Morton Building Project - NH

[Plant 175]

BX is that all you use to power that building ?

 

[River19]

It’s 24’x24’x10’ with a 6’ porch. The doors are 8’x9’ and 12’x9’. I would have liked to have gone 24’x32’ but there’s a perimeter drain for my septic system about 6’-8’ out from the doors. I hooked up a 200W solar setup with 12V lights and to run an inverter for 120v power. My other Morton building is visible in the background. View attachment 80813 View attachment 80814

Perfect,

I didn't mention it, but I am planning a stand alone solar setup for my building as well. Might pick your brain there a bit. Concurrently we are having a 16kWh setup installed for the house but I don't want to deal with additional trenching etc for this building so I will do stand alone with a battery.

I'm thinking through the largest draw I would put on that system and I think I might need it to be able to run a medium sized compressor for tires etc.

 

[BXHoosier]

BX is that all you use to power that building ?

Yes. I don’t do much work in there. I just need enough power to run the lights, a fan on the porch, and to occasionally run my pancake compressor to air up tires. I’ve also used it to run a battery charger. When I was building the patio, I used a 7 Amp angle grinder to cut the curve on the blocks. It ran for about 1-1/2 to 2 hrs before the battery (deep cycle marine) ran down enough to shut the inverter down due to low voltage. Additional batteries would have obviously extended the run time.
This was my first time messing with solar power so I did a lot of research before I bought anything.

 

[BXHoosier]

Perfect,

I didn't mention it, but I am planning a stand alone solar setup for my building as well. Might pick your brain there a bit. Concurrently we are having a 16kWh setup installed for the house but I don't want to deal with additional trenching etc for this building so I will do stand alone with a battery.

I'm thinking through the largest draw I would put on that system and I think I might need it to be able to run a medium sized compressor for tires etc.

Feel free to ask questions and I’ll try to answer them. I don’t claim to be even close to an expert when it comes to solar power. I knew basically nothing about it before this project. I just did a lot of research online and talked with a coworker who knows about solar.

My setup is:

Renogy 200W premium package with mono crystalline panels, 20 amp Rover charge controller and bluetooth module

Square D breaker box with QO series breakers
They are rated for up to 48V DC whereas other breakers only work with AC voltage. Way cheaper than special “solar breakers”

Duracell Group 27 deep cycle marine battery

BCI 2000W running/ 4000W peak pure sine wave inverter. Pure sine is more expensive but it is cleaner power than modified sine wave.

The lights are 6 x 60W equivalent A base 12V LED RV bulbs in porcelain bases that are wired to the breaker box with 14-2 Romex. If some day I run power from the house, all I have to do is change out to 120V bulbs.

The panel mount was built to allow easy adjustment of panel angle between summer and winter.

 

[River19]

Quick "update" on progress so far......

Met with my site work guy today, worked with him before so I trust him and I know he and his crew will do a great job. Plus they actually built our house and did all the original drainage etc for the property so they know it well.

It will need lots of Fill and then a good amount of gravel for the new driveway area to access the building.

Site work will most likely come in at about $8K for what will turn out to be about a 45'x45' pad.......while the building is 24x32 the Morton team needs 10-12' around the perimeter for equipment during the build.

Got my "tree guy" coming over in the next few days to take a look at what needs to come down.

I have a feeling the Kubota will get a workout cleaning up the trees.........

 

[River19]

2nd Quick Update:

My "tree guy" came out this week to take a look at the job. The primary tree is a large pine that looks to be about 100' trunk diameter is over 36", there are also a handful of "lesser" trees with 10-14" diameter trunks. Looks like just over $1K should get things done.

He'll climb the large tree and top it then drop it in 10-12' sections. He is going to take the larger pine away for me as there is a local guy that will saw it up for rough boards. With fuel prices today most small sawmill guys are very picky with how far they drive to get wood etc.

So, I am trying to keep this project at ~$50K all in for everything and so far we are right on that target. We shall see how it all comes together........

Need to start the trees ASAP as the Morton rep called and they seem to want to move my project up......which is great, if the site was ready lol

 

[River19]

"Tree Guy" started with the biggest tree yesterday. Was a bit of a beast to ge the logs out and loaded. We ended up using my snatch block with his long line and truck to "yard" the logs to where they could be grabbed and loaded by the rig.

Too bad no one had a sawmill ready to take these logs as they were beautiful pine with tight grain. They were donated to the local volunteer fire dept as they chop and split pine to sell for the local campground to raise money for the dept.

