# BIG Project coming up



## Rusty (Jun 15, 2011)

Just orderd a quanset hut(,a large steel building that looks like half a sewer pipe sticking out of the ground) I hope I didn't bite off more than I can chew. I have been researching and pricing these buildings for a while now, a friend has one and he loves it,I checked it out and its an incredibly sturdy structure, his is 35'x75' and he said his only regret was he didn't make it larger. So I started pricing a 50'x100' found one from steelmaster for $27500.00,good deal right? well the other day I got a call from a different company I had contacted and the guy said if I could go with a 60'x100' he could make me a deal' Appearently Our government had ordered this building for a military base and the base was moving to somewhere else and could not take delivery (they had already made a deposit on the bldg.wich was non-refundable) and that is how I can get this great price reduction. The man also said he would ship it for FREE. the only catch is I have to take delivery by Sept.1 . Knowing I'll never come across a deal like this again,I bought the bldg. total cost for the 6000 square feet, under twenty five thousand. Went to the bank and took out home equity line of credit and gave them a $3000.00 deposit. Now I just have to find a concrete contractor to pour a 60'x120' slab (want a small work area outsde) this may be more costly than the bldg. I have to put the thing together myself wich shouldnt be to difficult as I plan to use my air wrenches but I expect it to be at least a couple of months of everyday wrenching. Now I just have to con a couple of friends into helping. I will post pictures when I get started, Good thing I just retired.Any one out there ever put one of these together that can tell me what I am in for?


----------



## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

Well Rusty,
I've never put one of these together myself, but I have put together a few utilidor culverts, which are somewhat similar. Have a good look at the assembly maunal and follow the instructions. There could be a number of different panels that have to be installed in a certain sequence and in specific areas. If the panels are like this, they may be color coded to help with identification. The units I have erected were like this. 
Anyways, get good hearing protection, especially for your buddy holding the wrench on the inside, and invest in a couple of "spud wrenches". They are a wrench that is about 18" long, (Get one to fit the nuts and bolts that you get with your kit), and the handle is long and tapered to a point. You use this end to poke into the bolt holes and reef it around to line up any bolt holes in the immediate area. Save a lot of time and cuss words. A chain block and / or a come-a-long might come in handy as well. Make sure your footings are square and level... a little extra time at the start will be well appreciated later on!
Good luck


----------



## Rusty (Jun 15, 2011)

I have tried small concrete projects in the past and I suck at it ,so I'm going to hire that out to a pro. Like the spud wrench idea, will look for one next time I'm in Harbor Frieght,Thanks for the input.


----------



## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

Wow - ultimate workshop. Yeah concrete isnt cheep - if you plan on putting heavy vehicles in there, you might want a fairly thick pad with some insulation under it ( nothing like working on a cold concrete floor). 

I hear you on the labor of pouring concrete - my dad's freind decided to pour a small slab in his fathers dormer ( for a fridge and freezer- used to store wood in it) - he unforunately did it on a 95 degree day and nearly had a heatstroke - pop and i had to finish working it before it thickened up.

I bot one of those 10x20 shelter logic auto shelters ( normally $350) for a mere $50 from my work on clearance - i put the shed up alone ( was a SERIOUS pain)- took me a good 10 hours , instructions were not that clear plus the supplied ratchet 'straps' fell apart - i used a set of old real straps , found some swing set stakes for $3 at a thrift store - its still holding up real good.

Since i cant make a permenent structure ( w/o a permit) i used some plastic sheeting on the ground, then covered it with a few inches of stone.


----------



## Rusty (Jun 15, 2011)

Recieved the foundation and erection plans along with the engineers blueprints today,hope to get with the concrete guy next week, already got a quote and its going to cost as much as the building. Hope to save a little by leveling myself .Any one have an Idea on weather I should get a standard box blade or one with a hinged back,are there advantages of one over the other? any input here is appreciated as I plan to start in the next couple weeks. Will post pics when I get started. This should be interesting!


----------



## MBTRAC (May 28, 2012)

That's one big project you have there & a great size shed - the price seems a real bargain & the quonset design is a real sturdy design for high winds. 

Though I've never put 1 together, on 1 of our farms there are two old exarmy quonset huts which probably date from just after the war which I had to do running repairs to replace some iron work - the pointed spud wrench is great advice & saved me a stack of time with the bolts ( I unwisely firstly tried to short cut the repairs with tek screws not surprising without any success on the timber frame).

Given you're planning on the earthworks/assembly yourself you might want to consider investing in a s/h FEL/Backhoe during construction for the footings/leveliing/utility trenching , it'll also come in very handy for positioning the high frames -if you buy right, once you're finished you should be sell the machine for roughly what you paid (depending on your current tractor size, soil conditions & volume of earthworks, levelling a 120x60 pad could be quite a workout for a box blade)


----------



## Rusty (Jun 15, 2011)

Already have the front end loader and plan to use the root rake on my root grapple to clear the grass,small saplings and vines from the area, i've used the FEL for some smaller leveling jobs but have never used a box blade,can't justify the expense of a back hoe for the amount of use it would (or more often wouldn't ) get. the soil is fairly soft and sandy, so will put whats left of my back to work on the footers, The contractor will take care of compaction.
would appreciate any tips from those who have done leveling work with the box blade. I plan to buy the 6' with scarifiers


----------



## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

Make sure you box scraper is as wide as your tractor if not a little wider. Should at least cover your tracks. I got a bit of advise here under a request for a box blade size. Check it out. 
http://www.tractorforum.com/f324/sizing-boxblade-21295/

I've been out trying to level an area for another pasture for the horses. There seems to be a bit of a learning curve! My box blade is not hinged, and although it is the heaviest one my dealer had, I think I may modify it some day to take some weights.
Can't offer much more insight, as I'm still learning.... all I know right now is I have some rocky ground here, and have unearth 1,899,345,678 rocks the size of pumpkins!! The pasture is nice and smooth, just need to figure out some project for the rocks!


----------



## Rusty (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks for the link pogobill,some good info there,My tractor is only 38 HP but is four wheel drive,was planning on a 6 footer as that will cover the wheel tracks , I do plan to use the root rake first to pull up all the grass, vines,roots,stumps and the occasional gopher turtle, hopefully this will make the leveling process easier, just pushing dirt around,I have a couple of string levels and hope to get at least close,I'm pretty sure the concrete guy has a Laser level for fine tuning when its compacted. Starting to look forward to this project,and dreading it at the same time,I do like a challenge, and I think I got one here. Hoping to get it all together to start in the next couple weeks,Possible tropical storms heading towards FL.,hope they don't mess me up. By the way, Who counted all those rocks? LOL


----------

