This is likely a few years away for me, but I like to prepare and research well in advance for things. For my next property purchase, I want to drop a large pole barn style building on it to use as storage, a shop and possibly a few other things. I'm thinking about possibly a (depending on costs, logistics, property layout, etc) 50x100 building. One large rollup on the short end, man door on the long end(s) at the minimum. The inside will be completely open for the most part, with possible interior rooms to be added later.

My question is for those that have done this. What company did you use, what were the quoted costs vs final costs, how was the process.

I know Morton is one of the best but also one of the most expensive. But I feel like this should be a buy once cry once type of purchase. Rather than cheap out and risk less longevity.

Have any Amish up there?

I just had a 40x60' pole building cover put over an existing structure. 6x6 posts every 10'. Metal roof and gables. 4x12 pitch. No sides or ends. Took 5 days to erect. Local guy did it. Great job. Gives me a 7' porch and one side and about 20' over hang on the other side for parking. Exactly what I was looking for. Good luck. I love these kinds of projects. Yours is that exact kind of thing.

IIRC, Prefontaine has plans for something like this, if he sees the title, I'm sure he'll chime in.

Ryan, I have used Butler Buildings for 2 projects: 24x30 & 20x30 one with rollup doors and one with swing doors. Butler buildings are pre-engineered snd pre-fabricated usually they are sold through dealers who make recommendations on foundation the building will rest on, crushed rock, slab or wood. Both my structures were delivered and assembled by me with my Kubota tractor to lift the heavy stuff. Contact if I can answer questions.

Had an Amish/Mennonite outfit put up a 30x40 pole barn shop with 12' lean-tos on both long sides and a poured floor about ten years ago. One guy and his two sons put the whole thing up in three days. I did my own insulation, electrical (with a little help from an electrician buddy), and plumbing (with a little help from a plumber buddy). Grand total was just over $37K. I'm sure material prices have gone up since then, but you can't beat the quality of work and the speed of work from them folks. It's pretty much all they do and they've got it down.

I'd just Google Amish pole barn builders around your area and go from there.

We have a Morton Pole barn. Built in 1989. 30’x72’ 9’ walls. Freespan. Concrete floor.
Very happy. Virtually zero maintenance, though We will need a new gutter in the next few ears.
I ran a sub-panel to it, 100A, so I can run my welders. I keep a generator out there as well.
Fully enclosed, I did think of a partial shed with open sides at one point. Salesman recommended enclosed and that was good advice.

Did a 30X40 a few years ago on our lake property. Builder don't matter he's not in your area. Make sure you hold 50% until project is completed. The contract I signed was 10% down on signing and 80% on material delivery and 10% upon completion. I had to get ornery to get them to come out and put it up but once they did they did a good timely job. Also there was a clause about drilling for the post holes and hitting rocks. If they hit a big rock and had to get extra equipment out to remove it that was a large extra cost and understandably so.

The only time I kept a close eye on the project is when they were drilling those holes. Morton is crazy expensive they are pretty much home builders now from what I understand. You want a huge barndominium you talk to them.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Have any Amish up there?

I think the closest is PA, so probably a good 6-8 hours away depending on which end they're coming from.

quote:

Originally posted by ryan81986:

I think the closest is PA, so probably a good 6-8 hours away depending on which end they're coming from.

OK just a thought because many of them specialize in steel buildings. They put my 26 x 36 up in 3 days but it is framed 2 x 6 on a concrete pad (already poured). They finished a 60 x 100 actual pole building prior to mine.

Are you planning to insulate it? If so you might use a conventional insulated panel garage door rather than a roll up.

Most likely it'll be insulated yeah. More up front but it'll save in the long run. For heat, most likely, assuming there is gas on the property; infrared gas tube heaters

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
IIRC, Prefontaine has plans for something like this, if he sees the title, I'm sure he'll chime in.

Ryan there are two types of their buildings. Morton Standard and Morton Premier. Think of a rectangle. If you are fine with having your garage doors on the ends, or the shorter sides of the rectangle, you can go Morton Standard. If you want them on the long sides of the rectangle, it’ll be Morton Premier. There are more differences to the two buildings than garage door placement, it’s the different foundation types they offer for each, and they are very strict with this. For my 2688 sq ft garage going from Morton Standard to Premier means an extra $12k in cost.

Contact the Morton office in your state. Schedule a meeting to go over what you want. They’ll give you a quote and send you all their catalogs etc in the snail mail.

