Pole Barn builder in Massachusetts

[grail21]

After 3 years of searching, my wife and I are a couple of weeks away from closing on a piece of property where we’ll be able to build a house and garage. The house will be prefab and my original plan was to do the garage the same way (either using the same local company or a place like Horizon Structures). Unfortunately that may not work out because of the narrow, slightly sloped pathway (11ft wide) that leads to the back of the lot where the garage will go. So that got me thinking of alternatives. Stick building would work, but I think beyond my budget for the size I want (somewhere around 28’ x 48’), which brought me to the idea of a pole barn as they sound like they’re more cost effective. Problem is, Google is not giving me a whole lot to go off of in the Massachusetts area. I know about George at Geobarns and his buildings are beautiful. I will most certainly be getting in touch with him, I’m just not sure I’ll be able to afford the premium his buildings are worth. So I’m looking for recommendations for builders. I have a decent budget for it, but it’s not extravagant by any means. I’m also not looking to D.I.Y the structure as I really don’t have the time or skill to match my expectations. Here are a few more details on my building:

Size: Around 28’ x 48’
2 Garage doors, 1 man door
Concrete floor
Minimal windows (2 max)
60-amp sub-panel off the main house panel
I’ll insulate and finish the interior as time allows

Nothing fancy overall, just the rectangular shell with utilities. Any recommendations would be great. Oh, and this will be in Middelsex County, Stoneham to be exact. Also, feel free to school me on Pole Barns as they're generally new to me (pro/con).

Thanks for your help

 

[grail21]

Bump.

Met with George at Geobarns yesterday (great guy and his buildings are spectacular in person) and he's going to see if he can work with my limited budget. So we'll see there.
The local rep from Morton is hopefully going to send me a quote next week.
Still waiting to hear back from the local Lester rep.

Having a tough time finding other builders that specialize in Pole Barns and build in this area. A lot of the companies that get mentioned on this site don't build up this way, at least that I can find. Please do chime in if you have any recommendations.

 

[66coronet500]

Circle B barn co. in Lancaster, MA. They did my garage. You can search mass 28x28 to see.

 

[Bull]

There is a place down in CT...The Barnyard I think they are called. They built a large pole barn for a friend of mine here in the western part of the state.

 

[Mstrfxit12]

Good luck man. Thats an awesome garage size for this area....

 

[Cemoto]

What is your budget?

 

[grail21]

Thanks for the replies guys. Much appreciated.
I heard back from Morton and Horizon Structures (for their Pole Barns, not modular).
They both came back around 33K for a 30x48 building with the setup (no interior slab).
The Morton has better specs with it's thicker siding and the rep told me they offer "significant" discounts for building during the winter, but I have to find out what that really mean. All in all, not bad for Massachusetts (the guys in the South & Midwest have it a lot easier when it comes to pricing).

George from Geobarns is getting a quote to me as are the guys up at A & B barns

For some comparison, I had 1 stick builder give me a general quote of 30-35K for a 24x24 (with foundation) which seams pretty standard for around here. GBI Avis gave me a quote of $64K for a 28x48 (again with the foundation) for one of their panelized buildings.

I'm going to reach out to the Barnyard and see what they can offer, the sale pricing on their website looks like they may be competitive, but hard to get a sense of apples to apples.

66coronet500 - I remember reading through your build thread - are you happy with your experience with Circle B? The one thing I remember was you mentioning that communication with them was not so great. Either way, you're building looks great.

As far as budget is concerned - I'm trying to keep it under 50K for the building, pad, sub-panel and running electrical and a gas line to the building. I'll handle interior wiring, insulation and drywall on my own after the fact.

 

[grail21]

Since I've been messing around with it today, figured I'd upload my work-in-progress floor plan.

The shop will specifically be a haven for my 2-wheel addiction and metal fabrication. No cars, no lawn tools, no woodworking stuff (there is a spot for all that stuff in the house).

