[Walys60]

aphaynes,

Glad it has helped. I have to admit though, my struggles are most likely due to the fact that I am a system's administrator (Windows Server support guy) and my experience in construction to this point had been much smaller scale. I know that experienced folks can do it 'in a weekend' just like they say. I saw a youtube video on a building similar in size. Wasn't versatube, but basically the same thing without the 'swedge' technology of versatube. They had a crew of 3 and completed it in 2 days (not including the concrete of course). There are pictures of those guys walking around on the rafters though! That is NO horizontal support, SIX feet apart, 12-16 FEET in the air! Yeaaaahhh, no thanks! But, it definitely can be done...I guess.

The concrete ran me about $5500, and that is after a $500 bonus I gave to my buddy, mostly because he could use it. Retail, I would have spent probably $6000, so not a huge savings, but helped us both out some so still worth it. Of course it is somewhat dependent on location, but a 30'x50' pad, you'd expect to pay around $6k. The building cost me $11.2K, so concrete was about half again the building cost.

As much as I hated it, I doubt I could have ever built it had I paid someone to do it. I only got one estimate before I sighed and put on my big boy pants and did it...$10,500! Having done it, I'm not calling that a rip-off, just saying I wouldn't have been able to afford it.