Building a pole barn

[Southern Heritage]

I built a open 40x60 pole barn back in 2018 for $9,000.00 i enclosed 24x40 the next year for $17,000.00 on my hunting property. (That guy wont travel to where i live)
My wife and I decided to build a enclosed at the house. It will be 40x60 with 10’ lean to and 5 roll up doors
Ive had 3 companies price it each building it 3 different ways.
Company 1) $390,000.00 and was building a up stairs office with bath room

Company 2) $250,000.00 just insulated building with boxed eves finished concrete rough plumbing for future ground floor office
Metal trusses open design

Company 3) $200,000.00 just insulated building boxed eves wooden trusses with insulated attic roughed plumbing

I honestly thought i could get metal truss building on 6x6 post with electrical and rough plumbing for $75k.
Im in Alabama.

Me building it my self isnt a option unfortunately.

Thanks for any insight.

 

[RS_Non-Res]

That's three different "scopes of work", i.e. apples to oranges. so tough to compare.
You need to decide exactly what you want first, then get prices, then decide if the low bid is for real.

I have no direct comparison for pole barn pricing. I did have a heck of a time finding a fencing contractor. Had 9 on the phone, one wanted $4k to provide a price another provided a non-responsive price (didn't meet SOW), three looked at the site, one gave me price and is doing the work. Pleasantly, his price was within $1k of my estimate.

 

[Deadfall]

Those prices all seem reasonable to me. Different scopes of work. Pricing is bout right I think.
Material is stupid since Chung wung

 

[hunterjmj]

Definitely get apples to apples quotes. I built a 30x40 shop and although I built it I got quotes from 4 different suppliers. The price differences was substantial between a couple.

 

[grfox92]

Bare shop on a slab, 40x60 conventionally framed with 16' walls, wood trusses, sheeted in OSB, sided with tuff rib metal siding, One garage door, 4 windows, one man door. Basic electric ie, lighting and outlets. Is $100k in NW Wyoming.


Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

[grfox92]

Company 1 is outrageously high no matter what. Unless you are leaving out some major details.

The other 2 seem slightly high, but plumbing and electrical are very expensive, especially when running everything under a concrete. Not enought detail though.

Does this included a sheeted lid? Drywall? Infloor heat or a heating source?

We just finished a 40x60 shop, with an attached 2000 Sq ft house 4 bed, 3 full baths, all sided with metal, full kitchen, electrical, plumbing, finished house is in the $425k range. That price was considered on the high side compared to a couple other bids.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

[Southern Heritage]

Company 1 is outrageously high no matter what. Unless you are leaving out some major details.

The other 2 seem slightly high, but plumbing and electrical are very expensive, especially when running everything under a concrete. Not enought detail though.

Does this included a sheeted lid? Drywall? Infloor heat or a heating source?

We just finished a 40x60 shop, with an attached 2000 Sq ft house 4 bed, 3 full baths, all sided with metal, full kitchen, electrical, plumbing, finished house is in the $425k range. That price was considered on the high side compared to a couple other bids.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

The first price had havac and from what I could tell was turn key but I also got the feel some of his budgets where low and other where outrageous.

The second quote was unfinished completely. No havac. Electrical is just led shop lights. Panels for electrical is already there and ready. To be clear inside is concrete floor, metal walls, plastic insulation on inside.
‘’the third quote they where putting 4x8 siding on the inisde walls And ceilings with roll insulation in the walls and blow in for the ceiling. led shop lights for electrical

I have let each company let me know they ways they like to do it. After the first quote I took out having an office for the second and third quote. If I decide to do that then I’ll do it my self.

I have $100k set aside to build the barn and thought that be plenty. if I can start to get a sense this is reachable I will get a few companies to quote exactly the same thing. As one guy could quote $35,000.00 garage doors and the other quote $10,000 roll ups

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Have you considered doing your own electrical? Not too hard and will cost a tiny fraction of the builders.

 

[Southern Heritage]

Have you considered doing your own electrical? Not too hard and will cost a tiny fraction of the builders.

I have but as of 9 days ago I got a whole lot of new hardware in my back. So I’m worried I’m not going to be able to. However I feel way better then they made it out to be. I did all the electrical in my farm barn

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Oh boy, sorry to hear that. Get well. I got a whole bunch in me 3 years ago in a different spot that will be there forever.

