Morton Buildings

[Harold]

Has anyone used Morton Buildings to build a barn and indoor?

I'd love to hear any and all impressions either by PM or on this thread.
Thanks!

[Bluey]

Around here, Morton farm type buildings are very nice ones and there are many of them around.:yes:

I still would, if building today, go all metal.
Don't let anyone tell you their wood is specially treated and last as long as metal etc. It really doesn't.

Now, maybe Morton also builds all metal, but the ones I have seen were framed with wood and metal clad.

They sure have some beautiful pictures of horse barns in their ads.:)

[MunchkinsMom]

Years ago I boarded at a place with a HUGE Morton barn/indoor arena, it was fabulous. They spared no expense in designing/building the place, we called it the Horsey Hilton.

The owner was a home builder, and he said it was well worth the money to have them do it.

[Zu Zu]

Yes, I have used Morton to build a large run-in shed as well as make modifications (2 stalls added and second tackroom) on our stall barn in the Fall '06. While the final results are fine - look good and are functional - I must Caution you that they are carpenters/builders and the crews do not know the requirements for horses in spite of what the salesman says. And BEWARE that salesman who say HE KNOWS AND WILL MAKE SURE IT IS DONE RIGHT >>> DOES NOT KNOW!!! The product is top of the line and the workmanship excellent but for example preparing stalls for interlocking mats - NOT A CLUE!!! Get everything in writing and on the contract -and in spite of the economy they are not fast - and will require you to be Pro~active to make sure thier final product is FUNCTIONAL & SAFE for horses. ****Remember a Fish Salesman is not going to tell you his product stinks! We have recently built an indoor and DID NOT use Morton AGAIN!!! Thank God I have been in the horse business all my life ~ otherwise I would have serveral WHITE ELEPHANTS on my property.Be glad to help you in any way I can. GOOD-LUCK!!!!

[tobruk]

They have a number of very fine facilities in the east TN area. Some are very large show facilities and very fancy, all well done. A lot of custom work on one of them in particular. They use their own crews and seem to do an excellent job.

[Sakura Hill Farm]

We built a Morton barn when we arrived in Florida, largely because of their excellent reputation and because, having just retired, I did not want to have to deal with sub- contractors and no shows and failure to perform, etc. etc.

The barn is super. The fencing that they contracted to put in is lousy, and the concrete was not poured according to my very precise instructions in one section of the barn. Otherwise, we are happy. But MAN was it expensive! I laugh and say that I built a barn for the north to protect against blizzards--I should have built a pole barn. The Morton barn will be here forever, I am sure, long after I am gone.:yes:

[fivehorses]

Although morton is a national company, I have found very different professionalism, quality, etc depending on location.

I tired getting a quote from morton for a barn in Aiken, and couldn't even get the salesman to return my call. I called twice, and spoke to him once!
So, obviously not for me.

Now in NYS, they were super.

[goodhors]

Everything I have ever seen and heard about Morton barns is terrific. They have superior warrenty and do stand behind the product if you need repairs. I know they repaired a number of barns when the hurricanes hit in the last couple years, no cost to the barn owners.

Up here in the north, extreme snow-loads on roofs were replaced when the small storage buildings caved in. We are talking 4ft or more of snow on the roof, no complaints, prompt service. No Morton horse barn or arena problems, though other arenas by other builders DID cave under the loads.

Last I heard, the metal of Morton barns is warrantied for 10 years against rust. I know people who bought the farms with Morton buildings already on them, called on some problems, had Morton repair them for no charge. Could be 2nd or 3rd owner after barn was built, still no problem repairing it.

You do pay a higher price for such warrenties. Quotes on Morton barns always come in higher than other builders, but cover a lot more details. Read what you get, what is covered, before signing any contracts. Even really old barns, 20+yrs, Morton built, still have all the parts working well. Good solid buildings, with components that are superior quality.

Sorry to hear about the salesman that didn't know his horse stuff. Around here we have a lot of Morton horse barns, so maybe our builders are more educated about horses. There are some EXTREMELY nice setups across the state, all custom work. Morton works hard to make the customer happy.

I drool over Morton barns, would have everything Morton if I could afford it!!

Any complaints should be taken to their main office in Illinois. Give them a call if the local office doesn't make you happy.

