Steel Building Brand Recommendation?

DanH · #1 09-24-2021, 02:55 PM

Ms. Patti and I hope to build a hangar home in the not too distant future, something nice with an all-in-one footprint. I don't know much about steel buildings, certainly not in detail. Are there particular brands considered to be better quality, or particular features which are highly desirable?

bjdecker · #2 09-24-2021, 03:08 PM

Friends of ours in CenTex used Morton; still going strong 25 years in.

https://mortonbuildings.com/

Good Luck!

B

Wingnut · #3 09-24-2021, 03:47 PM

also used Morton and seem very happy. The home being built now is absolutely gorgeous. My wife was wishing we had done the same. The contractor that erected many of the hangars here, including mine, told me that in the end you will end up with a nice building no matter which manufacturer you choose just some require a more circuitous route. I wish I had asked him before I selected the manufacturer I did. His recommendation to both of my neighbors was to use Nucor. Happy hunting!

Mike S · #4 09-24-2021, 04:13 PM

https://rapidsetbuildings.com/contact-us/

Owner is a member of VAF--- https://vansairforce.net/community/member.php?u=24013

There is a really nice design tool on their site that you can play around with and get the design how you want.

rocketman1988 · #5 09-24-2021, 04:24 PM

Check local guys in your area. Morton makes a nice building but you are going to pay for it. The locals that I checked with build a very similar building without the up charge for the name.

I planned on a moisture barrier for at least the ceiling. I have used miracle truss in the past and it is a nice building but the vertical trusses will make the interior walls a bit of an issue.

I also like the higher power hangar door. Really nice door and self supporting, which makes the building structure simpler…

Mel · #6 09-24-2021, 04:42 PM

Two problems with Morton.
1/They are VERY expensive. 2/They are NOT a steel building. They have a wood structure covered with steel siding.

I've built 2 steel hangars; one is a "Red Dot" and the other is an "Athens Steel".

I built the Red Dot in 1990 and the Athens Steel in 2003. They both have held up very well

Many people like the Morton. I don't particularly. I got bids from them both times.

Scott Hersha · #7 09-24-2021, 05:36 PM

A fellow RV builder and I built a row of 10 nested T-hangars at our airport (HAO) to sell about 12 years ago. We did quite a bit of research before undertaking this project. We settled on Fulfab for a couple reasons. They have been building hangars, including box hangars for a very long time, they design and build their own doors, and they have crews to erect the building that know what they are doing and therefore are pretty fast. They erected our building with a crew of 5 in 5 days, including insulation. We had a local concrete contractor build the slab according to Fulfab specsThere is a truss above the bifold doors where the motor resides, which takes stress off the door motor because the motor is not lifting its own weight. The 42’ X 12.2’ bifold doors weigh about 1500 lbs.

http://www.fulfab.com/

My hangar that I’ve owned for 21+ years and I’m in still, has a Schwiess door. The heavy motor and gearing is bolted on the bottom of the door and rides up and down with the door. Also, when the door is up and it is raining, water ends up rolling inside the bottom half of the door. On my Fulfab doors, it is designed to shed water when up like a giant awning. Most steel building manufacturers that we found just build the building. The door is a separate thing. For us, the doors cost as much as the building. If you end up going that route, I can recommend Wilson aluminum frame doors. I helped put one of those up on a friend’s 50’ X 50’ building on his grass strip and it went together very well and was relatively easy to put up because of the lighter weight.

KatanaPilot · #8 09-24-2021, 05:44 PM

They bought the assets of Miracle Steel/Miracle Truss several years ago out of bankruptcy as I recall.

My hangar was Miracle Steel and I am very happy with it. It is a hybrid steel frame with wood purlins and girts. My son is building a hangar now in Minnesota and he is using World Wide. Very similar construction to mine, although his is all steel trusses, columns, purlins and girts.

I think they give a substantial discount to AOPA and/or EAA members.

I can recommend John Turner as a sales rep. He did both mine and my son's.

jturner@worldwidesteelbuildings.com

AlexPeterson · #9 09-24-2021, 07:15 PM

Steel is stupid expensive right now, 2x+ what it was a year ago and still going up. I'm contemplating building a hangar also, and had a quote a month or two ago for an all steel one, ouch. Lumber down quite a bit from the high. Good luck with sorting through the choices.

FasGlas · #10 09-24-2021, 07:44 PM

I just added on to my hangar. I wanted a 41'X45' hangar, 2 walls, 1 10'X40' open wall (for hangar door), 14' eves.. With NO door. I was quoted $95K to $120K for a basic steel hangar, concrete floor, no electrical or water no door. The locals suggested called Pole Barn builders. I called a few and was quoted $35K for the same building in a Pole Barn. You can't tell the difference, same steel siding and roof, etc. It's a wood skeleton instead of steel. Had it built, I built the 10'X40' door.... Done.. Saved nearly $100K