Metal building reviews

[htchevyii]

Hi guys,
I'm looking for a metal building for a shop. I like the country barn style with a lean to on each side, it will fit in well. Elephant structures lets you build your own building on their website. I came up with an 18' wide center bay with a 12' wide lean to on each side and 40' long. This should give me a nice work area in the center with height for a lift and parking on each side. I think I could fit 5 cars and still have room to work. I would have 3 roll up doors in the front and one in the center in the rear.
Elephant structures has a lot of crummy reviews on "ripoff report". Does anybody have good or bad experiences with metal building installers/ sellers? I am in Northern California, so not every company serves my area.
Thanks for your help!

 

[BrianMcCallister]

Metal buildings are one of the modern marvels which are quite prominent in latest architectural structures.

 

[glmron]

Here is a link to my current project, it's my own design and I am building it myself. I don't recommend either but I am having a good time with it.


http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=129939

 

[htchevyii]

Looks like its comming along nicely!

 

[htchevyii]

Incase anybody else is interested, I ended up buying my shop from American Steel Carports. One of the places that I inquired with, I don remember which, kept hounding me with high pressure sales calls, even after I repeatedly asked them to quit calling. I told them I wouldn't buy from them at any price. The other problem that I had was that many suppliers had numerous complaints with Ripoff Report and bad BBB ratings. Elephant structures seemed to have good prices and a great website that let you design your own building, but bad reviews and BBB rating. Some of the reviews for companys even said that they didn't pass inspection and would not fix the problems.In the end, the lack of complaints and good BBB rating is what made me choose American Steel.
My dealings with them started out a little rocky. The first few promises for estimates and drawings were not kept, I had to call and jack them up a few times. There was also a lapse in communication, (they don't let you talk to the engineer, but relay the information), somewhere along the way critical info was left out. But in the end, they pulled thru. They modified the plans at no charge to fix my mistake and got the building erected in a timely manner when I was ready. It also passed building inspection without any problems. I would deal with them again, just be prepared to do a bit of extra calling if you are in a hurry.

 

[G McKay]

Steel buildings usually work out pretty well. They are quick to put up and they can stand a lot of severe weather for a long time. Plus, you should never need to paint them. I have never heard of anyone having problems with the people who install them.

 

[ZRX61]

I have never heard of anyone having problems with the people who install them.

There's a few real horror stories on this forum...

 

[600SL]

I went with ICON building system. They also let you down load software to design a building an get a quote on the spot. I have had absolutely no issues with them to date.

John

 

[rickjames8]

Rather than starting a new thread, I figured I'd post my comments about my carport buying experience here.

Last year I bought a house with no garage, and I'm a car guy, so I have to build one. However, due to some odd bounary issues, I can't get a permit for a proper building. So I'm putting up a carport which I intend to enclose at some point, keeping cost as low as possible so if I'm forced to take it down, it's not such a loss.

I used the Elephant Structures website (these are the same people as carport.com) and came up with a price I was ok with, and called them to comfirm. Based on the comments on this thread and Elephant's bad BBB comments, I checked out American Steel's website and it said they'd match any price. So I called them, and got a machine and left a message. Then I emailed. Then I waited, then I called again and got a machine.

I got tired of waiting and called Elephant back, got a live person, and made my order. They said 6-8 week lead time, and it arrived in 4. The guys who set it up were polite and fast. There were 3 guys, one spoke good english, the other 2 spoke none. We had a little issue due to me not measuring properly, and they helped me figure out a solution. It was up in 3 hours. It looks nice and sturdy, but this is my first carport, so I have nothing to compare it to.

This might seem like a plug, as it's my first post. But you'll notice I joined a year ago when I bought this garage-less house (what was I thinking!?!?) so I could search on ideas. And this is my first post because, well, the garage building has just begun. I just wanted to post my experiences. With the negative reviews about Elephant, I was braced for a lot of trouble, and at worst, losing my deposit and not having one by winter. What it ended up being was a smooth transaction so I thought it deserved mention.

I will start a build thread when I enclose, which will be in the spring. I want to leave it up for a few months to see if any neighbors say anthing about the boundary issue and make a fuss.

-Rick
travelhead.com

 

[readhead]

Being in the metal building business I'd like to offer a few observations. What the OP and rickjames are talking about are not metal buildings in the traditional sense. They are a light guage structure that sits on the ground. They have their place and if it works for you that is great. One note to rickjames. Keep the snow off that carport. I run a crane service and I love those carports because I make money every winter removing the collapsed ones.
The internet has made the pre-engineered metal building business very dicey. Ninety percent of building suppliers on the net are brokers. They don't make their own buildings which can lead to communication problems.
My best advice is to deal with a local metal building contractor. Most will sell you a building even if you want to put it up yourself. The local guy will have one or more building companies he deals with and has a history with. If you have problems he will sort it out. Most of the time I can beat the internet prices but most people assume I will be higher.
So there will be a bunch of people that will say they had no problem buying a building on the internet and they should consider themselves lucky that they found some of the honest brokers and suppliers that are out there. There are probably twice that many that had a bad experience.
Give the local guy a chance. He will be able to consult on site conditions and permit issues. If any parts are missing he may have them in his boneyard or can get them to you fast.

