Morton building or not?

[bams50]

Ok, so the time is come to build my new shop. I’m figuring pole style. Started looking around a little and got an estimate from Morton... much higher than comparable by a mile I know they have a rep for being top quality but damn!

Questions:

Do any of you have a Morton building? If so, any thoughts you can share?

I’m looking at pole construction thinking it will be the cheapest, even with the extra work to insulate and finish inside with steel. Does steel or block make any sense over pole?

I don’t want to go too far getting estimates until I have the finance in place. Looking for basic education right now.

 

[wingrider02]

I found Morton to be over double of the cost of the pole barn I am currently putting up. Did they attempt to sell you on the lower price option? Have to say, I was not impressed with the rep from Morton.

For what is worth, I am putting up a Cleary building.

 

[dreamingmuscle]

I've looked at two Morton buildings, one under construction. The quality of materials and craftsmanship was outstanding. Just wish I could have afforded one when I built mine. Just the built up poles alone sold me.

 

[Shadowdog500]

I had my Morton pole barn put up 8 years ago and love it.

When I was first getting quotes the price for Morton was highest by far, and I left the quote meeting thinking there was no way I was going with Morton.

The one thing we did do was ask for addresses for past buildings where the owner would not mind us stopping buy to look at. Every Morton building still looked brand new even if it was built 25-30 years before. The one dance studio that Morton built 25 years previous had an addition put on a year before and I couldn't even tell where the line was from old to new, even when the studio owner showed me.

The other manufacturers buildings that we looked at were obviously old with faded panels and wavy walls even at 10 years. In the end we wound up with Morton and are still happy 8 years later.


They were really good to work with. The high price was the only negative.

Here is a time laps of my shop build.

Chris

 

[bullnerd]

My neighbors Morton has been up for at least 30yrs.

Its used as a fab/machine shop.

Looks like the day they built it.

I forget the size, but its easily three times the size of my 30x40.

All the OH doors and the man door still work fine.

There's no crack s in the floor.

Its heated and cooled pretty easily.

 

[Marctrees]

bams - I do understand you asking about Morton, but you might get more overall helpful info to ask " Morton or other builder? (NY State)"

Cuz if your location is more prominent, you will have guys in your area more likely to suggest alternate PB builders/ suppliers in YOUR area.

For example, like down here in East TX, we don't have that Amish thing goin on that possibly you have there.

Also, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, ... re the Morton steel being bright and shiny after yearssss, and the no name brand fading quickly.. - I'm pretty sure Morton does not produce and finish their panels, but just a handfull of mills that supply everyone in US.

They certainly may form their trim, and even form the panels from FINISHED coil stock.

Far as I know they are corrugated and flattened AFTER they are painted.

So re the steel finish, not a Morton thing per se but a WHO made the coil stock.

Seems to me there are 2 or 3 "Warranty" times available.. and "Kynar" or somthin upgrade paint available from most PB supplier/ builders.

So, while it is possible Morton uses only the best grade of coil, that does not mean they are the only ones w that specific product.

I'm pretty sure you can get the exact stuff from maybe not all, but many or most other suppliers.

Marc

 

[bams50]

Definitely will be wanting to talk to other builders in the area. I will be glad to see any recommendations for those, but I figured they would be easy to find.

 

[rburke65]

I'm sure you will get more comments from Morton owners, but ya sure don't hear any negative feed back from them owners.

 

[4 FN 27]

I built my Morton in 2014. The quality and attention to detail is impeccable. They were great to work with and flexible enough to incorporate all the little things I wanted. They allowed me to pick my own Subs for Plumbing, HVAC, Electrical and Concrete.

I have zero complaints.

If I do another building I will definitely go with Morton again.

 

[dontlifttoshift]

The Morton building I am sitting in right now is 21 years old. The one across the street is 30+. We have one on the family farm that is nearly 40 years old.

If I needed another building tomorrow, I would call Morton.