[HappyTalk]

I had my Morton built 11 years ago. I would not change a thing!! The workmanship was great and they erected it in 9 days. It has shingle roof. They have a wide variety of options to choose from. The salesman was great. We changed the design/feature 3 times prior to starting and they were very patient with us. Mine is a six stall, 24 x 12 feed/tack room with a half loft.

[dmalbone]

Although I do think they're pretty, they are MUCH more expensive than other pole barn companies in my area. In my experience they were very overpriced. We got an abnormally good deal on ours, but Morton was way more than the average cost quoted (and we got LOTS of quotes). I could find no advantage to their metals, wood, etc. that others were lacking. If they were competitively priced, sure... but it seemed like you were paying for the name.

We personally did not want all steel. We didn't want portable stalls and it just seemed like adding stalls and everyday things were a PITA because there was nothing to just nail onto/screw into.

[sid]

Haven't read all the replies...but from my own experience:

After shopping, looking at and talking to those who were building horse structures (lucky...lots of them here in the heart of VA house country), I did choose Morton despite the higher price. I was building for longevity, minimal maintenance.

They did not fail me. Superb construction, very knowledgeable about all the safety issues and things horses can do to a stucture OVER TIME.

17 years later, I am still very happy with my decision. The structure has been practially maintenace free and on top of that, their warranties are so good, when something is amiss they come out and fix it at no charge.

As a single woman, running this farm as such for a couple of decades, Morton has made my life a whole lot easier and the price I paid has recovered itself many time over because they back up their product at no charge.

[MistyBlue]

Expensive as hell, but built beautifully and very well. :yes:

Could you get as well built and nice from other builders? Yes. But with Morton you *know* it will come out structurally great and lovely due to years and years of experience and excellent reviews from happy owners.

With some research and visits to previous customers you can find others who will save you some money and be just as nice, but I'd do the research first to be sure.

[JanWeber]

We have a Morton barn on the property that was built in the 1970's. When we bought the farm and had the home inspection, we asked the inspector to check out the barn as well. His comment afterwards was that the barn would outlast all of us...

[YankeeLawyer]

I have a Morton; I love it and found them to be excellent to work with. We did not build it from scratch but had Morton do significant modifications to an existing Morton barn (built by prior owners) so that it would suit our needs. They provide an itemized estimate down to the last nut and bolt and the price quoted is the real price - not a teaser price with surprises later, as we experienced with several other contractors in the course of doing a lot of work on our property. Morton has everything down to a T - they even have special equipment designed especially for their building components. They arrive when they are supposed to and finish on time. And they leave the property in better shape than it was in when they start - unlike many contractors who leave the homeowner with a big mess and all kinds of construction debris.

I love the barn. I highly recommend that you opt for the insulated roof - it keeps the barn MUCH cooler in summer and warmer in winter. We also have cupolas with Morton fans inside - I recommend multiple cupolas with fans (2 or 3) for the bigger barns. Our barn is 76 feet long and only has 1 cupola, but I wish we had 3. The Morton barns also age very well. Ours is now 7 years old and still looks brand new. That is not true of many other barns.

That said, my favorite barn builder is King Construction. But they are very expensive.

[Harold]

Very helpful, everyone - thanks! Any other experiences, feel free to chime in.

[Tangerine Farmer]

My friend has one, and it happily withstood an F3 tornado. Her house lost the roof and is a wreck. She loves her barn!

[bludejavu]

We have a 12 stall pole barn that Morton completely retrofitted for us 12 years ago. At the same time, we had them attach a 50 x 50 enclosed lunge arena at one end. 10 years ago we had them build us a 60 x 60 hay barn. 4 years ago we had them add an addition on one side of the hay barn to house 4 broodmare stalls and a feed/storage room. 3 years ago we had them build an 8 stall horse barn. Do we like Morton - you betcha!!! We even bought matching roofing from them for our own house and guest cabin and if we build anything else for our horses or equipment - it will be Morton built - :sigh: - if we ever recover from this horrible economy that is - Morton is expensive.

