Prebuilt Amish lofted barns

[Bill Jobe]

Has anyone purchased a shed from Countryside lofted barns? If so were you pleased with their product?
I'm leaning heavily to one of their barns to use as a workshop. Although I am 10 miles beyond their free delivery of 100miles, they said they would deliver and set it up free of charge.
Here's the one I like.

Anyone familiar with them? They are in Eurika,I'll.. I do not care for the regular barn look of most with the cross pieces on the doors. I like it plain and simple....understated.
A twelve by 20 is what I'm looking at. The distance between my privacy fence and the house is just over 13', ruling out anything wider.
With all the options I want the price comes out to be about 6K.
My only dislike is even with higher sidewalls head clearance is just 7 inches since I'm 6'.
I would like very much to hear back from anyone who has dealt with them. I plan to drive down and look at their process soon. Their heavy duty floor uses 16" on center joices and 3/4 plywood.
I can buy one locally for about the same price, but I like the look of Countryside.
Also, I have spoken to a guy who will come in and lay down gravel and compact it level, but Countryside preferred you do not compact the gravel, making it easier for the setup crew to get it level, but I'm thinking about laying down a few inches, compacting that then several more inches without compacting.

Thoughts? Suggestions?
I'm not sure but I think I already started a thread of this same subject. If so, I'm sorry. Perhaps the mods could merge them?

[Matt Day]

The ceiling (rafters?) is at 6'7"? That is low. I've got a basement shop at about 7' and it is a pain. If there's anyway to get more headroom, go for it.

[Bill Jobe]

That's the head room at the lofted ends.

[Jim Becker]

A twelve by 20 is what I'm looking at. The distance between my privacy fence and the house is just over 13', ruling out anything wider.

Before you do anything, be sure you check on setback requirements for the jurisdiction where you live. You may or may not be able to install that building in the space between your home and the fence, unless you're just indicating that's the space you have to get the building past the house and into the back yard somewhere...and you'll want to be clear on the setback requirements anyway regardless of where you're putting it.

[John K Jordan]

Before you do anything, be sure you check on setback requirements for the jurisdiction where you live. You may or may not be able to install that building in the space between your home and the fence, unless you're just indicating that's the space you have to get the building past the house and into the back yard somewhere...and you'll want to be clear on the setback requirements anyway regardless of where you're putting it.

Bill,

Setback here is 30' from the front property line (the road) and 10' from other lines. The county codes enforcement doesn't care if it is a permanent structure or a portable. (There is an exception for parking a semi trailer if it still has the wheels, license plate, and insurance.) I had to do a LOT of dirt work to set a 40' shipping container on a corner of the property for hay storage.

I don't much like the idea of not compacting. It may make it easier for them to shuffle the gravel a bit to get the level bubble in the middle before they leave but how much will it settle in the next few months? I always spread gravel, compact with the bobcat, then drag smooth with the tractor bucket. I make the pad 8-10' wider than the building for entry space and to spray to keep the weeds down. I put in a 10x20 Amish-built a few weeks ago like this and the driver loved the surface. Most of the time they are putting block on dirt and usually on a hill. I've done this with two other portables here on the farm, an 8x45 semi trailer box and the 8x40 shipping container and I can detect no settling after 8-10 years. BTW, around here the setup "crew" is always one guy.

One of my portables is the barn design and the headroom under the lofts is in fact pretty low. I'm 6' (or I used to be before I shrunk a little) and wished it were higher. Another one with conventional gable roof has more headroom even with an insulated ceiling. One option might be to remove the loft on the end with the big door to give more overhead clearance. The loft storage space is nice but for a shop I'd rather have the headroom. To help make up for the lost storage maybe you could double up on the other loft by adding a second platform. In fact if it is like the Amish companies that build them around here, they might be willing to build it that way for no extra charge. (Removing the loft may require structural reinforcement across the width just above the end door - they would know.)

Sorry, I don't have any experience with that company. However everything I've bought made by the Amish has been very well built, even my mini-donkey cart.

JKJ

[Ed Aumiller]

They will probably only have a small charge to give you 8-9' of headroom and it will be well worth it... ask them before purchasing....

