Steel Building Erection

[AviationMan]

I think I need a reality check. I’ve purchased a metal building kit (80x80) for use as a hangar, insulated, pre engineered with a bi food door. The foundation quotes I’ve gotten gave me a bit of sticker shock, $14 a foot but I can stomach that. The quotes I’ve gotten for erection have been insane, e.g. $12 a foot for 6,400 feet. When I ask how long and how many guys needed, I’m two two weeks and 4 guys. Am I missing something? I’ve asked the four quotes I’ve gotten, and was told “that’s the going rate.” I will say as far as I know none of these contractors know one another and their pricing has all been within 10-15%. A couple guys claimed to be well experienced putting up the building, telling me how complicated it is when I later discovered they’ve been in his near months and previously worked in completely unrelated fields.

I’ve purchased two steel buildings as maintenance facilities for my business in another state and the pricing was no where near what I’m quoted up north. Granted these were built 5-6 years ago and things have changed drastically. I’m tempted to put a crew together with at least two experienced guys and put up the building myself. Even if it took 5 guys 6 weeks, with excessive amounts of equipment, I think I’d come out way ahead? Am I crazy?

 

[cvairwerks]

Worked steel buildings when I was in tech school. With 2 very experienced full time guys and us 3 part time grunts, we did about 10k square feet of insulated building a week.

An 80x80 is probably 3 days to hang the red iron, depending on site conditions and equipment and another 5-6 days to sheet the structure after that.

Don’t forget to factor local weather around erection time. Wind and rain can extend that a bit. We didn’t do any sheet work with the wind over 10 mph, or the ambient temp over 100F.

 

[toolchaser]

Build prices vary more than about anything regionally. Finished concrete work was $4 sq. Ft less than 2 years ago in GA. But it fluctuates upward near larger cities. With PNW home prices, everything is pricier. An ex-coworker of mine got sticker shock after retiring, $200 sq. Ft. in rural Kansas on land he already owns...

 

[nadogail]

Welcome to the forum, unfortunately everything seems to take longer and cost more than expected.

It has taken me years to realize that Murphy's Law seems to apply to everything I get involved in.

Good Luck on your build.

 

[bradpac]

4 bids, all within 10-15% of each other. Sounds like you are getting what it costs for where you're at. Maybe call your building kit supplier and see if they have any different names.

 

[Toolfool]

I got quotes for erecting red iron here in Florida in the $7-$9 range. Decided I'm going tubular steel. Building and install was cheaper than red iron kit.

 

[bdymnjm]

I was shocked when I got quotes for site work and foundation. Lucky for me my shop is small enough so I learned here on GJ and the internet how to build it. Check this build for ideas on erecting a steel shop diy.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=322148

You could buy equipment and sell it when done. Pay somebody when you just can't do a part of the build. Maybe its possible to hire from a temp agency, I think that offers some simplicity to the human resource bureaucracy .

You can't blame the contractors with overhead and plenty of work tho. Just know if you are willing to put in the effort you can save money , get a quality build, and have no serious injuries.

 

[Tim Kennedy]

AviationMan:
Just a suggestion -- find out where the closest Iron Workers Union is & inquire about a small crew -- unless business in your area is really strong there is a possibility that some guys are not working [on the bench, is what they used to call it] --- if anyone knows how to erect a steel structure --- it's Iron workers.

"Ironworkers get it up"

Just a thought.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

AviationMan:
Just a suggestion -- find out where the closest Iron Workers Union is & inquire about a small crew -- unless business in your area is really strong there is a possibility that some guys are not working [on the bench, is what they used to call it] --- if anyone knows how to erect a steel structure --- it's Iron workers.

"Ironworkers get it up"

Just a thought.

That's all fine and dandy until someone gets hurt though.

 

[tez929rr]

I think I need a reality check. I’ve purchased a metal building kit (80x80) for use as a hangar, insulated, pre engineered with a bi food door. The foundation quotes I’ve gotten gave me a bit of sticker shock, $14 a foot but I can stomach that. The quotes I’ve gotten for erection have been insane, e.g. $12 a foot for 6,400 feet. When I ask how long and how many guys needed, I’m two two weeks and 4 guys. Am I missing something? I’ve asked the four quotes I’ve gotten, and was told “that’s the going rate.” I will say as far as I know none of these contractors know one another and their pricing has all been within 10-15%. A couple guys claimed to be well experienced putting up the building, telling me how complicated it is when I later discovered they’ve been in his near months and previously worked in completely unrelated fields.

