Our builder comparison for this week is featuring Lester Buildings.
Similar to FBi, Lester constructs buildings for farm, hobby, horse and stable, livestock, commercial, and residential buildings. They firmly believe that they set themselves apart from their competitors with these three things:
In this blog, we will be presenting the facts and strengths of each builder. Our goal is to help you have a better understanding of how FBi compares to Lester before you make a final decision.
Each customer is assigned their own personal Project Sales Consultant that lives in their area. FBi currently has 30+ Project Sales Consultants that are spread throughout our service area covering designated territories. This allows them to meet with you not only to understand your needs in person but walk your property and help you identify the best location for your building.
Once the project is finalized and you’re ready for construction to start, you will be given a personal Project Manager. They are responsible for the scheduling of FBi’s crews along with providing resources to help check your site prep or answer other questions you might have.
FBi’s Project Managers help outline your project in four specific phases:
Lester’s approach is slightly different from FBi’s. Instead of having a dedicated salesman for your project, they have a large network of independent, locally owned Lester Building Dealers.
In parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, company-employed Territory Managers oversee sales and service. If you happen to build in those areas that are covered by the Territory Managers, you’ll be working directly with Lester. If you’ll be building outside of those areas, you’ll be working with the locally-owned, independent dealers.
The Lester dealers get support from the Area Managers for all of their routine and technical and sales support needs. In addition, Project Coordinators, Custom Quote Techs and Transportation Personnel work closely with the independent dealers.
FBi comes out on top for this one because their Project Managers (PM) are able to spend all their time on sold contracts and assisting you through your entire construction process. By having a dedicated PM, you’re more likely to get your questions (or concerns) answered in a timely fashion.
In contrast, Lester’s dealers are still tasked with selling other projects. This can be harder to get projects completed due to their multiple roles and larger service areas.
Both companies will offer you assistance throughout the entire construction process but with two totally different approaches.
FBi is a family-owned company that started in 1958. Their corporate headquarters is located in Remington, Indiana. During that time they’ve been known as the preferred pole barn builder in the Midwest.
Currently, their service area is limited to Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin. However, if you have a unique project that is outside of their building territory, they will look into pursuing other options to see if it is feasible for them to be your pole barn builder.
Lester Buildings is a privately held, locally owned company that started in 1947. In 2004, members of the Lester Buildings management group purchased the company. The headquarters for Lester is located in Lester Prairie, MN.
Currently, their post frame buildings are available along the East Coast and as far west as Montana. With the help of their locally-owned, independent dealers they construct pole barns in the following 36 states:
Lester easily wins this. With coverage in 36 states, spread across the country, they are able to service a greater region than FBi Buildings.
FBi’s panels are 29 gauge, heat-treated, full-hard, high-tensile steel with a minimum yield point of 80,000 PSI (pounds per square inch). That’s 60 - 78% higher than what’s commonly used.
A high yield is nearly twice as strong as other steel and can improve the structural integrity of your building by providing greater resistance to impact damage from hail, rocks, etc.
Their buildings also feature galvalume walls and roofs. Depending on what pole barn color you choose, FBi will also use galvanized steel panels on their walls. The galvanized steel that FBi uses is G-100.
Galvalume is a combination of aluminum, silicon, and zinc coating that fights corrosion. This is different from galvanized steel where once their galvanized coatings wear down or are penetrated, corrosion will begin to spread.
Unlike FBi, Lester roll forms its own steel at their factory. They roll their own steel for added quality control and trim everything in-house prior to arriving on the job site. To help minimize errors with trimming, they program the panel lengths directly from computer-generated drawings.
They also use G-80 steel for both metal options that they offer; Uni-Rib™ Steel Panels and the patented Eclipse Roof System™. Both steel options are only available through Lester Buildings.
Uni-Rib™ Steel Panels
Eclipse Roof System™
There’s a lot of back and forth between builders on the importance of steel strength and what type of steel gauge you should be using for your post frame building. However, we do have to give a nod to Lester for manufacturing their own steel and offering different options for their customers.
Both FBi and Lester offer a high quality steel, but the overall winner is dependent on what type of steel you would be using from Lester.
The type of wood that FBi uses is dependent on the building design. For example, if you’re going to build a pole barn that will have large clear spans than FBi will use Machine Stress-Rated (MSR) lumber for their trusses.
Each piece of MSR lumber is tested for stiffness and strength prior to being used. FBi will also use #1 lumber for jobs that require smaller trusses.
Lester uses three different types of lumber, all dependent on the building design. Those three types are:
The overall winner of this section is dependent on what type of wood you would be using from Lester.
FBi gets a nod for using MSR lumber for their large, clear span trusses. Lester also gets a nod for the different lumber options that they offer for their customers.
