quarters or concrete.

My next quote is a material cost of $24,000 for an off-brand metal sheeted pole barn building from r.p. lumber. This doesn't include interior wall insulation and ceiling and interior wall metal ribbing (or osb wall finishing) no concrete or assembly costs.

I am awaiting R.P. lumbers quote of the same 60x72 building but in a sheeted form with siding and shingled roof. They say lumber is at a really low cost right now and expect this quote to be lower. I know concrete costs will be higher due to the necessity of footing.

What do all of you guys think about a regular plywood sheeted garagewith shingled roof and siding versus a pole barn building with metal sheeting and metal roof???? Thanks, Matt.

 

[Mattlt]

On a building as wide as you're thinking of building, you will not come out ahead on a shingled roof. The trusses will have to be VERY strong to support the extra weight of the roofing material. I think you're better off with a steel roof.

 

[SL6RAM]

I got a quote from Morton for a 30x50 shop, it came in around $26K. This was with one large garage door and a man door. Options like windows seemed very expensive. The basic shell was resonable but all the options added up quick. I'm sure the 60' wide trusses for your building added alot to the cost like others have said.
Joe

 

[wuboring]

In west central IL Morton put up a 54x83 building for me 16' high. They insulated it and skinned it on the inside with sound deadening steel. It has 2 walk in doors, 5 windows, 2' overhangs its has the 2 color scheme a 24x15 overhead door opening and a 10x10 overhead door opening (doors not included) and it was $79,900 with no concrete.

They did and excellent job.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=162539&id=500545274&l=1ab76e01a1

It was sapose to be alot more expensive, but they had a "Morton Days" and they took alot off due to the fact that i payed a down payment during that weekend.

 

[jocool1585]

Morton's buildings are in a different class in my opinion. Their method of insulating the building is not matched in other buildings. Take a look at a cross-section of a Morton building sometime and you'll see what I mean. They also have a killer warranty - even for paint fade on metal exteriors.

 

[wuboring]

i agree with jocool

the warranty is 50 years, another thing they do is put stainless steel caps with small feet on the posts and pour them in concrete instead of just setting them on a concrete donut and putting dirt around them