I’ve purchased two steel buildings as maintenance facilities for my business in another state and the pricing was no where near what I’m quoted up north. Granted these were built 5-6 years ago and things have changed drastically. I’m tempted to put a crew together with at least two experienced guys and put up the building myself. Even if it took 5 guys 6 weeks, with excessive amounts of equipment, I think I’d come out way ahead? Am I crazy?

Find some already erected buildings in the area and talk to the owners. The steel building business is full of mediocre and poor erectors. A good one is worth paying a premium. If you search some thread here you will see how often someone regrets the choices they made. Just judging by threads here the business must be booming. We have two (2400 sq ft each) erected 12 years apart and in both cases they were erected by guys that I already knew and trusted.

 

[dcg9381]

Agree, find some other owners and ask who put them up. Consider that it does get more expensive at "hanger height" - but $72k to put up the steel seems way high to me. Then again, I'm not talking about the structure required for hanger doors or the doors itself, which probably require some skill... And then there is the "aviation" tax (who else has hanger doors)?

I just got done paying about $7.50 a sqft for flatwork, but this it Texas... It was $10/sqft for a foundation 2 years ago, so maybe $12/sqft is in range... Concrete prices have continued to climb here.

I can tell you that labor prices from northern states and Texas can vary by a fact of 4 - there is a lot of available labor in Texas - most of it off book.

 

[TTMotorsports]

I went around to local places I saw that they were erecting a shop and asked if any of them wanted cash to work on the weekends and I found 4 guys to help me. 2 for a weekend and 3 for 3 days. I started it and we all finished it insulated a 50x80x16' eves building in 6 days the first day was just me and my parents putting up the main support legs on the nuts. The time the guys were there we finished the rest in 5 days or 6 days total with siding, 2 windows and a man door. I was quote 22K for a company to do it. Even with me renting a reach forklift a scissor lift and paying the guys I was only into it $5500 which is way better and what i expected it to cost.

 

[readhead]

I charge 7-9$ for an average building with typical insulation. Hangers are a different animal. There is a lot of structure involved with and around the door and you didn’t mention what insulation system you are using. I think $12 is reasonable for the job and it looks like the quotes are bearing that out.
Why are you surprised now. Didn’t you have all this worked out before you bought the building?

 

[Meursault74]

 

[TTMotorsports]

Also on my building it had 4in wall insulation that you would tape/clamp on the top and roll down than the siding would go on and hold it in place. Roof was 6inch insulation and was very happy to no have to screw on the roof panels or do that the paid guys did the entire 4k sq ft shop roof in 1 day with me helping apply sealing tape on the panels when on ground before putting them up for install.

 

[Beauregard]

I went around to local places I saw that they were erecting a shop and asked if any of them wanted cash to work on the weekends and I found 4 guys to help me.t.

Working red iron over concrete can be dangerous work. Falling or dropping bolts or tools on someone below can result in life-changing or fatal injuries.
Who covers the workman's comp or liability insurance for these "cash paid" workers?

 

[Legion Prime]

I'm going to guess that they are adults both experienced at what they're doing and able to weigh the cost/benefit for themselves. If you don't ever do anything that can hurt you, you don't ever end up doing anything at all.

 

[Montucky]

I had a buddy get sued when he hired some “people” to help him put up some trusses. There was a failure and someone got hurt by falling off a truss. Seems like a lot of legal liability to save a few bucks. Stepping over a dollar to save a dime etc.

I’d hire it out to someone with the experience and most important liability insurance. I have liability insurance for my business and it’s no small expense.

 

[ed_v]

Working red iron over concrete can be dangerous work. Falling or dropping bolts or tools on someone below can result in life-changing or fatal injuries.
Who covers the workman's comp or liability insurance for these "cash paid" workers?

Nice avatar. Letterkenny is my favorite show right now. Some episodes are just awful, but when it's good, it's really good.

Ed

 

[ed_v]

When I saw Steel Building Erection, I thought garage *****

Ed

 

[AviationMan]

I charge 7-9$ for an average building with typical insulation. Hangers are a different animal. There is a lot of structure involved with and around the door and you didn’t mention what insulation system you are using. I think $12 is reasonable for the job and it looks like the quotes are bearing that out.
Why are you surprised now. Didn’t you have all this worked out before you bought the building?