We have a terrific relationship with the local sales manager, know quite a few of the local work crew and found all to be professional and knowledgeable. With the work that was done 12 years ago, it has truly withstood the test of time - no fading at all, no rusting, and the only dings in the metal have been done by our dingy horses getting a little to close and kicking the wainscote. We had a few minor communication problems here and there and they were resolved easily. I honestly cannot say enough good things about Morton!

ETA - I thought I saw where someone posted that it took time to get the work done and they really had to follow-up with the crew, but when I went back and reread, I couldn't find that post. At any rate, our buildings went up really fast. In fact, I was really surprised at how quick they were.

[bludejavu]

I love the barn. I highly recommend that you opt for the insulated roof - it keeps the barn MUCH cooler in summer and warmer in winter. We also have cupolas with Morton fans inside - I recommend multiple cupolas with fans (2 or 3) for the bigger barns. Our barn is 76 feet long and only has 1 cupola, but I wish we had 3. The Morton barns also age very well. Ours is now 7 years old and still looks brand new. That is not true of many other barns.

We had them put insulation in all barns except the first one that was retrofitted. Had I known how much difference insulation would make, it would have been put in our retrofitted barn as well. We did put up one cupola with a fan in the first barn and it wasn't enough for the size of the barn which is 78' X 120' long. We needed at least 3 cupolas as well so I have to agree with you.

Our retrofit that is 12 years old: http://www.horsegroomingsupplies.com/horse-forums/members/bludejavu-albums-farm++family-picture14213-spring-07-035.html

[Cincinnati]

Morton has VERY aesthetic looking buildings, I will give them that, but they are VERY expensive buildings.
We went with Cleary. Not sure if they are in your neck of the woods, but our experience with them was very good. Our small (42x60) barn went up in 4 days.
ALL building companies have their good/bad sides. You just have to shop around.

[tricolor]

I am thinking of building a four stall barn with tack and wash stall and an apartment above. I plan to talk with our local Morton person but wanted to know if anyone could give me a ballpark figure so I don't go into shock when I get the estimate.

[sid]

About 4 years ago, when I had to update my insurance coverage estimates for replacement costs, Morton gave me a quote of about $8K per stall. Of course, that's not the cost of the stall, but the entire building.

Regardless, I DO think you get what you pay for. Barns are "hard-use" structures. Horses can trash them, weather can also do the same. Wood rots, hinges for stalls come apart. The devil is in the details and quality of the materials and installation that count for the long haul housing horses.

I went with Morton after visiting and interviewing farms. The only manufacturer that received no complaints or disappointment was Morton. Bottom line, I went with them because their materials are SO good and their warranties are unheard of...and seeing how well these structures held up.

Hard to believe, but a few years ago (my big barn -- 12 stalls, feed room, tack room, apartment -- attached to a big indoor arena) I noticed some paint chips in the gardens underneath the eaves of the indoor after a big winter snow would slide off the roof. When I looked at the huge roof I really didn't see anything alarming, but it had to have come from the roof.

I never called Morton. Lo and behold, I got a letter from them telling me that the barns built in '93 and '94 barn were seeing roof paint deterioration. They insisted to come out and replace my entire roof, without my even asking. We're talking about a barn and indoor that has a roof dimension of 150' by 120'.

And Holy Moly - I have a whole new roof on a 14 year old barn! I this economy and with Morton's current prices, I'll bet that was a $50K job. Never cost me a dime.

I don't know that any other entity would be so forthcoming and concerned about the longevity of their product. Biting the bullet when I built my facility has paid off in lack of maintenance care and that kind of proactivity on their warranty -- even though I'm not the one who pursued it!

Hope this helps!

[pony4me]

Mine is about 18 years old and is holding up beautifully. Well worth the money. If I needed another barn built Morton would be my first choice, and it would be very, very difficult for me to consider another builder.

[SLW]

About 4 years ago, when I had to update my insurance coverage estimates for replacement costs, Morton gave me a quote of about $8K per stall. Of course, that's not the cost of the stall, but the entire building.

Regardless, I DO think you get what you pay for. Barns are "hard-use" structures. Horses can trash them, weather can also do the same. Wood rots, hinges for stalls come apart. The devil is in the details and quality of the materials and installation that count for the long haul housing horses.

I went with Morton after visiting and interviewing farms. The only manufacturer that received no complaints or disappointment was Morton. Bottom line, I went with them because their materials are SO good and their warranties are unheard of...and seeing how well these structures held up.

