Steel vs. stick?

[sulfurburner]

I've been doing some searching but not having much luck finding a direct comparison with pros vs. cons. I've decided on putting up a building, not positive on size yet but at least 30x40. I've got an all steel 30x40 buildings at my rental house and at this point that's what I'm leaning towards, but I've never had a stick building put up so I want to see some opinions from folks that have been in my shoes before.

building will be used for working on projects. Located in NE KS. Will need to be able to fit a lift in one bay. Any advice is appreciated as I'm a complete NooB at this .

 

[readhead]

You are kind of right at the break even point of steel vs wood around here. We sell both but mostly do steel.
Depending on code requirements concrete might be more for steel. Would you use metal siding if you go wood? Are you going to do most of the labor yourself? Overhangs and soffits get more expensive with metal.
I don't know what kind of finished apperance you are looking for but if it was at my house I would do wood so I could side it to match my house. That being said you can also put any kind of siding on a metal building.
If you do want to price metal I would strongly urge you to deal with a local supplier that you can meet and talk to. The metal building business can be very cutthroat and internet prices can be very misleading.

 

[Shopteacher]

build it 25% bigger than you think you will need.

 

[sulfurburner]

Depending on code requirements concrete might be more for steel. Would you use metal siding if you go wood? Are you going to do most of the labor yourself? Overhangs and soffits get more expensive with metal.
I don't know what kind of finished apperance you are looking for but if it was at my house I would do wood so I could side it to match my house.

I still need to check on codes but I'm in a rural area and no HOAs or anything. I would do metal siding/roof either way. As far as labor I don't plan to do any of the building, probably finish the inside though. my house is brick so matching is out.

build it 25% bigger than you think you will need.

I lived in my rental with a 30x40 for 5 years and before that I had a 30x50. Never had an issue with needing more, but I know that can change.

 

[readhead]

Is matching out because of cost. We have done brick on metal buildings often.

 

[sulfurburner]

Is matching out because of cost. We have done brick on metal buildings often.

Yes and no. The house was built in the early 70's so if I built to match now I'm afraid the shop would make the house stick out like a sore thumb.

The place I'm at now is a "temporary" (5-10 years) location. It's a rural area and almost all of my neighboors who have buildings have steel siding that doesn't match so it wouldn't look out of place for the neighboorhood.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I still need to check on codes but I'm in a rural area and no HOAs or anything. I would do metal siding/roof either way. As far as labor I don't plan to do any of the building, probably finish the inside though. my house is brick so matching is out.

Keep in mind, your interior finish with the metal building may up the cost. depending how you want it finished, you might end up framing walls inside of the structure to get it to your satisfaction. Some people have realized that putting up the cheaper structure in the first place cost them more in time and money when they start finishing the interior.

If you stick with the metal, you can do a brick wainscoting veneer on the front of the building. Coupled along with a matching metal siding color, it'll look nice with your brick home.

 

[readhead]

One option for interior finish is to place girts 2' on center. After you have done the rough-in you can screw drywall or something else right to the girts. No extra framing required. The intermediate girts can be lighter guage also.

 

[Gentleman Adventurer]

Personally, I think I'm going stick built as I intend to do the finish work, if not a lot of the build myself.

If I were to do a steel building, I would have it done with the best insulation I could get/afford (and by afford I mean I would wait until I can get what I want) included as part of the build, In reading through some of these threads it seems like a lot of work to "upgrade" the insulation after the building is built. I'm trying to keep the ongoing utility bill low, even if it costs more upfront.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[TXDego]

Steel hands down, don't even think twice about it.

Readhead also gave you some great advice, put the purlins/girts @ 2ft OC. We do this all the time on all the metal buildings we build, makes it very nice to install drywall or plywood directly to the walls. Usually not a big cost to add the extra purlins/girts, however we typically don't go higher than 8ft with the extra purlins/girts.

We also put Rock & Brick vaneers on metual buildings all the time, looks great. We typically do 6" insulation on the roof and 4" on the walls. Not sure what the R value is, but it always seems sufficient.

I would have to disagree with Readhead on costs, Metal Buildings always come out cheaper than wood/stick framed buildings, worst case they are equal in price.

Good luck!

 

[readhead]

Cost is based on my experiance here. Labor for erecting metal is higher here. We also may be doing it in the snow or surrounded by trees and, or rough terrain. That is why I mentioned that he was right at the break even point for wood vs metal here. Bigger-metal, smaller-wood.

 

[sulfurburner]

Thanks for all the advice guys. now I just need to start making phone calls and get the ball rolling!

 

[coljar]

When I was getting estimates in 2010, they came in right at double the price for stick vs. pole and that included insulation where the stick did not.

 

[CoyoteFlatz]

I have a hybrid, steel frame with wood perlins & girts, exterior is all tin. Web Steel out of sandy OR. I like for the ease of finishing the interior.