I'm hoping someone here has done something like this before. Just trying to get a ballpark idea for how much something like this will cost.

Let's say a 30x70 simple metal building with a concrete slab. 30x30 closed in and insulated to make livable space. 1 full bath plus a 1 room kitchen/eating/living/bedroom area.
*Think Mother-in-Law suite*

Not a "barndominium". Nothing fancy. Concrete floors. Bare minimum, low-end finishes.


Any thoughts about how much I might be looking at?
Could I get it done for $50k?

TIA

$50K...

Check with whatever insco you use to make sure they will cover it.

Are you doing the work yourself, or hiring a contractor?

My WAG would be 60 a sq ft

Probably getting someone to do the concrete work for us, but otherwise I would like to do as much as possible ourselves.

If you're doing everything above the slab yourself, you might be able to stay close to $75k depending on the situation with plumbing/septic & electrical. Maybe, the actual living space would be pretty barebones.

TwoMarksHand said:

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My WAG would be 60 a sq ft

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$60/sq ft for the finished/living space, right?
60-80 for the living area is sort of what I had thought too.

Yes

locogringo on the OB has some experience similar to your question.

https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/2924403

Thanks!

my inlaws built this through Mueller Steel Buildings. Concrete slab and Mueller built and insulated the garage. Inside one corner they built a two room, 1 bath living area. Bedroom was carpeted with leftover from their home, peel and stick vinyl on slab in kitchen and bathroom.They joined the kitchen to outside by a window over the sink and it let in all the natural light they needed. The purpose was to live in this garage while their retirement home was being built, then as the grandchildren grew up it became their hang out room when visiting. No oven just a cooktop and electric roaster out in the garage. One of our best Christmas visits was tables made of doors on sawhorses and plastic tablecloths in the actual garage with a boom box playing Christmas carols.

I will add that a few years later the steel started rusting and my fil asked Mueller about that. Seems Mueller's authorized installers put the insulation too low and it wicked rain water up against the siding...Mueller replaced every bit of the steel and redid the bottom insulation! Top notch work

I looked at this option about a year ago and ended up going a different route.

I was looking at a 30x30 living quarters with 2 bedrooms and a small office. Plain/builders grade everything. Plains concrete flirts just stained and a 60 x30 shop area. Quote was 175k. Turnkey not including well/septic.

We ended up moving into an old Farmhand house on the place and built a 40 x 100 with a bathroom. I had the contractor bring the electrical in and give me 1 plug. I did/am doing all of the electrical myself along with some interior finish out. The whole thing including septic system/360' water well with vfd controlled pump was $135,000.

Take the numbers you get here, and then double it. We build barndominiums for clients here and there. Most come in thinking it is going to be super cheap. It's not. Not if you are wanting something nice.

The purpose of this building would be for us to live in while our regular house is being built. That's why I said "mother-in-law suite". Not as bare bones as a hunting cabin, but none of the high end finishes we will have in the main house.
We are just looking into the future here, trying to get an idea of the cost to make it happen.

We've built a barndo (had the shell built by someone then finished the rest of it out completely on our own). So I have a good handle on costs. You will very easily spend $100K+.

Your dirt work and concrete are going to be more than you expect. The metal shell cost might be manageable if you find the right builder (and I don't just mean a cheap builder) but you still have to think about internal framing of the walls, insulation, electrical, plumbing, HVAC system and ducting, doors, windows, drywall/texture, paint, cabinets, trim, fixtures, appliances, etc. Your cost for sealed/polished concrete will be $2+/sq ft for unstained.

Saw this on YouTube. Hope it helps.