[Bill Jobe]

Just rechecked the head space and it's 80.5" or 6'8.5". Still it makes me feel the need to duck. That's at an additional charge of 5%, for just 4 more inches. That company told me that's as high as they go.
The part about the lack of a loft affecting rigidity was something I had not thought of. Perhaps I should be looking at a gable roof instead. Then I could build storage shelves on one end and enjoy the extra head room on the other.

As for setback, city codes are 10' from rear and 5' from side. That's eating at me because I have a neighbor behind me with a shed 18" from my fence, which I set 2" inside the property line. The neighbor beside me has a shed right on the rear property line and less than 5' from my property.
Shows you what can happen over the years with inspectors coming and going.
When I first spoke with the inspector I was figuring on pouring a slab and building, but that went out the window when I found out the cost of concrete. So I contacted him again about the prebuilt...whether or not I had to follow code setback and he told me I could probably set it closer to the back if i wanted to drag it out of the way in case the utility company needed through, but then he added " but you're going to run power,so...".
And, contrary to what the local company told me, any shed in excess of 12' requires a permit.

And I only have to clear the 13' between the house and fence. The shed's going farther back.

As for the gravel, i'm giving thought to having several inches compacted and maybe a couple of inches on top left uncompacted. The idea of it settling without any compacting has me uneasy.
Sound like a practical compromise?
Anyway, by tossing out a gambrel roof , the local company has what I would probably want. I chose Countryside Barns because they make one with a gambrel roof that doesn't look corny. I'm just not a fan of "the country look".
And they encouraged me to compact.

[Bill Jobe]

Oh, yeah. Gable roof gets you 8' sidewalls for less money. Now if I can just get them to put the double door on the end and a walk-in on the side....

[John K Jordan]

Oh, yeah. Gable roof gets you 8' sidewalls for less money. Now if I can just get them to put the double door on the end and a walk-in on the side....

If you are handy with tools and have some time you could build one exactly as the Amish model and save some money. Just look under and inside one and see how it's made. I believe they make these on a big jig so their assembly is very efficient but your labor costs would be zero. We built a 12x20 horse shelter on skids so I could drag it around and it didn't take long. I built a 12x24 peacock house and it took longer with posts in the ground and concrete floor; it took longer and cost more but it wasn't unreasonable - certainly cheaper than some of the well-made portable buildings I priced. A portable building the size you mention could be built by one person with an occasional helper if needed. You could then put the doors and windows exactly where you wanted them.

I wouldn't worry too much about the power if I had to move it out of the way for the utility company some day. I probably wouldn't even tell them and just add power later then temporarily disconnect if needed, but I don't know how nosy and strict your code enforcement department is. Around here they never go looking for violations but only check if they get a citizen complaint. A far bigger problem than disconnecting the power might be trying to drag a portable building that size if loaded with tools and wood! It might need to be emptied first unless you used rollers rather than dragging on skids. Keep in mind that dragging it in anything but a straight line might be difficult and chew up the ground a lot - I moved my horse shelter across the field by dragging in huge arcs. And if your's is at the back of the lot and you drag it away from a fence you might have trouble dragging it back into place. It might be easier to hire the guy who hauled it in to pick it up and move it, then move it back.

But what are the chances of the utility company needing to access a right of way? I once built an extension on our house and 100 sq ft of deck all cut at a 17-deg angle to miss a sewer line easement JUST IN CASE the utility company had to access it. 35 years later the ground was still untouched.

JKJ

[Jerome Stanek]

In our area a free standing building can be put right on the property line as long as the building can be moved it is not a permanent structure

[Bill Jobe]

Yes, and I built my privacy fence right on the property line and set them in concrete 30" down. But, like I said, inspectors come and go. This one is right on the ball.

[Bill McNiel]

Just rechecked the head space and it's 80.5" or 6'8.5". Still it makes me feel the need to duck. That's at an additional charge of 5%, for just 4 more inches. That company told me that's as high as they go.

Bill,
I strongly suggest you try spending some time in a space with that limited headroom. I don't think you will be at all happy.