Need a workshop, what's the best way to contract it?

[arcteryx]

I need a workshop and want to put up a metal building with a couple of garage doors. Is it better (less money) to buy an all-inclusive package that includes the the slab, or contract out the slab and building separately?

Does anyone recommend any metal-building company?

 

[fj40charles]

I need a workshop and want to put up a metal building with a couple of garage doors. Is it better (less money) to buy an all-inclusive package that includes the the slab, or contract out the slab and building separately?

Does anyone recommend any metal-building company?

Jason,

It would probably be cheaper to have an all in one, but may not be as good in terms of quality and what you want done. They can skimp on concrete to save lots of money. Compare buildings to see how they're made. Lots of variable on price and quality.

I ended up buying my 28' x 30' metal building from Mueller Inc. and having the concrete done separately. I would have gotten a bigger one, but that was the largest size I could get in city based on the house lot size.

The concrete was more expensive than the building. I did it this way because I wanted to insert J bolts into the concrete to secure the frame and run any plumbing/wiring conduit before the concrete was poured.

My metal building was more expensive than the standard model because wanted load bearing walls (end beams and center beams are made of I beams). 2 ridge vents, larger roll-up door (12' x 12'), 4/3 pitch (1/12 pitch is standard), 12' tall walls and insulation.

Standard practice is to quote you a cheap price on a building, but when you start adding options, the price will change considerably.

Some recommendation: Get the largest building you can afford. You will fill it up no matter how big it is. Go with 12-16' tall walls. More storage when using pallet racks and less hot air deal with. Get the concrete floor polished if you're going to be doing lots of work where you'll get water/oil/fluids spilling. Go with 8" thick concrete for additional strength, #4 rebar at 16" center or better. Be sure to seal all openings with expanding foam/steel wool to prevent rats/mice from coming into the building. They'll will make a huge mess and chew up all kinds of stuff. Run all electrical wire in EMT conduit to keep rodents from chewing up wire and put a large enough electrical sub-panel for future needs. No disadvantage of having extra breaker slots for additional circuits. You can do your own wiring. Very simple.

Charles

 

[Jetboy]

Hard to say on which is cheaper. A lot depends on your market. I'd probably prefer to have slab done by concrete pros and building by building pros. Not sure the "do it all" guys will have concrete specialists and building specialists. Neither are particularly complex, but a crew who are pros at concrete might be better and cheaper. Hard to say though.


I would echo the tall walls. If you have 16' ceilings it can be really nice to have the ability to build out one corner in two stories. My dad's welding shop has two corners built out into two floors - office above bathroom and offices below with one room as a dedicated compressor room above. You could also do office over bathroom for example. Not really possible with 12' walls. Just depends on the overall cost. Plus down the road 16' ceilings make it easier to have tall lifts or other stuff like that.

One additional suggestion would be to add a floor drain - even if it's just a sump with no outlet. There are lots of times that you'll want to wash something and if you buy a 500 or thousand gallon water tank and drop it in before you poor the slab it makes a really nice place to wash cars in the winter or whatever. Even 500 gallons of sump will take a lot of water before you need to pump it out and on a warm day you can just use a sump pump to pump the water out.

Good luck.

 

[arcteryx]

Some great advice here, thanks guys. I do have a lift I will be installing, so 16' walls sound like a great idea.

I thought about a drain too, but dont want to pay for (another) septic system. I will look into the water tank though.

 

[BRUIN4]

spend the money upfront and pay for good plans and design so you will know exactly what you are getting into.

Too many of my clients seem to think they can get away without paying for good planning by using qualified designers / engineers and I will tell you this - 100% of the time the client gets screwed by the poor planning - 100%. Pay upfront or pay a lot more later.

 

[titanpat57]

There are some good "kit" steel building companies available out there....obviously ask them to provide builds erected in your local area, and then go visit and talk to the owners...that'll be a great barometer for how well the kit was made.

I would recommend to find a good erector, with many steel buildings under his belt. He can probably recommend a good mason, and from past experience, I almost always hire the excavator the mason suggests, because they will work hand in hand together, as opposed to bitching about each other.

I would also suggest using a beam end wall, if expansion is in the future. It will allow you to continue the building for more additional length, without a major redesign cost.

Upgrades to better insulation, stronger concrete, good windows and doors (especially overhead), will give you longevity while being problem free.

Good luck,

 

[fj40charles]

Some great advice here, thanks guys. I do have a lift I will be installing, so 16' walls sound like a great idea.

I thought about a drain too, but dont want to pay for (another) septic system. I will look into the water tank though.

I would put any pipes/conduit you might need in the future BEFORE the concrete is poured. Just don't plumb/connectd it until you're ready.

Might want to build in a tornado shelter in there too if you're going to be doing lots of excavation.

Let me know if you need an engineer to draw up plans for the concrete.

 

[fj40charles]

Some great advice here, thanks guys. I do have a lift I will be installing, so 16' walls sound like a great idea.

I thought about a drain too, but dont want to pay for (another) septic system. I will look into the water tank though.

I would put any pipes/conduit you might need in the future BEFORE the concrete is poured. Just don't plumb/connectd it until you're ready. I ran the PVC for the electrical panel before I poured so you can't see where the power goes into the building.

Might want to build in a tornado shelter in there too if you're going to be doing lots of excavation.

Let me know if you need an engineer to draw up plans for the concrete.

 

[Toyo FJ40]

I put up a 30 by 40 pole barn and the company that built it wanted to do the concrete but I wanted a 6" slab with rebar across the doors openings and the rest done with wire. They wanted to just put nylon in the concrete so I got a concrete guy that poured a 6" slab on 2" foam for just a little more than the builder wanted. I put in 2 floor drains and the building inspector wouldn't let me run them to the septic without an oil seperator but said I could run them to daylight which is to grade. I put traps on the drains to stop drafts and mice from finding there way in.

 

[79fj40moneypit]

My friend put a tank under the center of his 40x60 shop with no drain to the outside, the problem is stagnant stinky water. and let me tell you on a hot day it really smells, he has to pour pool shock into it to kill the stink. He has talked about cutting a slot in his floor and putting a outside drain in the tank.

 

[Jetboy]

My friend put a tank under the center of his 40x60 shop with no drain to the outside, the problem is stagnant stinky water. and let me tell you on a hot day it really smells, he has to pour pool shock into it to kill the stink. He has talked about cutting a slot in his floor and putting a outside drain in the tank.

I could see that as a problem. It hasn't been an issue in my Dad's shop, probably because he empties it regularly. It just has a sump pump down in the bottom and if it's warm enough not to freeze it gets pumped out onto the grass. It has a manhole size grate cover so once the pump gets most out the rest probably evaporates.

99% of what goes in it is from bringing in snowplows in the winter and melting them off and washing cars. Not much oil or other things going in that are more likely to smell. That and the shop is a welding shop, so it's kept clean and tidy - floors are swept, not washed, and you don't have all of the chemical spills and whatnot that you'd have with a mechanic type shop.

FWIW there is only a 14x20ish area in one corner with a floor drain, and the concrete slopes slightly to the drain. The rest of the shop floor is flat and level. I wouldn't suggest slopping anymore of the shop floor than you need because it makes everything else a PITA with an unlevel floor.

 

[koop]

Check out who you buy the metal building from. There are a lot of scam artist out there. If they tell you they need money or a contract before they can price it, run.