Shed vs Morton bldg

[racerboy]

Last fall I cleared a spot at the tip of my driveway (16x26) and laid a stone bed in preparation for a 14x24 Amish-built shed I planned on purchasing. After speccing out the shed, the price was in the $25,000 range. When I mentioned that to a contractor friend, he said he could build it fir less, but didn’t tell me how much less. Plus, he is not the most dependable when it comes to timelines. But I did start to think if a Morton steel building might be better/cheaper. The only code limitation I have is that the roof cannot exceed 15’. That wouldn’t be a problem.

would I need a concrete pad for a Morton building? I think that might cause my taxes to increase.

Any thoughts?

 

[Mikeske]

It all depends but right now with the pricing of lumber I would most likely wait to see if prices come down. I also would not depend on the contractor friend as here today gone tomorrow with your cash. In my opinion having the Morton building would probably be the best option if you want a building and yes since it is a steel pole building I highly encourage you to have the pad put in cement. A building that size is no matter what you do is going to increase taxes and the tax man does not care what the floor is as they mostly go by what they see on the outside and just assume that the floor was in cement and then tax accordly

 

[dmcintosh]

Here in DE pole buildings are not really considered the same as other buildings. Some of that depends on what you’re doing with the building. If for agriculture, for example it’s taxed differently than other uses. And in my area, Morton buildings are top of the line but $$$. Other companies sell and install pole barns for much less.

Concrete is nice, but can be added later in that style building, if money is tight right now. M

 

[matt_i]

Most likely you will need concrete if you want a steel-framed building, there would be no other way to attach the bottom of the framing...

As mentioned Morton and low cost aren't likely to be mentioned in the same sentence

 

[NC Fabricator25]

The only thing I would add is that if you decide to go with a steel structure you may get more SF if you can be flexible with your dimensions and work with the mfg’s common intervals, 4ft, 8ft, etc. Otherwise I’m not of much help to give you pricing advice. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Jakemedic]

The Amish built my building last year before all the price increases. I talked to him recently and he said quotes are good for 48 hours only. They did a very nice job on it, and were very fast. If I were building now, I’d wait to see what lumber and steel prices were going to do. As long as people keep buying it at outrageous prices, neither will come down. It does appear to be an availability issue, lumber yards have plenty where I live. Maybe a truck driver shortage? Who knows. Best of luck with your build!

 

[racerboy]

Thanks for all the feedback. Interesting, the $25K quote I was using was from last summer, so I wonder if that’s even realistic anymore. I have time to wait, so maybe I’ll just cool my jets until things get back closer to normal.

 

[James-W]

Thanks for all the feedback. Interesting, the $25K quote I was using was from last summer, so I wonder if that’s even realistic anymore. I have time to wait, so maybe I’ll just cool my jets until things get back closer to normal.

I think waiting is a very prudent idea given the cost of building materials right now. I realize not many people want to wait when it comes to putting up a garage or a work shop. But paying a highly inflated price price is not something many people are willing to do either. So if this isn't something pressing that you need right away, like a leaky roof, then I would wait for awhile and see what the price for building materials does in the next few weeks.

 

[Mikeske]

Thanks for all the feedback. Interesting, the $25K quote I was using was from last summer, so I wonder if that’s even realistic anymore. I have time to wait, so maybe I’ll just cool my jets until things get back closer to normal.

I think that is the best of course of action. I was planning to build a breezeway between my garage and manufactured home as I have covered front and back porches and I decided that 18' is not getting done this year until the prices of the materials come down. I am just waiting and I can always do it next year. I just don't want my wife to slip and fall in the wet weather we have up here so I just move the car from the garage to the covered carport to have her get in where it is dry.