Hubby and I purchased an abandoned property that is starting to not look so abandoned any more. We have a pole barn that will become our horse barn and have floated the idea of attaching an indoor arena to it. We received a quote for the indoor, however when I mentioned the price to the inlaws they stated it sounded much too low. It was $55,000 delivered and put up with no site prep for a 60 x 120 x 16. I am under the understanding that this would be a bare bones building and we would further need to install lighting, kick boards, footing, and so on. Inlaws say it would or should be closer to $120,000 for that size for just the basic building. Has anyone received a quote recently for this size indoor?
Is this a kit price and then you hire someone else to build it? Is the company having a fire sale due to Covid-19? If the building is errected for $55,000, is it just for sticks and a roof, no walls and doors? $55,000 might be doable on that small of an indoor if it was just sticks and roof. 60’ is very narrow for an indoor, but a 60’ truss is much cheaper than a 70’ or 80’ truss. On a 60’ building, 60’ is the exterior dimension. The posts in each corner are probably 10x12 or 12x12, so subtract 2’ for the posts from the riding space, so it’s down to 58’. Then you have to subtract your kick wall. If you’re doing a slanted wall, that will further extend into your riding space and make it even narrower. What is the guage of the sheet metal? When comparing prices, make sure you’re comparing the exact same guage sheet metal and other specs. Is $55,000 for no eaves or overhang? Lack of eves will make it a less expensive building.
If it’s for four walls and doors $55,000, that sounds like a suspicious price. Is this a legit company with a current Construction Contractors Board license? Be sure to check out their reviews and also their CCB number. $55,000 for a complete 8,400 squ ft building sounds too cheap to be real. I agree with your inlaws that it should be closer to $120,000. Sorry that I don’t have a recent quote to compare. It’s been nearly 16 years since my indoor was built and it’s much wider, longer and is not a basic building. Even way back then it cost a lot more than $150,000.
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$6.5 a square foot built in place is about half of what it should cost.
Maybe the quote was for the material only, labor then added to it?
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That does seem suspiciously low. I paid more than that for a barely larger arena 15 years ago. It was basically a pole barn shell. The base had already been put down the year before and was not a part of that price. We added the footing and kick-boards ourselves, so they were an added cost. I think you need to ask a lot of really pointed questions and get in writing EXACTLY what you are getting (and not getting) for that price.
That seems very low. We got a quote to cover mine (somewhat larger at 80x160) and it was more than twice that ~$120K. That was a wood truss structure and just putting up the building over an existing outdoor arena. I only have the one quote as we were in the middle of getting more when this #$%!ing virus blew up, so now on hold til we see how things shake out. I’m in SW WA and prices were very high for building anything right now, at least while everyone was going gangbusters til recently.
Friend of a friend covered a 72x144 and building alone (wood truss, metal roof, no walls) was in the neighborhood of $100K a couple of years ago. Also SW Washington.
For the material it would be on the very low end. Steel prices over the past few years have been good (for the steel companies).
BUT, we are NOT in normal times. This could be a “fire sale.” What do you know abut the seller? It it’s an ordinarily respected seller then the material is likely OK. If it’s a “fly by nighter” then material quality could be suspect.
In any event, the cost for erection (permits and inspections, site prep, assembly of the building, and utility services will, in all likelihood, equal the cost of the materials. That would be my plan if I were going to do this. I might get a break and I might not. If things to well then good; if they don’t then there might be an over-run. No guarantees either way.
In addition to the material seller take a close look at any contractor you are talking to on erection of the building. They are NOT all created equal. Ask to see a list of other projects they have done and get the name and number of the owner and call them and ask about their job. Most folks will talk to you. If they won’t then that, by itself, is a red flag.
Good luck in your project.
G.
Maybe you need to recheck that price quote and check the credentials of the company that gave it too you. I doubt you could get that size of an indoor structure that cheap, sounds too good to be true, if it isn’t let us know who is willing to build indoors that cheap, they’ll be getting a lot of calls!
80x160x16 indoor built a couple years ago - $100,000 - materials and labor but not excavating, elec, base, footing. Just the basics - two end doors a couple man doors.
Built by Amish with very good reputation - Ohio. Hope that helps.
We installed that same size arena 3 years ago and from site leveling to “getting the keys” it was right around 100k
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It could be right, but I’d look at the contract. What part of the country are you in? I know a guy who built a covered 66x120 for about 40k in NC.
make sure the contract states what you get and double check it’s right.
