Opinions / Feedback Needed

[G3Duck]

OK, Planning to start my new shop. Currently I have a 28X60 stick built but the wife & I are setting things in motion for our retirement home. Home is pretty much done so now it's time for the man cave. We're in south side Virginia.

My thoughts are to buy a enclosed metal building for toy and material storage, hopefully that will free up space in the shop. I want to go a little bit larger on the shop but I have a budget to keep.

Question is approximate cost of metal vs stick built vs pole barn. Pros and cons of each. All comments are appreciated.

Thanks

 

[djjsr]

Can't help with the metal/stick decision but if I were to build a new shop today, it would be 2 stories. You can get more square footage for the dollar because of the foundation size.

My current workshop is a very old brick building that is 2 stories. At 6000 sq ft, it's pretty big, so I don't heat the 2nd floor or 1/2 of the 1st floor. The 1500 sq ft that I heat and air condition is very well insulated so the utility cost is very reasonable.

The downside is that since I have no elevator, I only use the second floor for storage of things that aren't often needed and things I can carry up the steps.

Just something to consider.

 

[nolimits76]

So many variables that aren't covered here. But you mentioned you want to go "a little larger". Depending on your layout, size requirements, etc. I would consider adding onto your existing shop rather than a complete new separate building.

The building type (stick, pole, etc) is largely based on people's budgets, space requirements and neighborhood restrictions.

- Do you have any neighborhood restrictions (must match house, etc)?
- What is your space requirements?
- What is your rough budget? Remember to set back 10% of your budget for contingencies and change orders as odds are good it won't go 100% according to plan or you will think of something you want to add.

 

[G3Duck]

So many variables that aren't covered here. But you mentioned you want to go "a little larger". Depending on your layout, size requirements, etc. I would consider adding onto your existing shop rather than a complete new separate building.

The building type (stick, pole, etc) is largely based on people's budgets, space requirements and neighborhood restrictions.

- Do you have any neighborhood restrictions (must match house, etc)?
- What is your space requirements?
- What is your rough budget? Remember to set back 10% of your budget for contingencies and change orders as odds are good it won't go 100% according to plan or you will think of something you want to add.

The new shop will be with the new house, about 50 miles from the existing shop, so its a clean sheet of paper. I bought a 0.60 acre lot for the new shop in the county so no restrictions other than the building local code.

At this point I'm trying to determine cost per sq. ft. and then reverse engineer the thing. At the same time, I want to consider the pros and cons of each type of construction and not base the final decision on cost alone. I have NO experience with metal buildings or pole barns.