Morton Buildings

[wsmoak]

Has anyone worked with Morton Buildings recently?

We are considering a house + shop and they have experience with exactly that:

Branson

I get that they are general contractors and the final experience will depend on who they get as subs. What is their reputation like these days as far as actually communicating requirements to their subs and making sure the job is done correctly?

(We’ve had endless trouble with a roofing contractor not wanting to pay market rates so their subcontractors cut corners or just refuse to come back for warranty work. I would really like to avoid that kind of thing happening with an entire house build.)

[trubandloki]

My experience ending at the quote phase.

We provided them with a sketch of what we wanted. It was clear enough that a couple of other builders easily gave us pricing of what we wanted and some of them added options to save some money or add features.
Morton gave us a price and in reading the price it was not what we had on our sketch but clearly what they wanted to build. When we asked why even the foot print of the barn and the stall layout were not what we had given them, they really had no answer other than they felt this would work better.
Their price was literally twice what the next lower price was.

We chose a different company.

[Bluey]

@trubandloki

My experience ending at the quote phase.

We provided them with a sketch of what we wanted. It was clear enough that a couple of other builders easily gave us pricing of what we wanted and some of them added options to save some money or add features.
Morton gave us a price and in reading the price it was not what we had on our sketch but clearly what they wanted to build. When we asked why even the foot print of the barn and the stall layout were not what we had given them, they really had no answer other than they felt this would work better.
Their price was literally twice what the next lower price was.

We chose a different company.

Exactly our experience with them decades ago.
Guess it works for them, go figure.
I am sure they build a nice barn, but if it is not what you want … crazy business model.

[gradytb]

I built a Morton barn four years ago and had a very good experience. I LOVE m y barn and actually am contemplating a move and would rebuild the exact same barn again with them in the new state. The crew that put it up was fabulous—they worked their butts off. My neighbor is currently building a Morton barn with living quarters—I’ve not talked to her lately to see how it’s going. The performance might vary by area. Seems the reps are very stretched, at least in TX. But for the finished product, it’s great. They built exactly what I wanted.

[js]

Our experience with Morton also ended at the quote and much was left out that would have been additional expenses, like a tack room, feed room, electric etc. We went with a different company, got a completely finished barn with custom stalls, a finished tack room with cabinets and sink, T&G ceiling, the feed room was finished out like the tack room, electric and plumbing also done and built to FL hurricane standards. Cost was less than the Morton would have cost.

If you don’t have a budget, Morton builds a great barn that will last but other companies do also and may cost less.

[wsmoak]

I’m not planning on a super custom anything. Their 1800 square foot floor plan is fine. I just need a rectangle shaped house with a roof that does not leak.

This is the downsizing so the budget should be there from selling the farm. Not unlimited, but I want high quality and low maintenance, with a warranty.

This area has carpenter bees and if I never have to deal with the wildlife trying to eat my house again, that would be nice! The all metal exterior is appealing for that reason.

@gradytb if you happen to talk to your neighbor please ask if they have any advice!

[Dressurfrau]

Hi trubandloki, which company did you go with?
THx.

[trubandloki]

We ended up using a Mennonite builder. I don’t remember the name of them.

[Dressurfrau]

Thx!