Cheapest shop to build?

[Kudzu]

Short version, nearing retirement. Plan on selling existing house with my 30x40 daylight basement shop I dearly love!  We are going to downsize considerably. Want to build much smaller house and spend lots of time traveling. Gone months at a time.

Current thinking is building a small house that we can rent as a vacation home while we are gone. Doesn't leave it empty and generates some income. I don't think I want a basement shop in this case. To easy for someone to break in from inside the house. 

Thinking I may want to build a detached shop. It will have be to at least 30 x 40 (3 bay garage basically) and probably install a 4 post car lift so we can stack 2 cars in one bay. Should give me plenty of space and I move the machines to one side and store personal items and cars in there while we are gone. 

Haven't priced construction in a number of years but I know it is high. So what is best bang for the buck on a building this size?

Metal?  Wood frame? Quonset hut?  Cinder block?

Anyone keep track or been looking at costs?

[Stwood_]

Your local contractors and realtors should be able to tell you that.

But I would guess, either a steel or wood packaged building on a slab would be the cheaper route.

[ajkoontz]

Don't have any suggestions about your shop, but speaking as a landlord here what jumped out at me was that you are concerned about a renter breaking into your (potential) basement shop. IMO having your shop in a detached building is no theft deterrent. If someone wants to take your stuff, they're going to take your stuff (or even just poke around to be nosy). I'm only pointing this out to suggest you think long and hard about whether it is worth it to you to be a landlord. If you're going to be worried about theft (and a million other things that can/ will go wrong) while you're travelling it's not going to be any fun. I'm not suggesting your idea is bad or that you shouldn't do it, I'm just saying being a landlord isn't all it's cracked up to be sometimes. I've been pretty lucky with my long-term tenants and don't know what the vacation rental market is like, just suggesting that you go into this with your eyes wide open.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

[oakey]

Pole barn usually wins the price war I find even more so when you need a tall building if it is allowed
You will need tall for a hoist and stacking a car
But if you are in the middle of a town or city may not be allowed

[meackerman]

I built my 30x40 shop in 2013, including permits and engineering fees it was about $20k. I'm sure material prices have gone up since then.

I compared the price to a metal building and building it myself was cheaper.

[Kudzu]

I built my  30x40 shop in 2013, including permits and engineering fees it was about $20k.  

Not sure if I want to build it myself or not at this point. I think I lean toward just having someone build it and then doing the rest myself. But I saw some online prices for metal building in the 30's. Not specific enough though.

[Ray Newman]

AJKoontz in post #9 is onto it!

[meackerman]

Hiring someone would have doubled the price for me, maybe more

[fredhargis]

How high does the ceiling need to be for your lift? I have to think that a pole barn will be the cheapest (and maybe least secure). Seems like there isn't a perfect answer for what you want to do.

[BrokenOlMarine]

I had my shop built after my accident a couple years ago, 24x30, climate controlled, finished interior, excellent lighting, 10' ceilings. 50k.
(Okay, $49,800). That included moving out all the tools and equipment, moving the small shop fifty yards and rewiring it for the wife's hobby shop, moving the tools back in when the shop was done.