 

[G McKay]

I think that looks nice, rickjames8. Now all you need are the sides and a couple of doors and you are good to go. Nice house, too.

 

[rickjames8]

Readhead-

Thanks for the advice. I was a bit worried about snow too. I got the 12-auge upgrade. Do you think that will help? Should I have opted for the extra $200 for them to mount the aluminum panels the other way? I think this would have aided with the snow falling off on it's own.

And your advice about buying local is spot on. I was out for a drive a couple of weeks after ordering and saw a place just a few blocks from me selling carports. I wish I'd thought of that sooner. I am very pro-local. It just didn't occur to me to find a local guy.

McKay-

Thanks - we like the house too. Amazingly this house was the same price as a small townhouse just 20 minutes closer to the city (values decrease as you go away from DC). My wife and I both decided we'd make the extra drive time to live in such a scenic place.

I plan to try to tackle the enclosing this weekend (minus the garage door).

 

[rickjames8]

Readhead,

I googled "carport collapse snow" and the pictures have prompted me to try to do some bracing before adding sides, although I think the addition of 4x8 sheathing should add a little structre to it. I'm going to start a new thread, I'd appreciate if you'd comment.

Thanks,
-Rick

 

[jeepjk]

htchevyii,

I know your post is older, but hope this might help someone else shopping. I've worked with Elephant Structures or Carport.com, it seems they do a lot of business and work across the nation with installer partners in most every state. From what I was told they can pick and choose from these partners to give you be best delivery time possible, however this can still be weeks out from when you order simply due to logistics and where you need the carport or building constructed. I do know as an industry the biggest downside is sometimes the delivery time stretches out for some customers in select areas, however, considering they are manufacturing a building, coordinating deliveries and then actually constructing the them on my land.. I can't complain about a few weeks. If it were something they stick in a box and UPS to my door I might be angry. I've had a great experience working with them.. they certainly have the best website with up-front pricing. I found these customer reviews about them which are worth checking out too.

Hi guys,
I'm looking for a metal building for a shop. I like the country barn style with a lean to on each side, it will fit in well. Elephant structures lets you build your own building on their website. I came up with an 18' wide center bay with a 12' wide lean to on each side and 40' long. This should give me a nice work area in the center with height for a lift and parking on each side. I think I could fit 5 cars and still have room to work. I would have 3 roll up doors in the front and one in the center in the rear.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

Steel buildings usually work out pretty well. They are quick to put up and they can stand a lot of severe weather for a long time. Plus, you should never need to paint them. I have never heard of anyone having problems with the people who install them.

There is a right and wrong way to put them together. The inspector will fail you simply if they don't put the screws in correctly. They have to be installed in certain areas, the panels have to be spaced correctly too.

 

[My Old Tools]

Readhead knows his stuff. We have a bunch of metal building contractors in Texas to choose from. I have used three over the years. I always went with local recommendations, got bids, interviewed them, etc. This last guy I used was excellent (link below). He won't be any help in California, but you get the idea. There are metal buildings and there are light weight metal structures. Around here we get tornadoes, big hail, trees come down, etc. I want mine to still be there.

MCM Metal Buildings

Steel Construction Company in Tyler

mcm-metal-buildings.business.site

 

[Mike65]

We went with a local company & they were contracted with a larger company out of NC. The building went up in 2 or 3 days. The company we delt with leveled & prepped the area, & had a concrete company they deal with lay the footers, & poured the floor. Here is the finished product.

 

[zepedaherbey]

We went with a local company & they were contracted with a larger company out of NC. The building went up in 2 or 3 days. The company we delt with leveled & prepped the area, & had a concrete company they deal with lay the footers, & poured the floor. Here is the finished product.

what was the price?

 

[Mike65]

IIRC the building was $10,500, & the concrete was $6,000. These prices were from 1 1/2 years ago, & the building size is 24" x 25'.
We delt with M.C. ville Sheds in Collinsville, Virginia. They were great to deal with.

M.C. ville Sheds - Collinsville, VA - Home

M.C. ville Sheds can connect you with just the right storage shed for your needs. Call our office in Collinsville, VA today at (276) 734-7128.

www.mcvillesheds.com

 

[zippyslug31]

IIRC the building was $10,500, & the concrete was $6,000. These prices were from 1 1/2 years ago, & the building size is 24" x 25'.
We delt with M.C. ville Sheds in Collinsville, Virginia. They were great to deal with.

M.C. ville Sheds - Collinsville, VA - Home

M.C. ville Sheds can connect you with just the right storage shed for your needs. Call our office in Collinsville, VA today at (276) 734-7128.

www.mcvillesheds.com

Interesting to hear of comps. I built the wife a "craft house" which was 30x30, including the front porch area (making the interior 30x26). This was 2 years ago and my building price was $13k for the engineering and materials kit (I DIY built it), slab work was $9500. Yes, I live in a high cost of living region (*****!).