Size! I don't think that I ever heard anybody say that they wish they'd built their building smaller. I had a Delta 40 X 72 and wished that it was twice as big. An insulated roof and west wall are a must too.

quote:

Originally posted by ryan81986:
Most likely it'll be insulated yeah. More up front but it'll save in the long run. For heat, most likely, assuming there is gas on the property; infrared gas tube heaters

Heating a space that large I'd insulate the heck out of it and under the slab as well, at least under the perimeter 8' in. And an insulated thermal break around the edge. Even if it costs you buying fill I'd elevate the building for good water run-off all around. Buildings can't be too high but they can sure be too low.

A gas tube system will work well for that, that's what I used to heat an 80 x 200 space back when I was in business.

It's exciting to plan a building like you're doing.

Thank you Prefontaine! That's good to know about standard vs premiere. I prefer having the short side face the house with the roll up door on that wall. I'm definitely planning to set up a meeting with them. I'm less than 45mins from their nearest office.

Size wise the only limitations are essentially what the lot can handle and what I can afford. Well, and what the boss allows..

I'm wondering if radiant floor heating might be a better option. Or if it's even practical or cost effective at that size of a foot print.

My father had a large Morton pole barn built about 35 years ago. It’s been solid in every way. It does get the occasional elusive water drip from a couple spot during heavy rains.
My sister had two smaller Morton building built. Both appear solid and well made with a more refined construction in the eaves than any local barn builder special I’ve seen.

The radiant tube system should be much cheaper to put in and operate. It heats the floor as well and will probably bring the space up to temperature a little quicker than hot water plumbed in the floor.

Well I'm sold then. When the time eventually (hopefully) comes I'll also have to check to see if it's cheaper to have Morton do the insulation or just pay a company to come out and spray foam.

quote:

Originally posted by ryan81986:
Thank you Prefontaine! That's good to know about standard vs premiere. I prefer having the short side face the house with the roll up door on that wall. I'm definitely planning to set up a meeting with them. I'm less than 45mins from their nearest office.

Size wise the only limitations are essentially what the lot can handle and what I can afford. Well, and what the boss allows..

I'm wondering if radiant floor heating might be a better option. Or if it's even practical or cost effective at that size of a foot print.

Morton does not support radiant heating in their buildings. I have asked. The guy and office I’m working with says no to it related to their foundation system(s).

I know you want much larger than I am planning but at 2688 sq ft on my garage, I’m spray foam insulating the entire thing. Then I’ll be putting in multiple mini-splits after the county inspects it. I don’t need it HVAC’d like a house. I just want to reduce temps in the summer and run A/C. Winters, I’ll just end up buying a pretty hoss space heater and keep it around me where I’ll be working or working out (putting in a gym). With the spray foam insulation on every piece of metal sans the insulated garage doors, should keep winter temps in check.

Be careful too. Cost can spiral out of control the more options etc you add. Garage doors and the openers can be extremely expensive. I’d post pics of my designs of my house and garage but they contain the dollar amount for each building and that’s intel I don’t want to publicly share. Just schedule a meeting and if you are that close (I’m many hours away from my Morton office as my land is in another state) I’d do it in person. But many of their offices they just do it virtual. It’s 2026 so they can share live drawings, etc. My guy, we meet, then he works on it, and emails me all the CAD stuff (Pics of every side), cost, etc. Down payment is 30%. 60% is due upon delivery of materials. Then 10% at the end when you sign off. They have this down to a science with 100+ years of experience. They’ll likely be done in 2 days once construction starts. They bring their crews and they are in/out so fast it’ll make your head spin. They do not fuck around. If I were you, skip anything fancy/bougie and just stick to industrial. Save your $ for electrical/plumbing and your finish out. Spray foaming 5000 sq feet of a high rib steel building is going to be a massive kick in your taint.

Oh, and yes, cheaper to independently pay someone to spray the foam. Morton doesn’t do that. On my house, we’re doing R7 or whatever it’s called. Spray foaming has pros/cons, and a con is if there is a leak somewhere that foam is a bitch for a contractor to cut through to fix something. So I may put it in the attic, but not the exterior walls. Also ask your Morton salesperson to talk to about their vapor/water barrier. I think it’s worth the additional cost. Believe me your sales dude, they really know their shit. My guy has been awesome. Telling me to skip this, that, and the other. I’m literally building 2 industrial buildings with no foo-foo. I can add foo-foo in the build out if I wish. My buildings will be straight industrial down to the windows. Only enough of them and small enough to meet code.