 

[bams50]

I believe you guys that gave glowing recommendations to Morton. I am sold on their quality. I have a local guy who has one and showed me around his; amazing. I have always dreamed of having one. But my local rep came and talked to me, and sent me a couple renderings. He didn’t seem all that interested in selling me. I haven’t heard a word from him in the three months since I contacted him. It concerns me, because I would expect to be able to work closely with the wrap should I go ahead.

Meanwhile, here’s the deal: 54 x 80, 16 foot interior height. This is with basic doors and windows, overhead doors, interior insulated and finished with steel. $190,839.

����

That doesn’t include plumbing, electric, or site work. Really?

I’m going to build what I want. I’ve spent many years dreaming and planning about this. I can probably borrow enough to afford it. But I don’t want a massive loan hanging over my head.

For you guys that have Morton buildings already, am I missing something or is this what they cost?

 

[wbclassics]

Mike Ryan was the Morton Rep (out of the Homer NY office) that quoted me for my building in CNY. They were something like $75-80k for a unfinished interior shell, on the 36x64 I had them quote in Summer of 2016. The renderings he provided were not great, especially considering I had already designed the building myself and sent him much more detailed and dimensioned renderings of what I wanted. So overall I was not impressed with Morton's presentation or the price. I also recall that a number of aesthetic features/choices I wanted, they weren't able to fully provide to my satisfaction.

In the end I went my own way to get exactly what I want, and ended up stretching the building another 8ft to 36x72. And my cost was less than 2/3 of what Morton wanted. I upgraded materials as I saw fit to get quality that was equal or better to what Morton was using, for instance my roof metal is 27ga (vs typical 29ga). And I went with a Kynar finish for my wall metal (red) because I didn't want faded red in a few years. The roof is a light gray color, so I wasn't concerned with the current generation of SMP finishes fading for an already pretty light color. My garage doors, man door, and windows are also higher quality / higher spec units than what was included in the Morton quote. All of my lumber is equal or better to what Morton stated they used.

My biggest regret on the building, that I can't do over, is that I didn't go with PermaColumns or a stem wall foundation. I went with PostProtectors sleeves, and I'm just not thrilled with them and I'm unsure of their long term durability. One of them has split below the grade line (on the interior of the building, I'm able to see it since the concrete hasn't been done yet). My eave wall poles are also 3ply 2x8 glulam columns, and PostProtector didn't have a sleeve specifically for commercial 3ply 2x8 GluLams, so they provided slightly oversize 3ply 2x8 sleeves that are meant to be used with fabricated columns that haven't been planed on all 4 sides. Most commercial GluLams are all "undersize" because of the pretty heavy planing process they go on all four sides. Thus my PostProtectors fit pretty sloppy. I do like the SkirtBoard Protector product I used on my building, no complaints about that (same company).

 

[pamike]

I believe you guys that gave glowing recommendations to Morton. I am sold on their quality. I have a local guy who has one and showed me around his; amazing. I have always dreamed of having one. But my local rep came and talked to me, and sent me a couple renderings. He didn’t seem all that interested in selling me. I haven’t heard a word from him in the three months since I contacted him. It concerns me, because I would expect to be able to work closely with the wrap should I go ahead.

Meanwhile, here’s the deal: 54 x 80, 16 foot interior height. This is with basic doors and windows, overhead doors, interior insulated and finished with steel. $190,839.

����

That doesn’t include plumbing, electric, or site work. Really?

I’m going to build what I want. I’ve spent many years dreaming and planning about this. I can probably borrow enough to afford it. But I don’t want a massive loan hanging over my head.

For you guys that have Morton buildings already, am I missing something or is this what they cost?

WOW! That seams high. In 2016 I built a 40 x 82 building. Poured concrete walls 2 to 4 ft above grade, stick build 2x6 walls on top. Half the building has 14 ft height with scissors trusses. The other half of building has a 2 ft step down and 16 ft ceilings. Half the building has spray foam in walls, and interior finished with plywood and tin. Basic electric run in building, 4 large garage doors. 3 with big windows that are expensive. 3 man doors. Concrete floor in 1/2 the building. I only have 125k in the building...