 

[FLATHEAD]

Co. #1 would be a no go for me. Thats ridiculous.

 

[def90]

A sh!t ton has changed in the building industry since 2018..

Materials costs, labor costs, insurance costs, overhead costs, simple inflation... Supply vs demand and so on..

Your 1st build back in 2018 sounds like you stole it even back then.

 

[Southern Heritage]

A sh!t ton has changed in the building industry since 2018..

Materials costs, labor costs, insurance costs, overhead costs, simple inflation... Supply vs demand and so on..

Your 1st build back in 2018 sounds like you stole it even back then.

10/4 i didnt even price it out then. Once i found a guy from my local deer processor who would it go that far in the sticks i hired him on the spot.
His work was spot on But when asked him if he would come to my house. He said and I quote. I dont so interstates.

 

[stanginthe11s]

some advice for you. use multiple people.

when you propose a build to one contractor, they usually see $$$. plus, a contractor is just that, a contractor. they sub out each job and only do what they know so they shoot high to make money off both their job and the job of the subs. just business, it is what it is.
if you do it in stages, you will usually save money as you can find the cheapest guy in each respected field. you may also find guys who do things on the side plus youll have more control over material costs.

 

[Whaledriver]

I agree with the above on not enough detail. I personally do not like all in one bids. Way too much fluff (builder has to protect themselves). If it is time sensitive, then you it will cost you more. If not get the best bid for material. Get a good bid for labor. The cheapest labor wise is always a reason. It may cost you more down the road. The highest usually has a full book of projects, so doesn't care about yours. Mid level is usually the sweet spot for quality vs value. GC on a project like this is not hard. Can save you lots of money if you have the time/patience. Good luck!

 

[Brunson84]

This seems pretty reasonable, I don't want to step on anyones toes, but where I live in South Carolina every construction company around is making a killing, its not just about material cost and insurance. A man starts a business now and in a year's time he has the newest equipment, vehicles, and toys on the market and that's what the consumer is paying for (outrageous quotes), the days of a guy pulling up in a 15yr old pickup with a ladder rack and reasonable prices are over its seems, at least around these parts of the southeast

Bare shop on a slab, 40x60 conventionally framed with 16' walls, wood trusses, sheeted in OSB, sided with tuff rib metal siding, One garage door, 4 windows, one man door. Basic electric ie, lighting and outlets. Is $100k in NW Wyoming.


Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

[DuckDogDr]

I’m in Alabama as well and in a similar dilemma. Needing to replace my garage (detached) building . Original design was a pole barn.

Got hit with a tornado in 2021 … demolished it and insurance depreciated value down to $800.
It was going to cost $18k to rebuild before all the crazy prices with lumber skyrocketed mid Covid.

My spear fishing buddy had bought land right before Covid stuff and had a contractor lined up and to build a new price. He gave the ok and contractor called back 2 weeks later and said due lumber / supply costs price of house was going to have to go up another $250k … house has yet to be built

 

[Jon Boy]

I'm around $55 a square foot for a simple shop that's wired, no interior finishes.

Wood materials are currently the lowest I've seen in 3 or 4 years. Just did a take off for a 36x30 and was at 23k for material.
Labor I'm at 10/sqft framing 5sqft concrete 3 sqft siding and soffit, 1.5 sqft roof. Dirt work was 5k electrical was 3500 trusses i am guessing will be 6k. Concrete was around 5k. 12 foot walls. Sw Montana


Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[stanginthe11s]

my go to answer for any building is go steel pre fab. with that, realize steel is usually more than wood, so if a steel building 40x60 would cost around 100k then a pole barn can be done for much less. if you guys are having a hard time finding a reasonable contractor then I would just go steel. also, learn where you can cut costs. instead of 5 overheads you can do 3 larger ones, also insulation makes a big difference. there are many types, and some are easier and cheaper to install. every part of the job will have areas to cut cost without sacrificing quality, the key is to have an exact plan with all materials and a complete understanding of the whole process.
if you guys need help, I am more than happy to do what I can. feel free to PM me. and if you're wondering, I am a retired ironworker so I have done almost every aspect of construction.