Quick Answer: 50×80 Metal Building Cost
A 50×80 metal building has 4,000 square feet and costs about $28,000–$88,000 for the kit, which is $7–$22 per square foot. With a slab, erection, site preparation and a permit, expect $73,800–$192,700 installed at a 12 ft eave. Each extra foot of eave adds roughly 3% to the kit. The 50 ft end wall takes two wide doors, and the 80 ft side wall takes five.
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A 50x80 metal building gives you 4,000 square feet under one roof. That is the size farms, contractors and small businesses reach for when a 40x60 runs out of room and a 50x100 is more than they need. This page prices the 50x80 metal building line by line, then shows how the 50x80 metal building changes in price with taller walls.
It is written for anyone pricing a 50x80 metal building as an equipment barn, a shop, a storage building or a workspace with a living end. You will find the kit and installed ranges, the price by eave height, the doors that suit each wall, and how the 50x80 sits beside the sizes next to it.
What Fits in 4,000 Square Feet
Fifty feet is a wide clear span. Four 12 ft vehicle bays sit side by side across it with 2 ft to spare, and the 80 ft length holds them eight deep if you want a long row. In practice most owners split the floor by use instead of filling it with cars.
A combine and a header trailer fit together, or a tractor with its implements, a skid steer and a stock trailer. A contractor can park a fleet of work trucks at one end and keep a bench shop at the other. A 50x80 is also called an 80x50 or 50 by 80 metal building, and quotes use all three.
A quick sizing check
Take the biggest machine you will park and add 3 ft on each side and 5 ft at the end. If it still fits inside a 50x80 metal building, you have room. If it does not, the 50x100 is the next step up.
A clear-span frame has no posts down the middle, so every square foot of the 50x80 metal building is usable. Partition walls can be added later without touching the structure.
50x80 Metal Building Cost, Line by Line
The cost of a 50x80 metal building has two parts. The kit is the steel frame, panels, trim and fasteners that arrive on a truck. The installed price adds what it takes to stand that kit on a slab and get it permitted.
For 4,000 square feet the kit is $7–$22 per square foot, or $28,000–$88,000. The five lines below add up to $73,800–$192,700 installed, which is about $18–$49 per square foot. Each total is the sum of its lines.
| Line | How it is figured | Range for a 50x80 |
|---|---|---|
| Building kit | $7–$22 per sq ft | $28,000–$88,000 |
| Concrete slab, 4-inch | $6–$12 per sq ft | $24,000–$48,000 |
| Erection | $5–$12 per sq ft | $20,000–$48,000 |
| Site preparation | Total, varies by lot | $1,300–$5,600 |
| Permit | Total, varies by jurisdiction | $500–$3,100 |
| Installed total | Sum of the lines | $73,800–$192,700 |
These are national ranges for a 50x80 metal building. The low end is a plain building on a level lot with a rural crew, and the high end is a heavy-load building on a tight site with a metro crew. Your figure comes from quotes for your address, and the form on this page gets you several.
50x80 metal building prices by eave height
Every price above is for a 12 ft eave, the shortest wall in the table. Taller equipment, a loft or a lift needs a taller wall. Each extra foot of eave adds roughly 3% to the kit, while the slab, site work and permit do not change with height, so the installed total climbs more slowly. The size is written width by length by eave: a 50x80x16 is 50 ft wide, 80 ft long, with 16 ft walls.
| Building | Tallest door | Kit | Installed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50x80x12 | 10 ft | $28,000–$88,000 | $73,800–$192,700 |
| 50x80x14 | 12 ft | $29,700–$93,300 | $75,500–$198,000 |
| 50x80x16 | 14 ft | $31,400–$98,600 | $77,200–$203,300 |
| 50x80x18 | 16 ft | $33,000–$103,800 | $78,800–$208,500 |
| 50x80x20 | 18 ft | $34,700–$109,100 | $80,500–$213,800 |
| 50x80x22 | 20 ft | $36,400–$114,400 | $82,200–$219,100 |
| 50x80x24 | 22 ft | $38,100–$119,700 | $83,900–$224,400 |
The tallest door is about 2 ft below the eave, because the header and the door's own mechanism take that space. On the tallest walls, erection itself can run $15–$18 per square foot when a crane is needed. That is heavier than the band in the cost table, so ask for it by name.
