Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

> Is anyone build metal structures, either domes or cylinders or anything? 
> Quonset huts are an old solution to deployable cheap long-lasting shelters 
> and that is the subject I am investigating.
> What is the next step in shelter after tarps and tents??

I've been researching metal buildings and am digging out a hillside in 
which to place one. I don't like quonsets because the curved walls disallow 
side shed roofs, which expand the roof cover very inexpensively. Truth be 
told, I think metal building are less than uplifting, but they are cheap 
and strong and they don't burn.

Not sure how big mine will be until I get the hillside excavated. This is 
the Ozarks and I might get into some big stone that I can't move. If I can 
make a sufficient flat site, I want a 30 by 30 straight-walled building 
with 6:12 roof, with the trusses 14 feet above the slab, with side shed 
4:12 roofs covering ten-foot side carports for vehicles and extra storage 
for things that don't need total protection. Our local building supply just 
quoted me $5,711 for materials not including the slab. That includes a 
people door with hinges, handle and lockset and the materials and hardware 
to build two 8 by 14-foot barn doors that slide on overhead tracks towards 
the outside. If I run out of time to build it myself I can hire a couple 
stout and experienced local lads to build the structure for $1,300 labor. I 
just got a price on the slab of $3,500 with 18-inch footings at the 
perimeter and rebar both ways on 2-foot spacing. If my addition is 
accurate, the total price would be $10,500, which works out to $11.67 per 
square foot. I think that's pretty darn inexpensive.

I am not keen on the aesthetics of metal buildings, which is why I am 
digging out this hillside on the far side of my shop area. It is the side 
of a small hollow and is surrounded by big white oaks, so it will be cool 
in the summer and winds will have trouble making trouble back there, but 
the big reason I am sticking it back there is so it is hidden.