Wanting to getting bids on a shop and was curious on wood vs steel frame. Originally thinking steel, but I've heard/read that wood builders spec that wood shops can withstand gale force winds. Anyone have any experience with wood framed shops?

My barn is a pole barn, as is my medium sized well house, which also contains the wife’s gardening shop. Might sound crazy, but the pole barn’s wood framing allows me to drive nails to hang stuff and to attach shelves to.

If you plan to do a lot of welding/cutting/grinding I would go metal. Metal framed buildings can be built plenty stout. A wood frame might suit your needs better. Just build it to suit your needs.

Steel will not rot, will not be eaten by termites, and will not burn. Go look at my house build in the DIY.

More importantly, you can build the shop out of I-beam, and be able to free span from one side wall to the next. With a wood frame, truss shop, you will have a bottom cord. So the highest you can get in the center is whatever your side wall height is. My shop is a 40'W x 60'L x 16'T on a 4:12, so the peak is 22'8" from the floor. I-beam is not a lot more money in materials to build with, against steel trusses. The trusses cannot make a bay as large as beam can carry, so you end up with more columns on the side walls. On mine, there are columns and beams at 0, 20, 40, 60'. It would take some beefy trusses to be 20', and you're back a bottom cord in the way.

^^^
Clear span, #1 reason I went with metal on my shop and garage. Will go with metal on my new office too

Used metal on my shop for span and fire....

Our mueller metal building is wind rated to 110 or 120 mph.

Metal, it was cheaper than the quotes I was getting for wood framed. 30x40x14 with 4:12 roof. I was getting quotes of $80 square foot for wood framed, and I’ll be in the $45 square foot range with the metal.

Plus it’s free span, with 18’2” inside center height.

Yep, I hate trusses myself. You can get a good span out of I Beam, mine spans 80' with 18' walls and 3-12 pitch.

You can build a house for that much.
Mallett is doing 30x40x12 for $21k.

Yeah I was gonna say I got a quote recently for an 1800 sqft finished house with granite counters etc. for $105 a foot.

Might wanna talk to the 911 Commission about that...

I'm about to price a wood structure myself. Simply because I can do it myself.

I'd go with a clear span I beam if the prices were even close. But the whole wood Rots and gets termites deal is none issue. Termite treat just like you do your HOME. build a proper slab! If it rots when I'm dead... Ummm I don't care

Thought this was gonna be about shop classes in high school...

I don’t know who Mallett is, but Meuller quoted me $28,000 just for the building, and that wasn’t exactly how I wanted it.

Dirt was $5,000
Slab was $11,000 30x50 5 inches thick with 4,000psi concrete, 12x24 perimeter and middle beams.
Building for $28,000 custom built, no kit
3 roll up 12x12 doors
4 windows
Spray foam insulation
Brick wainscot
Cedar work on the porch

$45 a square foot seems like a good price to me

Metal...…….

Metal all the way. Did a 30x30 addition to my existing shop 2 years ago for a garage with 2 10" doors. So happy with the extra space. Concrete pricing is up paid $6.50 per square.

Metal. You can easily add to, and it won't necessarily rot.

And then you can wood frame inside if needed. Both of our shops are metal and have wooden framed offices inside.