# Morton Building?



## debraanne (Jul 1, 2008)

Since we've come to the sad decision that no amount of home improvement will fix our poor old saggy foundation-less home, we need to explore other options. Theoretically, we could/can live in this house for a few more years but it has major structural issues and ancient plumbing, etc. that will definately fail at some point, not to mention that the water heater and furnace are over 30 years old. (But the roof and exterior walls are in good condition, even if the wind blows right through the windows!)
Anyway.....we spent a fair amount on the property (great location on 2 acres with 3 outbuildings) but adding the cost of a new house would put the value at probably way more than we could get out of it on the current market. Hopefully if we stay here 5-10 years we would recoup the cost.
We are thinking of having a Morton Building put up (shell exterior) then finishing off the interior ourselves.
Has anyone here done this?
Any idea of degree of difficulty?
We are looking at a 36 X 48 building.
Is it reasonable to think we could complete this for under or around $100000 for a basic house with no real high-end options?
Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.  We are hoping to make a final decision soon so we could have the building erected and work on it over the winter.
Also, we are thinking this would be significantly cheaper than even a decent modular home. Is this true?
Thanks!


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## glennjanie (Jul 1, 2008)

Hello Debraanne:
I have a nephew that built a steel building (Morton is post and frame wood) and finished it for a house. He got a nice, energy efficient home out of it but it cost twice as much as he had planned. He ended up building a house inside the building.
If you could live with metal skin walls inside as well as outside you may be able to save some money.
I have seen some other homes built that way and some of them look real cute but it was always a lot of trouble to convert the building.
Glenn


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## hondadrv24 (Jul 1, 2008)

don't know if it would be cheaper than a modular home or not, but if you are going to do it you should seriously look into installing floor heat when you do it, you will not regret it.  as far as modular homes go you may want to look around as they are pretty nice these days.  My MIL used to work for Bonnevilla Homes out of Aurora NE, and they shipped homes all over the states.  I was very impressed with the quality of the homes.

BTW, my uncles put up a 90'x 70' with floor heat in the concrete, hired all the labor except the dirt work and had it built for around 100k, they built a bathroom and an office in one corner, the rest became the farm shop.  So your Idea may be doable.

good luck 
Justin


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## debraanne (Jul 2, 2008)

Thanks for the replies.
I think the modular homes are beautiful and well-built these days (I picked up some brochures a few months ago) but I have no idea of price. I just assumed they'd be a lot more expensive than finishing off a steel building interior myself. Guess I need to get some prices on those.
I love the idea of radiant floor heating. I've read some about it. Would it be the only source of heat or do you need a furnace also?
I can have the Morton Building built with six inch uncompressed sidewall fiberglass blanket insulation with a R-19 rating for the walls and blown in ceiling insulation with a rating of R-38. Is this good?
I'm planning to have a sales rep come out and give me some prices, but based on talking with some other Morton Building owners, I think it would be $30-40,000 for the completed fully insulated shell.
I've got a lot to think about and a lot more information to gather.
I appreciate the feedback!


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## hondadrv24 (Jul 2, 2008)

My uncles have the floor heat as their only source.  However if you decided to build the Morton and had a 2 story house i think you would want some other source of heat.  You would also probably need something for air conditioning.  R-19 would be the typical insulation for our region.  as far as the blown in R value, not really sure what you need for roof insulation.   

i think your price range sounds about right, however does that include the cost of concrete or just the materials and labor for putting up the Morton?

One thing to think about if you decide to do the modular and have to dig a footing, its not that much more expensive to dig the other 4 foot deeper and put in a basement, even if you don't finish it off.  

Justin.


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