The washer maintains its seal and is more reliable than commonly used neoprene, and offers the best heat, cold, weather, and ozone resistance.
To safeguard the building strength, Lester will disperse weight by using many smaller fasteners, rather than using larger fasteners. Their wall and roof screws fasten exterior steel cladding to interior boards and are corrosion resistant to help prevent rust streaks.
Their screws are also available in all of Lester’s steel panel colors.
FBi is the better choice for screws because the screws that they use are stainless steel. The head of the screw is formed to “umbrella” the washer to protect it from the elements and dry rot, longer. If you are worried about roof leaks, you’ll want to make sure that you have a screw that is protecting the water-sealing washer. FBi’s stainless steel head is guaranteed to never rust.
FBi trusses are made in their own plant and engineered specifically for your building. Their truss plant is also certified by a third party Truss Plate Institute inspection service to ensure the quality fabrication of all trusses.
The lumber used to build the trusses is joined with heavy-duty steel plates. These plates are pressed straight in and have a dense concentration of long teeth providing excellent grip on the wood.
Similar to FBi, Lester also manufactures their own trusses with a double-press system. Each truss is specifically made for their customer’s buildings.
Their truss saw is programmed to cut the boards to the exact length needed to ensure accuracy and reduce construction time. Their truss plates are also pressed on for added strength and corrosion protection.
Both FBi and Lester come out on top for their trusses. They both press their steel plates on their trusses instead of rolling them on. Using this technique allows them to be even more precise when engineering truss strength.
Developed in the 1960s, Kynar was initially produced by a single manufacturer for use on historic and monumental buildings. Their panels are known to retain their rich color for 40 years or longer.
Sherwin-Williams has been the paint provider for Lester Buildings for more than 30 years. As one of the leading paint manufacturers in the world, Sherwin-Williams is known for their innovation to the coatings industry.
Lester offers two choices of paint systems. Each provides extra protection against UV rays, acidic rain, humidity and normal handling/wear and tear.
Both paint systems are extremely well known in the post frame industry, but FBi gets the win for this one due to the strong resistance to fading, chalking, and corrosion of Kynar baked-on paint.
Similar to FBi’s trusses, they also build their laminated columns in-house. Laminated columns have greater strength in standard post frame buildings and longevity against rot than solid posts. Each layer of ground contact lumber is completely permeated with wood preservative and kiln-dried.
Not all column treatments are equal. FBi uses a .80 treatment in their columns which is 33% greater than industry standards. This treatment prevents rot and termite damage.
Alternatively, you can use Perma-Columns which are precast concrete columns. This sustainable solution is guaranteed to withstand insect damage, decay, and rotting as no wood goes into the ground.
Using 10,000 PSI precast concrete, perma-columns are 3x stronger than standard concrete. Then, the columns are reinforced with 60,000 psi rebar welded to a ¼’’ steel bracket.
Similar to Lester’s trusses, they also build their columns in-house and offer three different foundation systems.
Those three foundation systems are:
Lester’s multi-ply Uni-Frame columns have a bending capacity up to 60% greater than solid 6” x 6” posts and allow for more uniform penetration of CCA treatment. Factory-assembled, laminated columns feature a mechanically controlled nailing pattern assuring consistency.
Lester gets a nod for offering three different column options for their customers. However, FBi comes out on top for their uplift protection and their economic concrete foundations.
Sliding Doors
FBi’s EasyMotion sliding door was introduced in 2010. One of the perks that’s included with this door is the StepSaver Latch. This system saves you time and energy. No more running around to the walk-in door to disengage cam latches and snugger chains.
Just turn the key and grab the handle. It’s that simple!
The EasyMotion door also features the Posi-Guide Track. This guide doesn’t collect rain, ice, snow, or debris (i.e., bird nests and leaves). A unique low-friction polymer roller is protected behind and underneath the track. This system keeps the door snug to the building as it operates.
Overhead Doors
Overhead doors are something that is not standard with FBi’s buildings. If you’re interested in having overhead doors on your building we will work directly with our preferred vendors to supply you with the style and size needed.
Our in-house engineers carefully evaluate the entire building system and will specify the necessary foundation, column and header sizes to carry the expected loads for each door.
Sliding Doors
Lester also designs and manufactures their’ own sliding doors to building loads. At this time, this is the only wind-rated load in the post frame industry.
Their sliding doors are framed with heavy-duty 16-gauge steel verticals and 16 or 20-gauge girts. They’re cladded with 29 or 26 gauge steel to prevent door twisting, warping or binding. Their trolleys are specially-lubricated for easy and quiet gliding. Their sliding door track also self-cleans dirt and debris with each operation, which helps eliminates periodic cleaning.
Overhead Doors
Similar to FBi, Lester’s overhead doors are not included with their buildings (unless you’re wanting a hydraulic door). Lester partners with Clopay® for their overhead doors. Clopay is responsible for the delivery and installation of their doors.
