I am interested in hearing from anybody who has converted a metal building (Butler, Heritage, Simpson, etc.) or a portion thereof into living quarters or an apartment-garage. Of particular interest is general comfort info, maintenance, longevity and temperature-humidity control.

I am considering erecting one to be used as a combination garage and apartment and would appreciate hearing of anyone's experience, either positive or negative.

-- Mike Rysner (rysnerm@megsinet.net), July 05, 2000

Answers

Mike we have an 11,000 sq. ft. metal building that we have 5 offices in it, plus storage & shop & business storage. It was built in the 6o's we have put on a new roof, painted the outside, we have central heat & air in the offices. We have 2-- 1,000 galon propane tanks. We have 4 loading docks 6 over head doors, & a ramp inside. It was a manufacturing plant & went out of business the buildings had been empty for a number of years when we bought it. It has 2 bathroom in it. And this last winter here in Ks. I didn't heat any of it, & none of my pipes froze or any paint or anything else I had stored in it! I once had a business open to the public in this building--but now it is private & not open to the public. We have cement floors, & what walls are not metal are rock. These office spaces could very easily be converted to living quarters, or rented as sleeping rooms for fishermen as the river is across the street from them! These were 4 buildings when we started--so we had 4 roof lines--we have put on a new roof but still have problems in 2 places with leaking-but this is in a storage area that doesn't effect anything. The office areas are insulated, with attic storage above them, with pull down ladders.We also have large windows in the office areas, that let in a lot of light & part of them can be opened to move air. We love our warehouse! If we had not already had our home we I'm sure would have converted these office areas to living for us. Sonda in Ks.

-- Sonda (sgbruce@birch.net), July 05, 2000.

Most of the enclosed metal buildings I've been around have either been really large (one was a barn sized building for storing round bales, the 2nd was used as a shop and had 2 floors and several rooms on one end - the other end was a bay for working on equipment) or really small (8x10 ~ 12x14) storage sheds. Seems to me the smaller buildings get HOT if they aren't in the shade. Bigger buildings seemed to stay cooler - probably 'cause the hot air had someplace to rise to. I wouldn't hesitate, and go for it. Worst case, build your rooms inside, and install a power gable vent in one end and exhaust the hot air from above the rooms.

-- Eric in TN (ems@nac.net), July 05, 2000.

Mike, we are considering the same thing, except we are thinking of the metal building providing the "dormitory" area (bedrooms, bathrooms), garage, and utility room then later adding on a prettier front area for the real kitchen and living room with whole wall of windows to look over our lake. We can't seem to find any real info here in the south (MS) and need to know how the two materials (metal and wood) would be connected. Also, it'd be nice to know a few other things, so if you happen to find anything out, please feel free to write us at our email! We'll do the same!

-- Sonya (msmenagerie@yahoo.com), July 05, 2000.

I am not sure how helpful this info will be, but I know of two people that used part of a metal shed as living space. The one said that they insulated the walls the depth of the poles(which is something like 10inches) and he said that in the winter they didnt get below freezing without the heat. They had a woodstove, but they couldnt burn it too hot or it would get too warm. This was in Kansas so it is normally warmer than here in Wisconsin anyway. The other person had kitchen/bath on lower level then built a loft for a bedroom/livingroom. When we visited (in Missouri in the summer) they had the AC running so it wasnt hot then. I dont know how much trouble it would be otherwise. The one thing that I particularly noticed was that neither of these had many windows. Part being that one full wall was shared with the garage space and couldnt have windows. I love lots of sunshine and couldnt stand to have rooms without windows. It would be something that I would give lots of thought to in the planning stage. Good luck, Tami in WI

-- Tami Bowser (windridg@chorus.net), July 06, 2000.