Cupola controversy: yay or nay?

[King_s_Ransom]

So, we are closing in deciding which builder to choose for the indoor arena.

We had pretty much decided to go with Morton for the quality and aesthetics, but we came across a local fellow with outstanding references. His estimate is almost $40k less for a similar building.

There are differences. The Morton building has those beautiful sliding doors with glass. The other fellow is recommending overhead doors with windows. Not as pretty, but very functional. Ok.

The Morton building has two functional cupolas with exhaust fans. The other guy suggests decorative cupolas and roof and ridge vents. He says snow and rain will come in through the cupolas in our high wind area. Ok.

Questions: Does that sound right about the snow and rain from the cupolas? Will my building be too hot without them in summer? And, if they are only decorative, would you spend the money for them at all? They are not cheap to purchase and install.

I love the look of the Morton building, but maybe some of the beauty is not practical here? And $40k is a huge price difference. I would not have to borrow any money to do the less expensive building.

Would like love input from others here with more experience. Both builders are very reputable.

[FitToBeTied]

We have a morton barn with the cupola with exhaust fans. We live on a ridge and get a fair amount of wind. I’ve never had rain or snow blow into the barn from the cupola.

The exhaust fan in the cupola really vents the building much better than a ridge vent. You can see it in action when the farrier is working in the summer. The smoke clears from hot shoeing in a matter of a couple of minutes.

Morton knows how to properly vent a building.

Morton builds a great building. To us it was worth the extra money. We have never had a single issue.

[cherham]

Perfect post timing. We just literally had to go into our barn ceiling and permanently close off the louvers on our very fancy cupola on our barn roof. We did in fact have lots of driving snow and rain and it did blow onto our nice fluffy attic insulation and ruin a ton of it. Now we have to go back up there and take all the wet stuff out and replace it. Not a very nice job in the freezing winter cold. We have ridge vents down the entire length of the barn and it seems to be doing a perfectly adequate job. No condensation at all. It appears that the poster above might not have an insulated ceiling but open directly to the ceiling. That’s a little different situation then ours. I would only put up a decorative one if that’s the look you are after.

[Palm_Beach]

Can guy #2 provide you with a reference for a similar building in your area? I think that cupolas with fans would keep a building cooler than ridge vents, but how much cooler, and is it worth $40,000?

If you are competing in the heat, sometimes it’s best to have them acclimated to it.

[Guilherme]

Regarding cupolas, when we build our barn it did not have a one, just a ridge vent. It has excellent cross ventilation by design and is oriented to take advantage of usual summer breezes. We found it still could get uncomfortably warm on some really hot summer days. So we added one. It does not have any mechanical ventilation or adjustable louvers. It made a significant difference on hot days. I can’t say it has ever been a source of “blow in” from storms but I can’t say it hasn’t. We don’t get many really strong, persistent “blows” in the TN Valley. We do get some impressive thunderstorms, however. But I’ve no evidence one way or the other.

Regarding Morton, they build beautifully but you pay a lot for aesthetics and the name. Whether or not those things are “worth it” is a personal and economic decision. How much of that $40,000 “delta” will you recover when the property is sold? That’s the objective metric. A second, possible metric would be the “market appeal” if the facility were a public boarding stable. Beyond that I don’t see much upon which to make an objective decision.

To quote a recent TV commercial, “It’s your money; spend it when you want to!!!”

Good luck in your decision.

G.

[MsM]

Can you see buildings the local guy has constructed and talk to a couple of owners? I think the best way to evaluate is to speak to someone who had a similar arena built over a year ago and see how they like it and how it works in your area.

[Bluey]

I will say, most of the big, national companies depend in the end on local people, so they can only control quality so far.

You may get pretty buildings from anyone, Mortons are that because they have the architects to put in pretty details.
That has it’s own worth also, definitely.

When it comes to the building part itself, the tradesmen that work on it and the quality of that work, for what I have seen, depend on how good those are, no matter if they work for themselves, a local or national company.

We can look at barns built by contractors and still not get what we liked there, or better than, depending on who they have doing the actual work on your barn.

The best local builders generally have the best tradesmen already under their wing and treat them like gold.

If the local company is one of those, they will do a better job than someone with a pretty design that uses the less gifted tradesmen to built it.

How to judge that, go look for yourself at what has been built locally.

That difference in price doesn’t mean the local builder may be shoddier than the higher priced national one.
It probably means he has less overhead expenses to cover.

Wish you could find a friend, your real estate attorney, or maybe a good local building inspector that could guide you there.