When Matt climbed the large tree he got up top and shouted down to myself and his wife (his spotter) "this is a pretty funky tree"......as it leaned in 3 different directions over the course of the trunk.

More cleanup then dropping the smaller trees next week.

Morton called and wants to put me on scheduled mid July which means a Mid August Build, which is awesome.

 

[River19]

So in the never ending red tape of the People Republic of NH here is an update:

I submitted my permit application and site plan and the engineered plans from Morton with a nice bulleted summary in professional form without any curse words.......dropped that off about 12 days ago. I sent an email to "the guy" today. Replied that things look ok with the exception of the gravel floor and that "garages require a concrete floor by code"...........

So, now I am seething inside as I can't get clarity on what he is thinking until tomorrow but.......no where in my application was the word "garage" used. It is a Pole Barn/Equipment shed. Knowing there are several indoor horse arenas in town which are nothing but large pole barns with dirt footing (GGT usually) not to mention every other actual "barn" and "equipment shed" in NH with a dirt or gravel floor. Would I eventually like cement? Sure......but not at today's prices of $15k+ for my slab......

There is always red tape.

 

[River19]

So might as well update things......

The BI is still in "nice" mode so far via email at this point. I politely asked for the language he was referencing as I was "confused".

SECTION R309 GARAGES AND CARPORTS
R309.1 Floor surface. Garage floor surfaces shall be of approved noncombustible material.
The area of floor used for parking of automobiles or other vehicles shall be sloped to facilitate the movement of liquids to a drain or toward the main vehicle entry doorway.
R309.2 Carports. Carports shall be open on not less than two sides. Carport floor surfaces shall be of approved noncombustible material. Carports not open on two or more sides shall be considered to be a garage and shall comply with the provisions of this section for garages.
The area of floor used for parking of automobiles or other vehicles shall be sloped to facilitate the movement of liquids to a drain or toward the main vehicle entry doorway.
Exception: Asphalt surfaces shall be permitted at ground level in carports.

So I again politely pushed back with whether crushed asphalt/stone is an approved non-combustible material. As far as I know stone is non-combustible. To his credit he said the interpretation he was taught was cement only but he was looking into it to see if other things are acceptable. I met him halfway and told him I was looking for cement quotes. Meanwhile, I contacted my Morton dude and he said it is easy as heck to pour a cement floor after the building is built as the bottom frame acts as the cement form. He though cement would be $4-6K and offered to get me some cement guy numbers........so there is that. First tire kicking ball park quotes a while back were in the 5 figures.......so......

Every conversation is "incremental progress" through the red tape........trying to stay positive.

 

[trueg50]

Thanks for the update, we are all rooting for you!

 

[River19]

Well, Just heard back from the BI.

Cement it is.........

So, while I am sure I can stomp my feet and possibly make a great case for machine shed etc. I would be swimming uphill against a significant current. Not to mention I have other projects in the pipeline that will need to go through him and I have gotten enough cease and desist orders in MA to know what PITA a pissed off BI can be. Even if I "win" do I really "win" in the long run? Probably not.

So, in compromise I told him this wasn't a hill I was going to die on, but I would like him to be flexible if I "phase" this build. With Phase 1 being site work and the building erection and Phase 2 will be pouring the floor which may come weeks or months later depending on contractor availability as well as cost/funds.

At the end of the day, I would honestly prefer concrete but it was a cost issue........still is, but my budget is self set not necessarily the end of what I can do if need be. I just didn't want a $70K building with only 768 sq ft......

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

Well, Just heard back from the BI.

Cement it is.........

So, while I am sure I can stomp my feet and possibly make a great case for machine shed etc. I would be swimming uphill against a significant current. Not to mention I have other projects in the pipeline that will need to go through him and I have gotten enough cease and desist orders in MA to know what PITA a pissed off BI can be. Even if I "win" do I really "win" in the long run? Probably not.

So, in compromise I told him this wasn't a hill I was going to die on, but I would like him to be flexible if I "phase" this build. With Phase 1 being site work and the building erection and Phase 2 will be pouring the floor which may come weeks or months later depending on contractor availability as well as cost/funds.

At the end of the day, I would honestly prefer concrete but it was a cost issue........still is, but my budget is self set not necessarily the end of what I can do if need be. I just didn't want a $70K building with only 768 sq ft......

My experience with Morton is they build a great building. After your walkthrough and they hand you the keys and you want to roll something on a dolly, maybe the cement $$ won’t sting so much. Your compromise with the BI is going to yield you a better Building you may be happier with

 

[fried1765]

Well, Just heard back from the BI.