 

[rburke65]

THAT is a lot of money my friend. I'm sure the Mortons are nice but......

 

[jives]

Mike Ryan was the Morton Rep (out of the Homer NY office) that quoted me for my building in CNY.

We also talked to the Morton guys in Homer, and the Fingerlakes Construction folks in Clyde (I think). In the end we went to D&J Construction -- Amish folks out of Ovid and in Norwich, I believe. We did a LOT of homework on everything we wanted. Grade of steel, pole spacing, scissor truss dimensions, girt size, you name it. Easy, even though I had to leave phone messages with an answering service. They were not perfect, but very good, very responsive, and solid workers.

 

[grinch365]

I had this same dilemna (in Colorado though). The fit and finish on the Morton's I looked at was awesome, but the price was almost twice what I had built by National Barns.

I would suggest balancing what the building will be used for vs the need for that kind of finish. I couldn't justify the cost difference and am happy with what I ended up with.

I used the extra money to insulate, run electric, and buy two lifts. ( I still have money leftover that would have been spent on the Morton )

If money were no object, I'd build a Morton.

 

[Shadowdog500]

I believe you guys that gave glowing recommendations to Morton. I am sold on their quality. I have a local guy who has one and showed me around his; amazing. I have always dreamed of having one. But my local rep came and talked to me, and sent me a couple renderings. He didn’t seem all that interested in selling me. I haven’t heard a word from him in the three months since I contacted him. It concerns me, because I would expect to be able to work closely with the wrap should I go ahead.

Meanwhile, here’s the deal: 54 x 80, 16 foot interior height. This is with basic doors and windows, overhead doors, interior insulated and finished with steel. $190,839.

����

That doesn’t include plumbing, electric, or site work. Really?

I’m going to build what I want. I’ve spent many years dreaming and planning about this. I can probably borrow enough to afford it. But I don’t want a massive loan hanging over my head.

For you guys that have Morton buildings already, am I missing something or is this what they cost?

I had a friend of mine tell me the same thing. I guess he expected a high pressure sales rep to pester him after the quote. I think the ball is in your court to contact the sales rep if you want to move foward with the building.

Our Morton rep was very helpful but he was not a high pressure salesman. Once we decided to go with Morton, we called him and started the process, and everything went smoothly.

Our 30x52x 16’ ceiling building was about $65k 8 years ago. That didn’t include concrete, electrical, or interior finish.

Chris

 

[bams50]

Mike Ryan was the Morton Rep (out of the Homer NY office) that quoted me for my building in CNY. They were something like $75-80k for a unfinished interior shell, on the 36x64 I had them quote in Summer of 2016. The renderings he provided were not great, especially considering I had already designed the building myself and sent him much more detailed and dimensioned renderings of what I wanted. So overall I was not impressed with Morton's presentation or the price.

That is exactly who I spoke with. I’m about an hour away from him, so it’s not like I expected him to be coming around. I thought there would be at least one follow up call. I have renderings as well that are about as basic as you can get. He also sent a couple pages with different specifications.

It’s not like I need to be wined and dined. Nor did I expect – or want – a high-pressure salesman. But if you’re looking at the possibility of a $200,000 sale, you would think at least one polite follow up would be in order.

I did get a quote in the mail from a local pole barn builder. They quoted me $48,000 for the same dimensions, but there is is just the bear shell. I would have to get a little more in depth, but as I said above I didn’t really want to do that until I had a rough budget and financing ready.