Where FBi separates themselves from Lester is their Posi-Guide Track. FBi’s track being off the ground helps eliminate rocks, sticks, or leaves from jamming the door and needing to be cleaned.
However, if you prefer to use overhead doors then both companies are capable of finding preferred vendors to work with.
Some of your choices could include the following:
Lester also offers a wide variety of energy-efficient windows that come in several popular styles. Whether you’re looking for windows with grids, windows with shutters, or horizontal sliding windows...you’ll be able to choose from a variety of sizes.
This is a tie between FBi and Lester as they both offer windows with their buildings. We do offer one piece of advice though...don’t be afraid to shop around. Sometimes you’ll find similar windows for a cheaper price at your local hardware store.
Out of the eight different material categories FBi narrowly comes out the winner. They win two out of the eight categories; those being screws and paint. Lester ties FBi with their trusses, wood, and windows. The other categories (steel, wood, and columns) are dependent on what option you would choose from Lester.
FBi normally brings the following equipment to a job-site:
Their materials are delivered with company employed drivers straight from their own lumber yard.
Unlike FBi, Lester’s deliveries are dropped off on-site prior to their crews showing up. Lester’s materials are delivered on company trucks and unloaded by their drivers. Prior to the materials being delivered, the purchaser is responsible for providing adequate room for the semi-truck and crew to access their building site.
Lester needs to be recognized for its wide range of delivery (due to their larger brand), but FBi offers a more personalized and comprehensive approach to delivery. Their materials are on site the same day that construction starts.
FBi Buildings crews are employees of FBi Buildings and are specifically trained in the safe construction of pole barns. FBi buildings strive to employ local individuals for crews across their expanding territory. This allows their 45+ crews to serve an area they are familiar with.
FBi Building's commitment is to provide you with excellent service from start to finish! We have a Crew Management team of construction veterans who oversee and support the foremen and his crew. In fact, our average tenure is over 17 years between our foremen and our crew management team!
Your construction crew with Lester will depend on where you’re building at. If you’re building in a factory direct territory, then you’ll be getting a Lester crew to construct your building.
For example, if you go through a Lester dealer, Lester will provide the materials but the dealer’s crew will construct your building. Unlike FBi, Lester doesn’t offer as many company-employed construction crews. This could be a negative for some because their crews travel a lot more to get jobs done.
Both companies provide construction crews, but the nod here goes to FBi. FBi takes this one because of their tenure experience between their crews and Crew Management teams. With having a smaller region to service, this has allowed FBi to maintain their crews and foreman for industry records. Lester’s mix of their own crews and crews from their dealership network can make it harder to ensure quality training and hiring.
A pole barn warranty is simply a promise to stand behind a product or service. All warranties are limited, and there is no standard warranty in the post frame industry.
Here’s what’s covered under FBi’s warranty:
Unlike FBi, some of Lester’s warranty components will vary by the dealer/rep. Older Lester buildings will also have different warranties. It’s recommended that you consult with your local dealer/rep for the warranty at the time you purchased your building.
Here’s what’s covered under Lester’s warranty:
FBi wins this with having a more comprehensive list of warrantied features and their coverage is longer lasting on average.
FBi is well aware that they aren’t the cheapest post frame builder out there, but they also aren’t the most expensive.
A standard pole building shell can cost anywhere from $20 to $60 per square foot. Now, you’re probably asking yourself, “Why is there a big difference in price per square foot?”
Here’s why...
The following factors will determine if your pole barn is leaning towards the low/high side of the cost spectrum:
For example, adding a porch, cupolas, and numerous doors will push you closer to the $60 per square foot depending on the size of the building.
Lester Buildings
When it comes to cost, FBi can be higher than Lester or lower than Lester. The price is usually factored by what dealer is putting up Lester’s buildings.
Similar to FBi, Lester also prices their buildings based off of the following information:
When removing all factors that go into cost and just look at the raw cost between the two companies Lester will typically win this battle.
However, it's important to note that sometimes we are lower than Lester and other times they are higher than us. A lot of that is dependent on who your Lester dealer will be, or if you're having a Lester crew put up your post frame building.
NOTE: The star denotes personal preference based on the buyer. Please reference each section for specifics.
Every builder has their advantages and disadvantages, and the final decision is solely up to you and your specific needs.
If you’re still unsure about what to do, we recommend checking out these additional resources:
We’d be happy to work with you on your pole barn project if you’re located in Indiana, Illinois, Eastern Iowa, and Southern Michigan.
Do you have more questions that are not covered in this article? If you need help designing and planning, please contact FBi Buildings at 800.552.2981 or click here to email us. If you are ready to get a price, click here to request a quote and a member of our customer engagement team will help you determine the next steps of your project.