What is the cheapest way to build an office builing?

[Irongrip400]

CMU, wood frame or steel building? Not looking at prefab, as I already have the slab.

Looking to build a cheap office building on a piece of property I have.  Looking at doing a two story, 65'x20' building with three units. So each will roughly be 850 square feet.  I already have the slab poured, and am now thinking about the cheapest way to build.  Not looking at fancy, just something to occupy one office possibly and rent the other two.

Mods, feel free to move to the Y board or General Topics once there ae a few real non trolling answers.

70's bodybuilders had day jobs n masonry and carpentry (BB related).

[SOMEPARTS]

Depends on permitting/zoning regs, climate, whether you are doing the work yourself, etc. Also, I would never do anything 2 story unless lack of land required it.

[Irongrip400]

Depends on permitting/zoning regs, climate, whether you are doing the work yourself, etc...

I most likely won't do any of the work other, than acting as the GC so to speak.  Temperate climate so I am figuring a one ton HVAC unit for each with some sort of split system to get he upstairs and down stairs.  No fancy kitchens or anything, just a bathroom in each unit on the first floor.  Permitting and zoning shouldn't be an issue, since I already have a slab in place and a building currently on it.  I may see if I can just pull some sort of "remodeling" permit.  Just looking for cheapest option out of the three listed.

[Dave D]

Build a pole barn and insulate it well.

[joswift]

with cheap labour and cheap materials..

[che]

CMU, wood frame or steel building? Not looking at prefab, as I already have the slab.

Looking to build a cheap office building on a piece of property I have.  Looking at doing a two story, 65'x20' building with three units. So each will roughly be 850 square feet.  I already have the slab poured, and am now thinking about the cheapest way to build.  Not looking at fancy, just something to occupy one office possibly and rent the other two.

Mods, feel free to move to the Y board or General Topics once there ae a few real non trolling answers.

70's bodybuilders had day jobs n masonry and carpentry (BB related).

Wood or steel frame would be the cheapest initially  but if you want something to last ,and save money in the long run  precast is the way to go , concrete is  the  best but way  too expensive.

I'm an Ironworker  , Chaos is a welder ,we'll do it for free .

[Irongrip400]

Wood or steel frame would be the cheapest initially  but if you want something to last ,and save money in the long run  precast is the way to go , concrete is  the  best but way  too expensive.

I'm an Ironworker  , Chaos is a welder ,we'll do it for free .

I’ve got a bunch of I beams and a few metal buildings laying around but don’t want to use those. I thought about a steel building with split face block as the facade but once I decided I wanted two floors I thought maybe I’d have to do pan decking/concrete for the second floor and that might be expensive. Not caring about the long run really, as this particular property won’t be worth a shit load no matter what I do. I don’t want to overbuild this lot with something expensive but if I can get 20 years out of it before it dies, that’s what I’m looking to do.

[che]

I’ve got a bunch of I beams and a few metal buildings laying around but don’t want to use those. I thought about a steel building with split face block as the facade but once I decided I wanted two floors I thought maybe I’d have to do pan decking/concrete for the second floor and that might be expensive. Not caring about the long run really, as this particular property won’t be worth a shit load no matter what I do. I don’t want to overbuild this lot with something expensive but if I can get 20 years out of it before it dies, that’s what I’m looking to do.

Wood would be the cheapest

[SOMEPARTS]

Permitting and zoning shouldn't be an issue, since I already have a slab in place and a building currently on it. 

Those could be famous last words, haha.

You'd be surprised what they can pull out on you if you let them know too much or they get a hard on for you.

Often commercial zoning is regulated by the state and not the county or township but it depends on location. If it's already zoned commercial you may be able to just do a remodel but to get 3 addresses will likely flag it as a new build. Assuming it is one unit of course.

[Tapeworm]

Commercial use probably has different building codes than residential. If all the commercial places around are tilt up slab there's going to be a good reason. There's probably some retarded fire rating required between units as well. However they commonly do it in your area is likely going to be the cheapest while being compliant.

Please tell me you have a floor plan and included piping in the slab.

[Irongrip400]

Commercial use probably has different building codes than residential. If all the commercial places around are tilt up slab there's going to be a good reason. There's probably some retarded fire rating required between units as well. However they commonly do it in your area is likely going to be the cheapest while being compliant.

Please tell me you have a floor plan and included piping in the slab.

I can just saw cut the slab for MEP as needed. I’ll head to zoning prior to doing anything to make sure I’m not going to do anything out of code. It’s small enough that I wouldn’t have to have fire suppression but I may have to have a fire wall in between but I’m not sure of that either since it’s not separate lot lines and there’s currently one meter for the electrical. From a few of the comments, it seems my hunch of wood construction is probably the best option. No fancy finishes, vinyl floor with cove base and some drywall. I’m thinking I can do this thing for under $50 square foot but I could be wrong once I start crunching numbers.

[LMV]

mud and shit

pooptastic and very sustainable

[funk51]

200 bucks tent, 4 x 8 piece of plywood=desk. cheap lawn chair. space heater you're in business.

[sync pulse]

One mistake that I see again and  again with small proprietors is that they neglect to make provisions to easily install/modify structured cabling.  

[Irongrip400]

One mistake that I see again and  again with small proprietors is that they neglect to make provisions to easily install/modify structured cabling.  

Not gonna use it as a data center or really care about fiber etc. just looking to build a serviceable building that’s not a total shit hole or a tent.

[sync pulse]

Not gonna use it as a data center or really care about fiber etc. just looking to build a serviceable building that’s not a total shit hole or a tent.

I see that you are going to make this mistake as well...

[affeman]

Just print it

[SOMEPARTS]

I see that you are going to make this mistake as well...

I've been chuckling at most of the things he's said. Needs to do a lot of research.