Sometimes you can get excellent deals on these big buildings when they were ordered by someone else that then didn’t go through with the deal. My dad is in construction and has gotten a few deals that way. Still seems too cheap for that width erected, but I’m no expert
Hearing these quotes makes me so jealous. Our quotes were $700-1M for an indoor outside of Seattle.
We built a very basic 60 X 144’ indoor 30 plus years ago and the materials alone were close to $70,000. Materials included pressure treated lumber for the poles, lots of boards, fabricated wooden trusses, plywood, metal roofing, and nails.
We’re in western MA though, so had to build for snow load.
My indoor has no kickboard (inside walls are lined with plywood), so I only lost about 12" to the thickness of the walls.
Have you seen the invoices and cancelled checks? This number is VERY suspect for a “turn key” operation. It might well be correct for a construction on already prepared ground with the owner doing lots of the work themselves. Comparing apples and oranges in this sense would not be a valid comparison! 
When we covered our outdoor almost 25 years ago it was $64,500 for a steel cover, 20M x 60M x 16 feet. The width is the most important point of cost. Beyond about 50’ a 10’ increase in width meant a 20% increase in cost.
A full indoor is cheaper to build, on per square foot basis, than a cover as the wall forms a part of the structure. No wall means a MUCH heavier “frame.” But a cover does not need any sort of “air handling” system meaning it’s MUCH cheaper to “operate.” So if weather permits, for the long term, a cover is a better deal.
When I looked at covers 25 years ago they were about a 20-25% premium over the cost of a walled structure.
Ya gotta spend some time with your yellow pad (or Excel) to decide what will work best for the particular site in question.
G.
:eek: Even for Seattle-area that is crazy high!
might want a re quote without the six furlong galloping track
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When I first met the BO 20 years ago she owned a 75 acre farm with a house and a wood barn where she built a few stalls. She was leasing a barn and her plan was a 80x200 indoor and attached barn. The internet wasn’t much back then and I did most of the research - she couldn’t type an email.
There were frequent ads online for bargains: The XYZ polo club cancelled their order, you can get this barn for a bargain basement price.
The cover-it/cover-all type buildings were affordable up to 70 feet wide and you could make them longer in the future. Above 70 feet wide they require a totally different foundation. The price was comparable to a steel building and the roof was of concern for longevity.
Morton is nice but expensive.
She got a quote for post and beam, about $400,000 for just the walls. It would have been lovely,
Steel buildings: we looked a several options. You have to get the town’s building code so you know what is required for snow load, and also peak winds. Some companies will have to beef up a design for snow loads which can up the cost quite a bit.
She picked a company in upstate New York, Penn Yan I think. The building is 120x200. She got her 80x200 indoor and the barn is 40x200 with 18 stalls and plenty of people spaces. there is a huge access door to the indoor. Skylights over both sides, and translucent panels under the eaves to let in light to the indoor. Doors are large enough to accommodate an ambulance, hay wagons, and various sizes of trucks. 200 feet is a lot of aisleway to sweep. A bunch of us put our initials in the foundation and have a lot of sweat equity building out the inside. They used a local 0contractor to install. The refuge barn in the area recently put up a building from the same company.
It was a bit over $200,000 for the shell. That doesn’t include the foundation. She insulated the roof and walls so condensation isn’t a problem. She paid off the 15 year mortgage a couple of years ago. It was the largest building in town until the grocery store moved in.
Yeah… it sucks being in King County. IF we got permission from the county, which was a big ($$$$$) if, we would only have been able to put it in a spot that’s visually imposing and couldn’t go bigger than 65x140, which isn’t huge considering it’s our only arena.
we got quotes from several companies, from all inclusive to bare bones. Pole built with trusses to metal. We opted to improve the outdoor footing and put in a covered round pen.
actually I understand, there are trade offs for being in certain areas of the county. I was fortunate that when I was transferred to our Chatsworth CA office that my company allowed me to remain in Fort Worth and commute to the CA office… racked up a lot of air miles on American but actually worked out well since we kept our place on acreage here in the city. Once my company saw the costs to relocate my family flying back and forth was cheap Commuted for ten years.
Yeah at the breakdown of how much an arena would cost we realized that I could have all my horses boarded at a facility with a lovely indoor every winter essentially until I die… it just wasn’t worth it to save from getting wet!