Cement it is.........

So, while I am sure I can stomp my feet and possibly make a great case for machine shed etc. I would be swimming uphill against a significant current. Not to mention I have other projects in the pipeline that will need to go through him and I have gotten enough cease and desist orders in MA to know what PITA a pissed off BI can be. Even if I "win" do I really "win" in the long run? Probably not.

So, in compromise I told him this wasn't a hill I was going to die on, but I would like him to be flexible if I "phase" this build. With Phase 1 being site work and the building erection and Phase 2 will be pouring the floor which may come weeks or months later depending on contractor availability as well as cost/funds.

At the end of the day, I would honestly prefer concrete but it was a cost issue........still is, but my budget is self set not necessarily the end of what I can do if need be. I just didn't want a $70K building with only 768 sq ft......

My 36 x 48 Morton building is now 38 years old.
I am still delighted with it!
Cost me $10K (no floor) in 1984.

 

[River19]

OK to close out the "Red Tape" portion of this saga:

I got the email from the BI yesterday with the approval of my Building Permit with the specification of the cement floor.

For the permit I owe the town $230 which I need to go pay to get the actual permit.

I spoke to my site work guy and gave him the "OK" to begin work whenever he can with the one change of needing to compact the layers in 1' lifts to stabilize for the future slab.

I'm also still waiting to hear back from a cement company.

Now I need to also reach back out to my solar company to change the plan with 50% of the panels being mounted on the Morton roof and the other 50% on a ground array.

Something will get built eventually.......

 

[#40Fan]

If you have the room for it, I'd leave all of the panels on the ground. Ease of maintenance and no extra holes in your new roof.

If you can swing it, an adjustable rack that will allow you to change the angle of the panels throughout the year will greatly improve your efficiency.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

wow, one foot lifts ! I've always done 4 - 6 inches and heavily tamped.
new thing here is HPB ( High performance Base ) which is really a fancy phrase for 3/8" clear stone.....

BTW you've never seen 'red tape' until you TRY to deal with the City of Hamilton Building Department. What should and could be dealt with in days takes months if not YEARS ! Huge housing crisis,yes 1000s of 'units' are delayed for unknown reasons. Rework of a MAJOR mountain access has taken 4-5 years ( less than 2 miles). My Uncle Bob( yes, I did have one) worked on the Alaskan Highway...2000 miles long, DONE in 8 months. Times have changed.......NOT for the better.

So.... any chance you want to put PEX into the concrete floor for future heating ? I was going to but contractors are soo busy, they won't even quote on my 2 story garage refurb that I'm prepared to put $75K into. Oh well.....

 

[fried1765]

wow, one foot lifts ! I've always done 4 - 6 inches and heavily tamped.
new thing here is HPB ( High performance Base ) which is really a fancy phrase for 3/8" clear stone.....

BTW you've never seen 'red tape' until you TRY to deal with the City of Hamilton Building Department. What should and could be dealt with in days takes months if not YEARS ! Huge housing crisis,yes 1000s of 'units' are delayed for unknown reasons. Rework of a MAJOR mountain access has taken 4-5 years ( less than 2 miles). My Uncle Bob( yes, I did have one) worked on the Alaskan Highway...2000 miles long, DONE in 8 months. Times have changed.......NOT for the better.

So.... any chance you want to put PEX into the concrete floor for future heating ? I was going to but contractors are soo busy, they won't even quote on my 2 story garage refurb that I'm prepared to put $75K into. Oh well.....
[/QUOTE}

Should be no surprise about the government "red tape".
It is Socialist Canada!
Farting permits will likely be required soon

 

[River19]

Site work has been going fairly well. Although I cringe every time another dump truck of clean fill comes in......lol $

Bringing things up to the driveway grade.

It will be nice to not see the neighbor's house at all once the building is up along with the solar and landscaping.......

 

[River19]

OK, time for an update. Building was delivered in September, and they just spent the past 4 business days assembling it. Everything is now done with the exception of the overhead door (next week) and pouring a cement floor in the Spring.

Very pleased with things, always want bigger but.......

 

[fried1765]

OK, time for an update. Building was delivered in September, and they just spent the past 4 business days assembling it. Everything is now done with the exception of the overhead door (next week) and pouring a cement floor in the Spring.

Very pleased with things, always want bigger but.......

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Congratulations!
Morton buildings are excellent!
My 36' x 48' Morton is now 38 years old, and still looking great!