I’m not surprised now. When I ordered the building I was quoted $5-6/foot and then 4 months later after the building is ready, permits in hand, the same contractor has raised his pricing. I don’t have a lot of confidence in other local contractors as there’s almost no oversight of contractors here, tons of fly by night outfits. My town is similar to Durango - an isolated resort type town.

I took a local at other buildings in the area after reading my assembly manual, and realized a lot of contractors don’t follow the instructions. Maybe it’s not a big deal? But several buildings have mis-lapped sheeting, sheeting seams that are exposed into the prevailing wind, untrimmed/unflashed doors.

I grew up in Durango, beautiful town. It is crazy to see what the growth has done to it.

 

[kbs2244]

I would go with a building mfg suggested construction crew
They would have a intrest in keeping a good relationship going with the mfg.
Thus a better chance of a quality job.
Bi-fold doors are an "experience required" job.

 

[AviationMan]

Thought it would be worth updating this thread - just had my building finished!

So I'm very thankful to this forum. I ended up hiring a experienced contractor, and although these buildings look simple, they're very intiminadating in person. There's also clearly a lot of experience needed for each step of the process, especially the vinyl/plastic sheeting on the interior. If it's done wrong, it looks terrible.

I ended up paying approximately $80k for the erection. Took 5 guys with 4-5 pieces of equipment (scissor lift, boom lift, tele handler, etc) 6 weeks to get it done. To be honest, I don't know how I could have done it any cheaper. Just the equipment charges alone I estimate at $15k. With 20% markup on the labor+equipment, roughly $8k per week to pay 5 guys 50 hours, seems very reasonable. Unskilled labor in my area is easily $20/hour to hire someone that will show up.

I'm going to stick to what I'm good at and the leave the trades for the pros...

 

[Dirtcrasher92T]

Thought it would be worth updating this thread - just had my building finished!

So I'm very thankful to this forum. I ended up hiring a experienced contractor, and although these buildings look simple, they're very intiminadating in person. There's also clearly a lot of experience needed for each step of the process, especially the vinyl/plastic sheeting on the interior. If it's done wrong, it looks terrible.

I ended up paying approximately $80k for the erection. Took 5 guys with 4-5 pieces of equipment (scissor lift, boom lift, tele handler, etc) 6 weeks to get it done. To be honest, I don't know how I could have done it any cheaper. Just the equipment charges alone I estimate at $15k. With 20% markup on the labor+equipment, roughly $8k per week to pay 5 guys 50 hours, seems very reasonable. Unskilled labor in my area is easily $20/hour to hire someone that will show up.

I'm going to stick to what I'm good at and the leave the trades for the pros...

That's great, lessons learned I guess... Be great to see some pictures, especially of the interior that seemed difficult to do well. I really wish I got one of these put up a year ago, I had finally saved enough money and cleared the land, filled it to the right height and graded it; Then Covid hit and IDK what I'm gonna do now...

 

[AviationMan]

Here's a couple.

Don't wait. just do it.

 

[dcg9381]

Thanks for the update. What might have complicated this (at least in my area) is that going rates for anything construction related are way way up over the last 2-3 years. And hangers are just buildings, well, until you get into that darn door situation. Glad you got it done and are happy with it.. And thanks for sharing reference costs.

 

[brianh]

I put mine up doing a large part of the labor, i had help preparing the slab and had 2 guys and a skid steer to erect the main frame. I put up all the metal and hung the doors and insulated myself wired the electric and had it inspected, it was several months of work in my spare time. At times I felt like it would never end but that was 10 years ago and I love having my 40x60 building after working in a 600 sq ft space for years.

 

[pcmeiners]

"That's all fine and dandy until someone gets hurt though."

Check with your insurance company, mine covers temporary worker on my property.

 

[Bretny]

Great looking building! 80K seams high to me but IDK.

I have family that just put up a 40x60x16' them self. He rented a man lift along with 2 other family members it took them roughly a month to get it up. None of them had every built a building with steel before. So I guess he paid him self $100hr by doing it him self.

 

[zippyslug31]

Thanks for posting your update. I'm getting close to finishing a 30x30 metal structure which I'm putting up largely by myself. It's been a real PITA at times over my construction of 4 months, but hearing your $80k amount makes me remember why I DIY'd my project.