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What Moves the Price Up or Down
The kit alone spans $28,000 to $88,000 because several choices stack. Knowing them lets you steer a 50x80 metal building toward the low end without giving up what you need.
What pushes a kit toward the top of its range
- Red iron primary frames rather than a lighter frame.
- Taller eaves, at about 3% per foot.
- More and larger doors, each one framed and trimmed.
- Stamped drawings for heavy snow or a hurricane rating.
- Painted panels and factory insulation.
Wind and snow loads are set by your exact address, not by your state. The free ASCE hazard tool returns both for any street address, and your supplier builds the engineering around those numbers.
Labor and location matter as much. Metro and coastal erection crews charge 25–40% more than rural ones. Northeast and California buyers should expect totals 30–50% above the national figure, and the South and Midwest tend to land 5–25% below it.
Doors on a 50 ft End Wall and an 80 ft Side Wall
Where the doors go decides how a 50x80 metal building works. The 50 ft end wall takes two 16 ft doors with a walk door between them, or one wide drive-through opening. The 80 ft side wall takes five 12 ft doors, which use 60 ft and leave 20 ft for framing and walk doors.
Side doors let several machines leave at once. End doors suit a long row where vehicles go in one behind another. Many owners use both: wide doors on one end for equipment, a row on the side for trucks.
Height matters too. A door on a 12 ft eave tops out at about 10 ft, which clears a pickup and is tight for a box truck or a combine. Use the eave table above and size the wall from the tallest thing you own. Taller walls raise the price of a 50x80 metal building, so do not buy height you will not use.
Quote doors by opening
A door price depends on its width, height, insulation and opener, so it is quoted per opening. Count your openings before you ask and every bid will be comparable.
Slab, Site Work and Permits
Slab and Site Preparation
A 4-inch slab runs $6–$12 per square foot installed. At 4,000 square feet that is $24,000–$48,000, the second-largest line of a 50x80 metal building after the kit. Thicker concrete or rebar for heavy equipment costs more, so tell the crew what will sit on it.
Site preparation is $1,300–$5,600 in total. A level, well-drained lot with truck access sits at the bottom. Grading, fill or a long driveway pushes it up.
Footings must reach below the local frost line, which ranges from about 12 in in southern states to 42 in or more in the north. Soil bearing is the engineer's call. Site prep and the permit together are $1,800–$8,700 on any size, so on a building this large they are the smallest share of the total.
Permits, Codes and Drawings
A permit for this size runs $500–$3,100, depending on the jurisdiction. Almost every jurisdiction requires one, and most want drawings sealed by an engineer licensed in your state.
The International Building Code sets the model rules, but each state and county adopts its own edition. Check which one applies before you order. Design loads follow ASCE 7 and are specific to your site.
The Metal Building Manufacturers Association publishes the design standards most suppliers build to.
Steel erection is a crew job
Raising a 50 ft span means lifting heavy frames overhead. Read the OSHA steel erection rules before you decide who stands it, and remember that erection runs $5–$12 per square foot for a reason.
A Living End, Insulation and Climate Control
A Shop or Barn With a Living End
People searching for a 50x80 metal building with living quarters usually want a shop and a home under one roof. A common split gives the living side a 50x20 end, which is 1,000 square feet, and leaves 3,000 square feet for the shop or barn. A fire-rated wall separates them in most codes.
Living space adds lines the shell price does not have. Use these ranges:
- Electrical: $1,200–$7,100 for a small building of 250–1,500 square feet, so expect more at this size.
- HVAC with a mini-split: $2,000–$9,200.
- Drywall interior: $1.50–$3.50 per square foot.
