Here are 3 mistakes anyone looking to purchase a steel building will want to avoid. Whether it’s a steel-arch quonset style building or a pre-engineered structural steel building, knowing this information before you make a purchase decision will help you make the right choice.
1. Make sure you buy a building that meets local building codes.
You should thoroughly investigate your city or municipality’s requirements for building on your lot, including variances and setbacks before ordering any building. This includes aspects such as snow, rain, wind and seismic loading requirements.
It is very important that the building you buy will meet your local building requirements. Your building should come with professionally engineered plans that you can use to get building permits from your local authority.
2. When price shopping, be sure you’re comparing “Apples to Apples”
This is probably the most important step for allowing you to get multiple, accurate quotes from different suppliers. One of the biggest factors in cost for a steel-arch building is the gauge (thickness) of material that is required. This will be determined by the size of your building and where it will be built. If the building will reside in an area that gets a lot of snow, it will need to be built in a much heavier steel to withstand those snow loads, and prevent it from collapsing.
It is also necessary to understand how your building will be connected to the foundation. There are numerous options that vary in cost and ease of assembly. A trough foundation may seem like a simpler, cheaper solution, but in fact it makes assembly of the building much more difficult and time consuming. A baseplate connector system often costs more upfront, but saves time and money during assembly. It also allows you the option of easily disassembling your building if you ever had a need to.
Make sure that all the accessories that you need are included in the quote. Accessories such as skylights, vents (to control condensation), overhead or sliding doors, service doors, windows and colour options. Every accessory will affect the price, so make sure you’re comparing “Apples to Apples” when shopping for your building.
3. Don’t forget to compare lifetime cost savings of a steel vs. a wood building.
More accurately designed metal and steel templates are generated and manufactured using computer technology. Measurements, fittings and all components are designed and tooled with laser precision. This allows contractors to make highly accurate estimates and virtually eliminates the cost of buying excessive materials and other unexpected expenses in the building process.
Steel-Arch Buildings are also faster to assemble. They arrive at the construction site in ready-to-assemble pieces and building can be done with as few as 4 people and some basic tools and machines to lift the framework. With all the necessary parts delivered to you, they are relatively simple to assemble and provide enormous savings on labor costs.
It may even be possible to save on insuring your steel structure because the risk from fire is greatly reduced. In many instances, insurance companies offer discounts of around 40%.
By design, pre-engineered steel structures are expandable and very flexible. If you start to outgrow your space, simply add another section. If you or your business moves to another location, simply disassemble the building and move it with you.
Finally, they require less maintenance than conventional wood structures. There is no need to paint or seal a steel building, like you would for a traditional wood building.
With this information, you will be better prepared to make the right choice when buying a steel building.