Good choices indeed.
In fact when we (Perka) started back in 1981, Quonset Buildings were REAL popular. They were cost effective shelter buildings, fairly easy for the do it yourselfer and readily available with dozens of manufacturers making them all over North America!
Fast forward 30+ years — and they are still relatively cost effective (though alot less so) and not much has really changed about them so they are still relatively easy to put up, if you like putting in thousands of bolts to put it all together!
Back then they were “sold” without much engineering calculations to support them. Today there is much more of that available – but of course it closed the gab in the cost range. If you are going to build something to CODE – it must be able to withstand the earth quake, wind and snow loads… So they had to beefed up in many cases to do that. Just like with Pole Buildings or Stick Built structures – if not built to code — SURE THEY WILL BE CHEAP! If they are — the price will go up – and sometimes quite significantly! So it’s always about EDUCATING yourself and KNOWING what it is you are really buying!
With alot less manufacturers – shipping costs can be a significant add on too. Something else to watch for.
Another thing to be careful about is – actual “size comparisons”!!! A 40 foot wide Quonset will not have the same VOLUME of space as a straight wall. And even between straight wall designed buildings some have BOTTOM CORDS with TRUSSING all above that and so you will get LESS HEAD ROOM! Get some sketches with dimensions if you can!
Below is an example comparing the Quonset sizes on a “40-19” model vs and 40-14 Perka Model 4000 Hybrid!
The moral of this story here is: — ASK QUESTIONS. Know what you are buying — hopefully BEFORE you do that!
The Common Law of business balance by Ruskin sums this up best:
“There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person’s lawful prey. It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money — that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot — it can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”
The question is will you be able to afford actually paying for it LATER (usually more), if you don’t put some extra in NOW!
Make sense?
Here is that comparison!
COMPARE BEFORE YOU BUY!!
If you have ANY questions about ANYTHING regarding buildings — there are some pretty good chances TEAM PERKA can help! We have over a century of industry experience here and been actually putting building SOLUTIONS together for OVER 30 years!
Feel free to call 800-467-3752. WE LOVE TO HELP!