- Spray foam insulation: $1.00–$4.50 per square foot.
- Plumbing: needs a plumber's quote.
Zoning decides whether anyone can live there at all, so call the planning office first. Our garage with living quarters guide covers layouts, and the metal building homes page covers full residential builds.
Insulation and Climate Control
Bare steel sweats when warm, humid air meets a cold panel. Insulation and a vapor retarder on the warm side fix that, and most buildings used as a shop or a home need both.
For a 50x80 metal building, spray foam runs $1.00–$4.50 per square foot of surface and is extra to the prices above. A mini-split heating and cooling system adds $2,000–$9,200, and the right size depends on how well the walls are insulated. Do the insulation first and the equipment you need gets smaller.
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Farm and Shop Uses, and the Sizes Either Side
Farm, Shop and Storage Uses
Most of these buildings go to work. On a farm the floor holds equipment on one side and hay or feed on the other, with a tall door for the largest machine. A shop wants power, light and a heated bench area, and a storage building wants wide doors and a dry slab.
Anyone who searches for a 60x80 metal building cost or a 60x80 shop cost wants the next size up. Our 60x80 metal building page prices it the same way. If 50 ft is wide enough but 80 ft is short, the 50x100 metal building adds length.
How a 50x80 Compares With the Next Sizes
The kit rate falls as floor area grows, so a bigger 50x80 metal building costs less per square foot. The 40x60 metal building is the smaller step at 2,400 square feet, and the 40x80 sits between at 3,200. Doubling the floor area raises the price by less than double, which is why many buyers go one size larger than they first planned.
The Bottom Line on a 50x80 Metal Building
If you are weighing a 50x80 metal building, you want wide bays and room to grow. The installed 50x80 metal building cost is $73,800–$192,700 at a 12 ft eave. Pick the eave height first, because it is the one choice you cannot change later.
Then get quotes. The ranges here show what is normal, and the bids show what your site will cost. Compare at least three, and make sure each lists the same doors, wall height and drawings.
Frequently Asked Questions
The kit runs about $28,000–$88,000, which is $7–$22 per square foot of floor. With a slab, erection, site preparation and a permit, the installed price is about $73,800–$192,700, or $18–$49 per square foot.
A 60x80 is a bigger building at 4,800 square feet, so it costs more than the $73,800–$192,700 shown here for a 50x80. The 60x80 metal building page prices it line by line.
A 50x80x16 is 50 ft wide, 80 ft long, with 16 ft walls, tall enough for a 14 ft door. The kit is about $31,400–$98,600 and the installed total is about $77,200–$203,300. The slab, site work and permit stay the same as at 12 ft.
Each extra foot of eave adds roughly 3% to the kit. Going from a 12 ft to a 16 ft eave moves the kit from $28,000–$88,000 to $31,400–$98,600 and the installed total from $73,800–$192,700 to $77,200–$203,300.
Erection is $5–$12 per square foot, or $20,000–$48,000 for 4,000 square feet. Crane work on tall walls can reach $15–$18 per square foot. Crews in metro and coastal areas charge 25–40% more than rural ones.
Yes, where zoning and the local building department allow it. A 50x20 end gives 1,000 square feet of living space and leaves 3,000 for the shop. Living space needs a residential permit, insulation, a plumber's quote and a heating and cooling system.
Almost certainly. Nearly every US jurisdiction requires one, and permits run about $500–$3,100. Ask your local building department which drawings it wants, since most want engineer-sealed plans.
A 4-inch slab at $6–$12 per square foot is $24,000–$48,000 for 4,000 square feet. Kit plus slab alone is $52,000–$136,000, before erection, site work and the permit.
Related Resources
- 60x80 Metal Building: Sizes and Costs
- 40x60 Metal Building: Sizes and Costs
- 50x100 Metal Building: Sizes and Costs
- Garage With Living Quarters: Layouts and Costs
- Metal Building Cost: Prices by Size & Per Square Foot
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