Steel home opinions?

I stumbled on some garage build links off GarageJournal.com and they led me down the road of steel garage/ loft/ homes.

First there are two options here for my idea:

1) Steel garage with home

Morton Steel building #3673

2) Is something more loft style

The styles and options are limitless out there. and the option of building a tradition built house and just adding a garage "out back" is still in the running.

My question is two fold:

1) whats your thoughts/advice/ etc on steel buildings

2) Whats your thoughts on steel roofs? (are they DIY?)

I live in Northeast Ohio if that makes a difference. We do have all 4 seasons haha

Thanks

I dunno any specifics about a steel roof, but the second picture appears to have a flat roof and I would definitely stay away from that.

They don't like wind and really don't like tornadoes. HVAC can be a fun challenge with lack of insulation, waste oil heaters are a near must in the winter and they aren't quiet.

These seem to be quite popular over in Indiana. I've heard there is (was?) a tax break for farmers who built a steel "barn" that happens to have living quarters attached. Here are my two thoughts:

1.) As a car-guy I love the idea...however as a married car guy, having the noise/smell from your shop anywhere near your home isn't usually a good idea.

2.) Having bought/sold a few places, any "unique" features generally just make it harder to sell when the time comes.

3.) That said, if you have enough property that you can start out by building your shop/home combo, then eventually build your "real" home out front, that would probably be a marketable property. Many people like the idea of a guest-house that's detached.

I really like steel roofs, especially in snow country. At the higher end of quality they're a solid 50 year roof as long as nothing falls on them. Repair of a section or adding on is problematic, but I think the upsides on them are huge if you're going to be in a building for any length of time.
As far as steel houses go, I'm personally fine with them but many people aren't. A lot of people visually associate them with barns or older mobile homes. This is going to make them harder to sell as the pool of buyers is smaller. If they were a good idea from a build/sell standpoint you'd see builders building them as spec houses, but you don't. At least I haven't.
The next building I build will be a steel building with an 'apartment' in it. Something like 500 feet of living and 5000 feet of garage. I'm building that for me though and don't care much about resale, which is how a lot of these are being built, especially those you see on GJ.

I know a guy here in Florida that lived in a nice Double wide who built a huge steel garage in his back yard. He decided to build the front portion of the huge garage as a single bedroom living space in case of hurricanes. (They want you to evacuate mobile homes during storms.) The hurricane space turned out so well that he moved into it and rents out the trailer.

I've been considering something like this also. It looks like a very cool concept. I don't have much to add, but I'm in to see the conversation.

Say goodbye to your cellphone inside.

My sister built and lived in a barn/apartment when she bought some acreage a few years ago. It was well insulated so they had no problems with heat. It's on a very (very) windy hilltop and has not had any failures. They DO have cell phone reception inside, it's not a faraday cage.

Overall it was the most cost effective option and the apartment is still in use today. Sister built her house and elderly step-father now lives in the apartment. It could be called a guest house, in-law suite, or rental unit at this point.

Key is finding a reputable builder. If you want to DIY I'd recommend getting hired for a job or two by someone building one and learn the tricks of the trade.

I have built many large all steel buildings for comercial use and cell phone service is never an issue. Concrete on teh other hand can interfere with cell service.

The big problem with metal buildings is that they are most cost-effective when they are NOT customized. This isn't to say customization is impossible, or even difficult. It's just that a LOT of the traditional economy associated with a prefabricated metal building is lost once you start making it unique.

And yes, INSULATION. You'll need insulated panels at least 2" thick PLUS the traditional bagged fiberglass batts inside - R13 continuous panels plus R13 batts. Roofs need R19 continuous insulation PLUS R11 batts, and those can't be draped over the purlins like they used to be; they need to be uncompressed and supported by a liner system.

Stick built houses with steel frames are common downunder, one note on very hot days in the evening you may hear the metal pinging when cooling, Ohio can ignore this, lol.

spin_out wrote: I know a guy here in Florida that lived in a nice Double wide who built a huge steel garage in his back yard. He decided to build the front portion of the huge garage as a single bedroom living space in case of hurricanes. (They want you to evacuate mobile homes during storms.) The hurricane space turned out so well that he moved into it and rents out the trailer.

Funny, swmbo 2.0 and i are discussing exactly that scenario.

Is there a cost advantage vs regular stick built construction?

We see quite a few steel shops around here. They come with a low upfront cost so people have interest or will go so far as to buy the kit, only to find that the costs to finish the construction are higher than stick frame.

They also need to be reengineered to meet snow load and wind requirements so the cost can be much higher than advertised.

As Bearmtnmartin noted, costs from building supplier don't generally include a lot of things like: foundation design, foundation construction; site development (excavation & grading); any code/location specific design (wind, seismic, hurricane); erection; insulation; fire suppression; electric; plumbing; HVAC; etc.

Buyer gets a predesigned basic weatherproof shell as an erector set, everything else is on you.

If you build it on farm land it will increase in value. Any house otherwise is usually a bad investment.

I like the idea of a used double wide, or modular home as far as super cheap housing goes. Trailer parks tend to offer those places up for free but they need insulation, updating and $5000 trailering cost.

Steel roofs beat shingles hands down 50+ (metal) years over 20 years (any shingled roof regardless of the scam warranty promising more on the package). Metal roofs get you scrap value when you go to replace them and shingled get you a huge dumpster disposal fee.

what about steel Quonset huts?

nutherjrfan wrote: what about steel Quonset huts?

Not a big fan of the looks of a Quonset hut.

There are steel exterior and roofed buildings then there are steel frame and steel everything homes.

Is there a pro/ con of wood vs steel for these builds?

Anyone else have any real world experience with the buildings?

Thanks

Quonset huts are curved. Fitting things to a curve is peskier than flat walls. Same problem applies to those round houses people sometimes advocate.

As to the steel vs wood framing, from what I've seen and experienced it's a difference in insulation/feel of the building. Wood seemed warmer in the winter than the steel framing. Admittedly this is a small sample size and other factors may have been in play.

Davis Carriage House

small Morton cabin/cottage

My favorite:

house, garage, it has it all

They all make convincing arguments. I love the designs. Got some extra info from Morton on the way too, so i guess well see how it goes