When the wind decides to turn a barn into a chicken coop!

[mcmxi]

I have a 10' x 10' door with a double torsion spring set up with an 11' ceiling height and it uses regular tracks. It is a steel door with insulation between the 2 layers of steel and 2" thick. The track is mounted right to the ceiling. On my rear overhead door, it is a 9' x 9' x 2" insulated door, and that track used to hang down from the ceiling. I have since removed the track and am going to install a Liftmaster sidewinder door operator since it will give me more height for a car on the lift when the door is closed. I would suggest that you talk to the door installer before ordering the door, and he can give you a better understanding of your available options. You also might get a better door for the same or less money from a local door company. When I built our home, the contractor that I hired gave me a price for the doors, and I checked with a local company, who gave me a better price and a better door. When I had a problem they came out and serviced the door at no charge, since they sold it to me. Another thing to think about is that a local door company orders doors by the truckload, and should you need a replacement panel because you happened to run into the door, they can replace a panel from inventory, versus having to get one from the company supplying the building to match.

The door quotes were from a local company that installed a new door in my garage about seven years ago. The sales rep is the one telling me how much clearance I need. The doors aren't a priority to be honest, but once I get a few things figured out I'll be ordering them. Lead time is about 3 months so not bad.

 

[mcmxi]

Steel prices seem to be coming down a bit. I've got the trusses designed and it's looking like six trusses will cost around $2,250 and 12 columns around $3,250. I'll put the trusses together, and I might add a 20' covered area on one end for trailer storage given the reduced cost for steel. That would require two more trusses and four more columns.

I'm looking forward to starting this project once the weather improves.

Here's the basic 30' truss design that I've settled on. I've calculated the loads in each of the members, looked at different failure modes and will overbuild them in case I decided to hang a chain hoist off one of them or apply additional loads on the trusses.

 

[mcmxi]

I've lined up two contractors to come out to the house over the weekend and give me quotes on the concrete work. I'm hoping $15k or less but we'll see.

 

[DustyRusty]

A friend had a concrete contractor quote him on a 4" thick floor, and he gave him the go-ahead on the job. He marked the height of the floor on the wall, and after they were finished with the pour they left. He came home that night to check on the job, and found that they only poured it at 3". When he called them on it, the contractor told him that he poured the floor at 4" and the marking on the wall was wrong. He cut a circular hole in the floor at the corner and found that it was a 3" floor. Called the contractor back, and the contractor said that it was thicker in the middle. If you don't know the contractor, make sure that you are there when they do the work. The concrete contractor that I used for my floor was a little higher on his floor, and he went with the guy that gave him the lesser price. He also didn't get what he was quoted, and it is next to impossible to win when it comes down to depth when you can't measure it after it is poured. Do the math and know how much concrete is needed to get the job done the way you want it to be. Then check the delivery receipts.

 

[mcmxi]

A friend had a concrete contractor quote him on a 4" thick floor, and he gave him the go-ahead on the job. He marked the height of the floor on the wall, and after they were finished with the pour they left. He came home that night to check on the job, and found that they only poured it at 3". When he called them on it, the contractor told him that he poured the floor at 4" and the marking on the wall was wrong. He cut a circular hole in the floor at the corner and found that it was a 3" floor. Called the contractor back, and the contractor said that it was thicker in the middle. If you don't know the contractor, make sure that you are there when they do the work. The concrete contractor that I used for my floor was a little higher on his floor, and he went with the guy that gave him the lesser price. He also didn't get what he was quoted, and it is next to impossible to win when it comes down to depth when you can't measure it after it is poured. Do the math and know how much concrete is needed to get the job done the way you want it to be. Then check the delivery receipts.

Good advice for sure! One of the contractors is my neighbor and I know where he lives. The other is currently doing work for my neighbor. My neighbor's 40'x40' shop is coming along nicely. I hope to be posting photos of my own project within a month or two.

 

[fried1765]

A friend had a concrete contractor quote him on a 4" thick floor, and he gave him the go-ahead on the job. He marked the height of the floor on the wall, and after they were finished with the pour they left. He came home that night to check on the job, and found that they only poured it at 3". When he called them on it, the contractor told him that he poured the floor at 4" and the marking on the wall was wrong. He cut a circular hole in the floor at the corner and found that it was a 3" floor. Called the contractor back, and the contractor said that it was thicker in the middle. If you don't know the contractor, make sure that you are there when they do the work. The concrete contractor that I used for my floor was a little higher on his floor, and he went with the guy that gave him the lesser price. He also didn't get what he was quoted, and it is next to impossible to win when it comes down to depth when you can't measure it after it is poured. Do the math and know how much concrete is needed to get the job done the way you want it to be. Then check the delivery receipts.