I expected this to be pricey. I originally figured the building as somewhere around 50 wide and 100 long. The back 30 feet of the 100 would be living quarters. My dream has always been to have my shop and my home all under one roof. We no longer have kids at home, and my better half is good with the plan as long as we make the living quarters good quality. This is to be our retirement home. I dream of being able to go from the house to the shop without needing boots or jacket in the winter

I’m guessing that my next step will be to try to find other local builders and see what they say. I just don’t want to waste their time until I have some idea of how to go about this. But, I am a car guy, so I know very little about this stuff. I wish I had a sharp uncle that was experienced in building that could guide me through the process LOL

 

[Shadowdog500]

All I got with my quote were basic renderings as well. They were made up on the laptop he did the quote on at my house. They have a program that makes the quote from the basic rendering that he drew up with me. The other thing he told me was that the oddball rafter length I origionally wanted would drive the quote up suginifixantly, but a standard rafter like 30’ would drive the price down and it did.

It took a $5K deposit to get multiple sets of engineering drawings that were extremely detailed. If my township wouldn’t not issue me a building permit I would get all but $500 of that deposit back.

Chris

 

[clubairth]

Just a comment after owning several style's/types of shops??

You really don't want your living area attached to the shop area. I prefer to have separate buildings if possible. There are many safety related problems from fire and fumes to just the massive amount of dirt and filth that is brought back into the living area. I have dedicated slip on shoes that I only use in the shop so I can slip them off OUTSIDE the house!

Same with a living area above your shop. Do it if you don't have any other options but think a bit about all your high pressure gas bottles,paint,solvents,gas,dirt and oil and noise that your shop produces.
.
.
.

 

[PurdueSD]

Your initial quote is way way higher than mine even with a bunch of high end options in mine. Maybe part of it is the cost of living i. your area? Maybe part of it is the super width. Trusses approaching 60’ changes a lot of things. Either way i suspect there are other hidden costs to make the overall so high. Have you explored different layouts giving you the same square footage? Lean to, L shape, etc. If you are set in that width a steel framed structure may be a much more affordable option to look into. My building with basic doors and windows would have been 1/4 of the cost you were quoted. Full interior insulation etc. Mine is. 42x60x 15 with an additional 12x28 lean to.

There is a bunch of commentary on Morton if you look through my recent build thread.

The price shock at first isn't as bad as it seems. Mortons initial quote will include tons of extras you can trim out. Things as easy to see as cupolas or as hidden as dumpster fee. Other pole barn builders make a scrap pile you get to deal with. If you can get the quotes trimmed down to include the same stuff, construction details etc. You will see about a difference of 10%. You have to really look at things like truss spacing, insulation, vapor barriers etc.... to understand you are getting a true comparison.

I have experience with budget post frame barns, Morton and I built my stick built my last shop myself. I didn't have the time to build this one, so i paid Morton. After my last experience with the other guy (Graber Post) I would not have built a post frame barn. Then i looked into Morton. I am extremely extremely happy and i'm tough to please.

 

[PurdueSD]

Here ya go...

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6623825&postcount=114

 

[rusty1]

...I checked several polebarn builders back in '98, Morton was highest and said they couldn't build to my specs, (door openings didn't jive with their pole layouts),...ended up going to Cleary,..very nice to work with and some added features at no xtra cost.
The building looks like it was built last week,...very satisfied;...don't know if you have Cleary builders in your area tho.

 

[69385vette]

I have had my 54' x 30' x 12' Morton for 2 years. the cost was $55K including the slab foundation. Morton did a quality job. After the foundation cured, it was completed in 7 days.

 

[Selo]

PurdueSD is correct. Once you account for all the stuff Morton includes, the price difference is small. I found Morton great to deal with. Have no regrets.

Selo

 

[Desert1957]

I built my Morton in 2014. The quality and attention to detail is impeccable. They were great to work with and flexible enough to incorporate all the little things I wanted. They allowed me to pick my own Subs for Plumbing, HVAC, Electrical and Concrete.

I have zero complaints.

If I do another building I will definitely go with Morton again.

The Morton building I am sitting in right now is 21 years old. The one across the street is 30+. We have one on the family farm that is nearly 40 years old.

If I needed another building tomorrow, I would call Morton.

My Morton is 17 years old now, Absolutely ZERO problems. Fit and finish is perfect. Here a pic, you decide.



I know this an old thread.