[King_s_Ransom]

After much tossing and turning and asking questions … I decided to stick with Morton. There are lots of reasons, but I’d say the #1 reason is that the Morton team just seemed to have it all together. They were very professional, answered questions directly and … after looking closely at the two proposals, I realize I was not getting an apples-to-apples comparison.

Several big-ticket items were missing from the local guy’s proposal, partly because he didn’t think we needed some of them, and also because he was going to locally-source some items. If I did a true apples-to-apples comparison, the difference was really closer to $20k. Still not peanuts, but it was enough to make me start wondering what ELSE might have been left off.

Missing items were doors (as in, there were NO doors on the bid), gutters and downspouts, and kickboards. Also, the cupolas on the local bid were decorative only, no exhaust fans.

In my gut, I just felt like the local guy was not as professional or organized. And the building, while functional, was not going to be exactly what I wanted.

Signing the contract on Wednesday next week!

[Color_of_Light]

What is the actual cost difference between exhaust fans and without? You could add them yourself afterwards. It’s been years since we added ours, but not in the cupolas, at each end building instead. I didn’t have to check, but don’t think I spend more than $4,500 between buying fans, renting 4WD lift (I was operator. Holy cow, 26’ is high! Inside building was fine, outside swaying in the wind, not so much), me helping one construction guy friend for few hours, and an electrician. I think my fans are 4’ or 5’. Quickly sucks hot air out of 200’ arena.

[AKB]

I think you are making the right decision. It always scares me when a price quote doesn’t include some of the essentials. It makes me wonder if the local guy didn’t know that you need kickboards or if he just planned to hope you didn’t notice they weren’t included in the price and then add extra charges for them later. Either scenario would make me worry.

[dressagegirl123]

Ventilation is so important for horse’s health. Ridge vents, cupolas, fans, everything helps. Builders are not necessarily horsemen.
A friend had a salesman tell her that fans in a horse trailer were unnecessary. She wished he were sweating in the back when she was stuck in traffic on a 92 degree day!
Go with what’s best for the horses! It will never steer you wrong…

[Palm_Beach]

Sounds like a good decision, OP. Sometimes you get what you pay for, and Morton certainly has a good reputation.

[clanter]

OP, I guess since you are going forward you were able to obtain an adjustment in the zoning to allow the building …or is this a different project?

[Equibrit]

Nature will naturally vent a building through any opening in the roof.

[clanter]

Signing the contract on Wednesday next week!

is there a completion date in the contract?

if there is any fill that is being hauled in such as base or what ever, make sure they produce haul bills, theses will have the weights of the material your are being billed for

[Bluey]

I would have a contract attorney, a real estate attorney, someone like that read your contract and make suggestions.
Taking what the company gives you to sign is not a good idea.
Their attorneys have prepared it and such contracts, perfectly legal as they are, will be in favor of and protecting the company.

Better get someone on your end double checking all that is in there, dates, penalties if they are not thru at end of date, liability coverage that also names you for all the work they do there, etc.

Just a good idea to always spend that bit up front on your own attorney before signing anything, or may be paying one later to fix any problems that may crop up.

[HappyTalk]

My Morton barn was built in 1998 and I have had absolutely no problems with it. I have the cupola with the exhaust fan and it does cool the barn down. I can sense the air movement when it is running. Very occasionally I will get some rain through it. I also have the glass doors and love them. They let so much light into the barn. I would build with Morton again. They got my barn up in nine days including site prep, tack room and stalls.

[King_s_Ransom]

Thank you HappyTalk. That sounds wonderful.

My business partner is an attorney, he reviews EVERYTHING before I sign it!

I have talked to the P&Z folks at the county twice. I have a verbal go-ahead. Morton sales rep will take the drawings up before having the architect’s drawings to talk to them himself. He knows the building inspector, he is going to try to avoid as many problems as he can.

Of course, the bottom line is that you have to submit the stamped, engineered drawings and site plan before you know FOR SURE that you can start, but we have tried to cover the bases as well as we can.

[FreshAir]

Also make sure that you are getting a truly finished product. Everyone’s standard is different. I am paying a contractor now to finish the trim around windows and just make finishing touches on the barn that the builder didn’t do.

[HuntinQuarters]

I’m currently boarding in Morton barn with cupolas. We had a blizzard a couple weeks ago and no snow blew in. Also, my father bought a Morton building 8 years ago. He had a wonderful experience purchasing and getting it put up. He has had zero issues with it since, and loves it! I don’t think you will regret picking Morton for even a minute.