The property owner really needs to be present for the pour
I had a building with two large sliding doors.
The concrete guy poured the aprons so high that the doors would not close!
The doors WERE already installed when he poured!
I paid him for concrete only, and cut the aprons up, and re-poured myself.

 

[mcmxi]

The property owner really needs to be present for the pour
I had a building with two large sliding doors.
The concrete guy poured the aprons so high that the doors would not close!
The doors WERE already installed when he poured!
I paid him for concrete only, and cut the aprons up, and re-poured myself.

I work from home so will be here when any concrete is poured. I'll be looking at the forms, the rebar, the anchor bolts etc., to make sure that they're all good. My neighbor would do a great job but I'll stick my nose in where it isn't wanted since I'm the one paying.

I took a look at the concrete work for my neighbor's shop and his crew did a really nice job on it. They had to move the shop about 6 feet due to a massive bolder that would have required blasting. There's so much bedrock up and it's one of the reasons why the contractor that built my house convinced the owners to give up on the idea of a walkout basement.

 

[DustyRusty]

I see that they are already delivering the lumber for the project.

 

[fried1765]

I see that they are already delivering the lumber for the project.



View attachment 74058

Hilly area, curvey road, speed limit 55-60mph(?), what could possibly go wrong?

 

[fried1765]

I work from home so will be here when any concrete is poured. I'll be looking at the forms, the rebar, the anchor bolts etc., to make sure that they're all good. My neighbor would do a great job but I'll stick my nose in where it isn't wanted since I'm the one paying.

I took a look at the concrete work for my neighbor's shop and his crew did a really nice job on it. They had to move the shop about 6 feet due to a massive bolder that would have required blasting. There's so much bedrock up and it's one of the reasons why the contractor that built my house convinced the owners to give up on the idea of a walkout basement.

Don't be timid, and don't be afraid to tell them to STOP, if you don't like what you see
I was home for a 30 yard pour, but walked up to the house to use the bathroom, while waiting for the 1st truck to arrive.
By the time I got back to the building they had added excess water to the 1st 10 yds., and dumped it.
Now I have 1/3 of my floor with a large concrete shrinkage settled dished area, and many shrinkage cracks.

Watch them carefully from beginning to end!
As the concrete institute motto has been for years....."concrete for permanence".
A concrete mess is a "for permanence" mess also!

 

[DustyRusty]

The best way to keep the concrete within spec is to buy a dozen or so concrete testing tubes, and tell the contractor that you are going to take a sample of every load of concrete and have it tested against what you purchased. When I had my cellar poured, I had all the tubes ready to be filled and warned the contractor not to water down the mix to make it easier to settle into the forms. I also insisted that they use a pencil vibrator on every wall to avoid air entrapment's in the concrete. When they poured the footings, I insisted on a 2"x4" board being set into the footing, so when the walls were poured, the walls would be keyed to the footings. When the floor was poured, I had them set homosote boards along the perimeter, so the floor would be able to float, and should there ever be a broken pipe, the water would have a way to get out of the cellar. I also have a perforated pipe on both sides of the wall at the footings to carry any water away from the foundation during our heavy rains. The 2 pipes are tied together in an H fashion. My cellar is as dry as a bone, and after a heavy rain, I can check the pipe where it comes out to daylight to see that my drain system is still functional.

 

[IDKUBOTA]

Lots interesting thoughts about buildings.

We have had one in mind for a few years since our move to the tree farm.

When I first started looking, I was looking at building my own from an an insulated building kit from Hansens pole building company- 2 years ago- 36 x 36', 14 foot walls, 2 large bay doors, 3 windows, 2 Man doors, vapor barrier, 29-gauge steel panels, Permacolumn wetset brackets, trilaminate 6x8 posts, no framing nails nails, all other fasteners- for a cost of ~ $18 per square foot.

Contacted another company in N ID for a 30x40 turnkey insulated building using permacolumns, insulated, 4 inch slab, 14 foot walls, 2 man doors, 3 window, etc... ~$35 square foot.

