OT:Metal building/house ?????
 

Ok here is the deal we are buying some land and I'm wanting to put up a 40x80 building, I got a bid for building of $25K for it, half of it concreted, one 12x12 garage door, one walk in door. Anyway Susie tells me she wouldn't mind having a house in one too. So heck I might put the house we are living in on the market. Does anyone know any companies that do this, it sounds great to me because I could care less what my house looks like, I want a building. I was thinking like living quarters of 40x40 with maybe an upstairs, then have the 40x80 building on the back of it. This is just a thought no decisions have been made on the house part but I will hopefully have a building this summer. Thanks for any help!!! Randy:D

Randy, many people are doing this now. And many companies as well. There are several homes near me.
I would have to say the major player here is Morton/ style. Post frame construction.
There are several things to consider when doing this type of construction for living space. I can get with you anytime you like.
As you saw, my new building is metal frame and siding. There are few if any benefits to a metal roof. Lifespan is the same. 20 years. Temp plays a large part though.
I would be happy to go over any and all apsects with you. Besides, you got parts. LOL

Randy, I noticed in Texas that there was alot of horse barns that had living qtrs. above. Gee if they can stand the smell, a little exhaust and grease wouldn't hurt!! LOL!!

Here in AZ we call 'em trailers!:lol:

Seen folks living in railroad cars, boats(on the land), RVs. Any thing you want there is a supplier for it. You can make those steel buildings as nice or rough as you want.

Randy

I have a friend that lives in one. It looks like a fancy metal building on the outside, but is very nice and big on the inside. He swears that he could build a 350,000 dollar house for about 180,000 using the metal on the outside.

I have a metal roof on my house. I love it. They will last longer than a composite roof. Its real nice if you have a roof with very little slope. The water runs off alot faster than it would if you had a composite roof.

my best friend and his dad do something like that, they live in the back of thier airplane hangar, it is very primitave cause after all it is just 2 males living in it and the bathroom is about a 150 yard walk from the living quarters it gives a whole new meaning to "the runs", hahaha, but all in all it is actually kind of nice and if she lets you do that you might have the most perfect wife out there.

Metal building
 

Got a neighbor living in a metal house---pole barn type. Ok I guess. thoughts to consider:
+
Lower cost
Less Maintenance
Quick Construction
Withstands hail better then most

-
Resale would be a big ?
Noisey when it rains or hails
Insulation can be tricky
Tornado protection??

Now all of this kind of depends on how well the interior is finished. Morton buildings is a major player but also one of the more expensive.

One of the best designs of Pole Barns Ive seen had the sides set up with a 2 foot section of tranlucent fiberglass panels between the walls and the roof line. This allowed for sunlight penetration during the day. Wish I did that with my polebarn!!

Thanks for the replies guys!!!!!!! Kevin, I'll get with you sometime once I go to the bank on this deal. Huck, I was thinking about tornado deal and was thinking either a concrete room or there is a guy in Topeka that builds underground shelter out of hard plastic, about 10x10 or so. Thanks to all!!!! Randy

My future father in law has a bachelor pad exactly like you describe. He order the building and assembled it himself one end is the living quarters with an upstairs. The other end is his shop/garage. I'd say it is about 60 long x40 wide with the living end about 20 feet of the length. It's the arch type rasied up on 7" verticle sides.

here is who I used for my garage, the 30 x 40 kit was about 6,000
for the structure alone. I have seen some houses built with it that look pretty nice.

http://www.us-buildings.com/housing.html

here is an example they show on their web site.

more on buildings
 

I am also considering this to a shop. I know some of the building companies advertise about withstanding storms which is saying something down here in Oklahoma. I know personaly a guy who has done it with a morton building and then just sheet rocked it in. I have a friend who I was just talking about it in a rual area as well. I don't think the value will drop like that of a mobile home but I don't think it will go up in value such as a house but if you got some land in the country go for it..

Here is a showcase of those buildings...I just bookmarked it the other day, there is a show in KS, April 2004 see the show schedule at the site. Some really nice pictures of their buildings.
http://www.mortonbuildings.com/

Are the morton buildings wood framed or metal??

my friend and his dad did this. They built a shop and then framed up a 10 or 15 by 30 (it's a 30x50 shop) to live in while they build their house. Inside, they just framed up the house with 2x4's, insulated the walls, sheetrock, tape, mud, paint. looks like a really nice apartment inside. They have 1 bed room, 1 living area, and a bathroom. the bedroom has 2 queen size beds...bunk beds really, one above the other. Built into the wall. It's really nice. they put a window unit in the wall for and it cools or heats better than anything else. It's great, shop and house cost them maybe 20,000. Now they just have to build their log cabin!.

Morton, Lester and most of your generic lumber yard buildings are post frame.
Metal will not last any longer than composite and may last less. You can get 20-30 year warranty in either but improper installation of the metal roof will cause rust out prematurely.
It is all in the method of installation.
Most homes have a minimum frost footing in this region. Pole buildings do not. Cold creap is a factor. That can be avoided easily enough.
Fiberglass panels anywhere are a mistake. On the roof they will leak. The panel and the metal are of different materialsand will react differently to outside temperatures. The different expansion and contraction rates will cause leaks. They provide NO R value. When covered with snow, they allow no light through. Bad idea.
Panels on the wall are no better. If the space is heated there will be a major heat loss. The light available will only be best for a few hours a day at most. The sun will move. Not every home has a Southern exposure.
Composite roofing has the nails hidden. Metal panels have the screws or nails exposed and will have temperature transfer.
Insulating is different for metal structures than post frame. The framing for walls is different.
I could go on. Each has it's place and each can be used for any purpose provided some rules are followed and some thought is put into it before hand.
Good luck and I will help any way I can.

I think I might go with a metal post buidlings. I have friends who have put them up and they are not bad. The instructions are very detailed. The concrete is what costs the most. www.precisionfabbuildings.com I'm thinking of getting a 30X40 in one of these.