From left to right:
The 3 small rooms all the way on the left are to separate messy and clean stuff away from the main shop. In this configuration you've got a cleaning/polishing room, a office/engine building room and a paint room.

The main workshop in the middle will has a partition wall to keep the lathe/mill separate from the bike building area. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep the welding bench (currently in the bike building area near the garage door) where it is or move it to the machining area.

The last bay on the right will be the parts room in the back and running / future projects in the front. The cabinets in the middle are to store riding gear and camping gear.

 

[tcianci]

I'm not an expert on pole barns at all but it would seem to me that it would require extra work on the interior to get the building ready for insulation and wall finish, sort of negating the initial lower cost of a pole building. IMHO, pole buildings make great barns and expensive finished buildings.

 

[mtwaterguy]

I'm not an expert on pole barns at all but it would seem to me that it would require extra work on the interior to get the building ready for insulation and wall finish, sort of negating the initial lower cost of a pole building. IMHO, pole buildings make great barns and expensive finished buildings.

Commercial girts solve this problem. Frames the I/S and O/S of the wall at the same time. No extra expense to prep for insulation or finish inside walls.

 

[tcianci]

Commercial girts solve this problem. Frames the I/S and O/S of the wall at the same time. No extra expense to prep for insulation or finish inside walls.

Cool

 

[66coronet500]

Overall I am happy with the build. Everyone who sees the garage is impressed. Quality of the build was great. Once I got on them about the communication issues it improved.

 

[grail21]

66coronet500 - Thanks, it is a great looking building from the pics. I'm going to get in touch with them and see what they say.

In regards to finishing the inside: Morton offers their "Energy performer" add on which include r38 ceiling insulation, r19 wall insulation, vapor barrier, 2x4 - 16"OC ceiling & wall stripping and (1) 30"x30" attic access cover. For this building that would add another $9500 (that includes labor). I don't know how to really gauge that price, but I know I did it myself, it would take me a long time to finish. The speed of getting it done definitely has a value to me, I just haven't figured out how much I'd save if I did do it myself. They're insulation package gets generally good reviews as long as you've sealed up the building so you don't get any wildlife chomping away at it.

One other thing on my list I need to find out about is upgrading to perma-columns, if even only for the piece of mind, I'd rather have concrete in the ground than wood.

 

[ixlr8]

Did you ever get your quote from Geobarns?

 

[grail21]

I didn't and I haven't had a chance to check in with him. I know George was pretty busy finishing up a building, I expect to hear from him soon. Will report in when I do.

 

[1929rats]

I love those geo barns and I thought about them for a bit, but they were out of my budget, that, and I think it would be difficult to hang sheet rock on the walls (he installs the studs at an angle for strength.....however, they are beautiful barns bar none.....there is another company in VT that builds barns too....let me check my records....

 

[langton347]

Kind of a old post but wondering if you ever got the garage built and if so who did you end up using? Im in the process of looking for someone now

 

[grail21]

I never did, got derailed by timing, conservation commission and cash flow. I hope to make another run at it late next year but we'll see. I was leaning towards a company called Tam Lapp. They were easy to deal with on the phone and their quote was very reasonable.

 

[Hot Rod Hammer]

Have you talked to Cheryl down at the building dept to see if a pole barn is permitable in Stoneham? She is the building inspector. Might want to check before you get to far.

 

[grail21]

I've had many conversations with Cheryl through the home building process. Since we shelved the garage early on, it's been a while since I discussed the garage with her. I did mention the pole barn to her a long time ago and she didn't say anything against it. That could be because I wasn't asking for her signature on anything. I'll have bigger issues to deal with when the time comes to explore if they'll let me build (Conservation specifically) which will really end up being the bigger issue. Cheryl has been pretty good to work with through the process, reasonable and by the book, so we'll cross that bridge when and if it happens.

Are you local to Stoneham Hot Rod?

 

[Hot Rod Hammer]

Next door in Reading