Hard to believe, but a few years ago (my big barn -- 12 stalls, feed room, tack room, apartment -- attached to a big indoor arena) I noticed some paint chips in the gardens underneath the eaves of the indoor after a big winter snow would slide off the roof. When I looked at the huge roof I really didn't see anything alarming, but it had to have come from the roof.

I never called Morton. Lo and behold, I got a letter from them telling me that the barns built in '93 and '94 barn were seeing roof paint deterioration. They insisted to come out and replace my entire roof, without my even asking. We're talking about a barn and indoor that has a roof dimension of 150' by 120'.

And Holy Moly - I have a whole new roof on a 14 year old barn! I this economy and with Morton's current prices, I'll bet that was a $50K job. Never cost me a dime.

I don't know that any other entity would be so forthcoming and concerned about the longevity of their product. Biting the bullet when I built my facility has paid off in lack of maintenance care and that kind of proactivity on their warranty -- even though I'm not the one who pursued it!

Hope this helps!

This is an impressive story about Morton. Congrats.

[Movin Artfully]

We have a Cedar/Stone Morton Barn built in 1992- 8 stall, 1 tack, 1 wash rack, heated/airconditioned lounge. It is built in hillside which makes for great temperature control, great hay/equipment storage above. LOVE it!

[lesson junkie]

I have a 3-stall Morton barn, with a center aisle and a feed room/tack room/wash rack on the other side. I love my barn. The only complaint I have is the design of the door hardware on the Dutch doors. They got torn up in a few years. I now have something more simple and harder to break.

[sid]

That's odd about your dutch doors. My barns were built in '93 and '94 and my dutch doors have held up very well. And 2 of my stallions are housed in stalls with the dutch doors where they can go in and out at will, be closed in, etc when they need to be stalled. If any creature can be unusually hard on a stall, it's a stallion in breeding season with the girlies wandering by...:lol:. No problems here.

[Edwardo321]

The salesmen are trained poorly.. . The territory managers especially in the midwest are nothing short of snake oil salesmen. excuses and blame on the corporate office is all I got. I had a problem with my salesman in Iowa and they just moved him to South Dakota. The guy tried giving me a better price on a building if I gave him my old pickup.. ??? The building showed up 3 weeks after the so called professional salesman ( with 3 ear rings in one ear) said it would. and the crew showed up 3 weeks after that. Building ended up pretty good. but was missing some of the things that the salesman promised. from what I understand it is par for the course with this company.

[bludejavu]

I'm sorry you had such a negative experience but I can say that it was not "par for the course" with the four times we have had Morton build out for us. If your problems were as severe as you describe, you should have contacted the corporate office and advised them of your problems. Morton is very concerned about their customer relations and goes the extra mile to make things right.

[Joshua's Mom]

My friend told me about another reason why she chose Morton. They have been building horse related buildings for so long that they also have experience in dealing with Township Building boards and have developoed a vocabulary that fits into building code requirements. Indoor arenas, that can be a problem, become "inclosed exercise area" much less objectionable to some townships.

[Eventer55]

When we built our house 2 years ago our builder also did the barn. He use to work for Morton, so our barn is what he built for Morton. I love the barn and it is built to over code, however I've never had a steel construction barn before and I'm not thrilled. One becasue it is very unforgiving, if you bang into it it leaves a dent you can see, wood is imperfect by nature and a dent can be filled and then painted or just painted. I like to hang things on the outside and you can't with metal.

I would get the roof insulated for noise reduction and use a builder who knows horses and barns if you don't go with a Morton contractor. I also got a center aisle hay loft and I love it. Oh we also built 2 run-in sheds and they are fantastic, but again metal outside and I can' t hang things up.

[Edwardo321]

Great Building... I was not complaining about it. I just got a kick out of the fact that they send out a "professional" salesman with 3 ear rings in one ear that tried to give me a discount if I gave him an old Chevy that I had sitting on my property. Made me wonder if he had padded the price first just to try to get something for free. Nothing that came out of this guys mouth was the truth. Still, I am happy with the finished product and it has held up nicely. just had a bad experience with the salesman.. My co-worker had a similar experience with him as well, almost ended up in court.