A new line of farm and residential storage buildings is available from Morton Buildings. Named the Morton standard product line, it was unveiled at the recent Farm Progress Show media days at Boone, Iowa. Morton is offering the buildings at an affordable price, while maintaining the same quality as its premium brand.

“These are small- to medium-sized storage buildings built with the company’s best-selling configurations, materials and features,” says Sean Cain, vice president and general manager of Morton Buildings. “Unlike our premium line of buildings, the new Morton standard line comes ‘standard’ without customizations.”

On farms, these buildings would be most often used for machinery storage. For residential property owners, these buildings are likely to be used more for storing recreational vehicles or boats, or as extra storage space for cars, trucks or tractors.

Value for customer

What’s different with the Morton standard line compared to regular Morton Buildings the company has been selling for many years? “We’ve seen a continuous demand for these popular but yet basic storage units, both for on-farm use and residential use,” says Lisa Bocklage, marketing manager for Morton. “We looked at the most popular configurations, and we also looked at buildings we could move through our manufacturing and construction process the most efficiently. We are providing these more basic buildings at an affordable price point for the buyer.”

The difference between the standard line and the premier line of buildings is the amount of customization a customer may want when they are considering the premier offering. “For example, if they are looking for a storage building with a small area for living quarters or a finished office, it would not be part of the Morton standard line,” Bocklage says. “Morton standard is designed for basic storage.”

Cain says the Morton standard construction process enables savings to be passed on to the customer. “We use predefined plans and materials that are premanufactured at our facility for efficient production and shipment,” he explains. “The materials used, such as Hi-Rib steel siding, are the same high-quality materials used in all Morton buildings.”

He says customers can easily identify if the Morton standard line fits their needs, or if they prefer the highly customized premier offering.

The Morton standard concept was tested during the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic and received a positive reaction from consumers, Bocklage says. Because of the pandemic, people are investing more in outdoor home improvements and recreational pursuits — such as boating and camping. As a result, they are needing more storage space. Morton standard buildings come with the same warranties as the company’s premier line. They are built by the same professional Morton crews and use the same post-frame construction process to provide strength and durability.

New paint color offered

Morton Buildings also featured its new wood-grain cedar steel paint color at the Farm Progress Show media days. It’s a cedar woodgrain pattern that provides a pseudo board-and-batten look. “This color offers a maintenance-free alternative to wood siding,” Cain says. “Wood-grain cedar may be used for any steel panel or steel trim which Morton produces, including downspouts. It can even be used on the interior.”

A NEW LOOK: Making metal look like wood, a new steel paint color with a wood-grain pattern provides a nearly maintenance-free alternative to wood siding.

Wood-grain cedar is the third patterned steel paint offering in Morton’s premium paint color lineup. The two other steel paint colors are rustic bronze and weathered gray. Bringing this new color to market involved an extensive testing and quality assurance process to ensure that color durability, gloss retention, paint adhesion and artwork meet high-quality standards.

Currently, all three premium colors are offered for all structures within Morton’s premier product line, including farm, residential and commercial buildings, but are not paint color options for the Morton standard line.

A Morton standard residential storage building that’s 30 by 40 feet starts at around $21,000. Customers can upgrade, which will add to the price, Bocklage notes. For example, they may want to add 1-foot overhangs on the roof or use a wainscot wall paneling. Also, the kind of flooring and windows you choose will affect the price. For a farm building using the Morton standard option, the common size is 60 x 120 feet, with a starting price is around $75,500.

For more information, visit mortonbuildings.com.