30x50 Metal Building questions

Respectfully, the MIL will be in your house most of the time. Why not a 1000 sqft shop?

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First Question - what would be your "cant live without" options,

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From the shop or the apartment perspective?

You’re losing a lot with the apartment. Obviously you’ll need AC and a lot of insulation to live in there.

Do you have dedicated service or a sub-feed from the house? Plumbing/water? Sewer tie-ins? Gas?

For a shop, some 240V outlets if you plan to do any welding or anything. Panel the walls. LED lights. Overhead hoist. Vehicle lift (and proper foundation reinforcement).

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Second - Would you pour the lean to's as part of the slab? Or would that be a different pour because a porch doesnt need as deep of concrete?

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Yes, pour it all together. Make sure they add a drip edge for the building, and the lean-to will be lower. All should be 4” thick, with reinforced footers around the perimeter of the building.

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3rd - The metal building place I got a quote from quoted me 24k for a 40x50 slab of 4" . I assume I should shop that around as they dont have to do the concrete and that seems high.

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That is a pretty high price for concrete alone. When I was pricing buildings, concrete, for some reason, was their highest markup. Some guys refused to come down even if it cost them the job. Concrete, turn-key, should be on the order for $8-10/sqft (all-in). I haven’t priced concrete by the yard in a while, but you can save a ton if you find a separate guy to do it by each trade (pad prep, digging, steel, pouring & finishing). However, for a building I’d recommend a turn-key operation.

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4th, what are some obstacles I should know about putting an apt in a metal building?

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Permits. Potentially wind rating requirements and drawings/stamps. Utilities. Internal finishing and trim out. The building shell is simple, but once you start building out the interior it escalates quickly.