Building to Store Round Bales

We have three choices so far:

1. A hoop barn by Quick cover. This is the cheapest and they look easy to put together. It is basically steel truss arches with a heavy tarp stretched over top. The tarp has a 15 year warranty, but it's pro-rated. I wonder how long they really last?

2. A wooden pole barn covered in metal. This is a little higher and would require lots more labor. The roofing would have a 20 year warranty. There is a wooden truss factory 3 miles away, so we would use them and have an open span. It would be easy to add additions in the future.

3. Steel truss barn. This is a little higher, but not as bad as I thought it would be if we build it ourselves. It has a 50 year warranty on trusses and 30 year on roofing. This one looks the strongest and you can buy additions that bolt on. Everything goes together with bolts and screws, so I think labor would be less than wood.

All opinions appreciated.

Quick Cover: $2.43 /ft^2
Wood Pole Barn: $2.66 /ft^2
Steel Truss: $3.63 /ft^2

The wood is the best buy material wise, but as I said stick building requires a lot more labor. We have thought about building a smaller steel truss building for now to meet our budget and then adding on in the future. You can add up to a 12 ft. shed on the sides that is just a bolt on overhang with no posts. That looks pretty neat.

You can always do the Cadillac install and have poored footings that can be used for a metal frame building in the future if you want. There are quite a few of those things in this area (southern Ontario Canada) and I haven't heard and horror stories about lost tarps and so on.

I guess the true answer is that you should evaluate what you are going to use it for. If you want machinery storage as well as hay than I would lean towards the builings, but if it is strickly Hay than Quick cover for my vote.

Just another opinion

--->Paul