We could not complete the project 3 years ago.
We contacted the North Idaho company and their price increased to $42 a square foot last year.

Where having a different builder work with us for a 2200 sqft building, 4 inch concrete (they do the concrete work), 3 12x12 bay doors, 13' oc trusses,14 ft wall, 18'" overhang turnkey building at ~ $35 a square foot. Our snow load is 80 lb/sq ft. Building this spring and done in about 4 weeks start to finish.

For those of you with the skills and time to build your own building, my hats off to you. I figured I could develop the skills but I can't fabricate time.

--- For the OP, If insurance is going to provide about $40K for your building then will be well on your way to a great building. My contractor friends and local farmer all say the following: build a bigger building than you think you will need. No one says I wish I would have gone smaller.

 

[mcmxi]

For the OP, If insurance is going to provide about $40K for your building then will be well on your way to a great building.

They did! $43k in fact, in my account waiting for some muppet to actually want to provide a quote for concrete work. I'm seriously thinking about buying the backhoe for the MX open station and doing the concrete work myself. It's just ridiculous finding anyone who will even come out and give me quote, and I've told them the money is ready to go. I should take out an add in the Mexico City Gazette. Maybe get a basement dug while they're here, with a walk-in gun vault.

 

[ACDII]

I'm still waiting on Morton to repair my front barn doors. They took my deposit and ran.

 

[mcmxi]

A bit of an update.

This weekend I'm starting on a 15'x24' tractor/wood shed near to the house with the intention of using some material from the collapsed barn. I'm picking up concrete, steel, forms and rebar on Friday and have an auger reserved for the weekend.

I'll be welding up steel trusses that will sit on steel posts 8' on center set in 12"x48" sonotubes. I'll need to mix up about 45 80lb bags of concrete and will be using the Canoga Honda powered mixer.

I will probably add a lean-to along one side. Photos will be up as the project progresses.

 

[mcmxi]

Another update:

I found a steel building for sale that's 30'x40'x14' (WxLxH). It's an "A" style building made in Canada by Future Buildings. The original owner bought the kit in 2018 and assembled about 1/4 of it before passing away. The current owner bought the building at an estate sale, dismantled the part that was completed, put everything back on pallets and was going to set it up at his place. He's decided to extend his current shop so is selling the building kit for $17,500. Current pricing for a building of this size is at least twice that and most likely closer to $50k.

It basically looks like the image below except it has a single opening for a 12'x10' (WxH) door on one end. I would need to make a slab with outer footings but I think this will be a good solution for tractor and trailer storage.

 

[mcmxi]

The owner of the building just called me. He's going to deliver it tomorrow morning. He has a 4-1/2 hour drive up here and is looking at a welding machine in the area so that's why he offered to deliver it to me. I told him I'll add $250 to the sale price to compensate him for fuel and time. Seems fair to me.

I think that this is an awesome deal. He had a lot of interest in the building with a local hospital wanting to buy it. I spoke with him yesterday but didn't commit to it and woke up regretting that decision. I wanted to do some research and it became clear this morning that it was a great price. I contacted the owner via text around 8am to say that I would buy it but didn't hear back for a couple of hours. I thought I'd missed the opportunity. I can't believe how well this has turned out.

I could do the slab myself but will get a quote before I make a decision. I'm thinking 6" thick and the engineering drawings show the footing details. The end walls aren't load bearing but the side walls are and they require a minimum footing of 18" wide and 18" deep.

 

[S-G-R]

That's a good deal and nice its being delivered so quickly.

 

[mcmxi]

That's a good deal and nice its being delivered so quickly.

The immediate availability is a big deal for sure. Future Buildings has a 30'x40'x16' "A" type building on their clearance page. It has a solid rear wall like the one I'm buying but no front wall. Apparently they sell a lot of buildings with no end walls. Anyway, the one on the website is on sale for $39,800 reduced from $69,168 and delivery would be around $6k from Ontario to NW Montana. I'm thinking that this is a really good deal.

I think the one in the photo above is 30' wide but probably 16' high. I'm guessing that the one I'm buying is more like this but without the man door. I've called a couple of door places to see what a 12'x10' roll up door will cost but maybe an overhead door is the better way to go. I have two steel doors with security glass that I could use as man doors, one on each end.

 

[Bugzilla46310]

What ever size you go with on the replacement, it’ll be too small! Sweet mixer!