Have you ever considered metal as a home building option? It has a number of advantages over wood or stone, but it is something of another ballgame. There are a lot of things to consider when you’re considering metal buildings. Here we’ll break down 7 essential things to get you started in your quest to understand the steel building option:
1. Steel building is its own specialized field of building. It requires specialized knowledge to build with steel — you can’t just find someone who builds wood-frame structures and expect they can build a steel building. It’s not that they’re harder or easier, metal buildings are just different.
2. Turnkey price is not reliable. Consider this: the price of concrete and the price of labor, to name two important building costs, varies by area. So how can a building salesman really give you an accurate turnkey price?
3. Drawings come before building. Often you need drawings for steel buildings or other modular buildings before you head to the bank to get financing for your metal building.
4. Steel or metal building has its own language. Terms like ASD, PEMB, IECC and IBC are terms you need to know when you are planning, buying and building a metal or modular construction.
5. You can buy metal buildings from bulk suppliers rather than local. When you buy bulk, you get it cheaper, so it stands to reason there could be savings in buying from someone who gets better purchase prices themselves on metal construction. However, as with all big companies, the accountability and personal attention is not always there. If a big company from out of town doesn’t satisfy you, they may be less worried about the damage to their reputation and future business in your town than a local builder who is known and established in the community.
6. “All-included” steel buildings or modulars may not be the best deal possible. You have to consider what type of windows and doors they would be including, the brand, the warranty, the R-value, the locksets. There are a lot of variations when it comes to doors, windows and other features for a home. You might need to pick your doors and windows for your modular or metal building yourself.
7. Planning a building project takes time. Consider that there are a lot of steps between 0 and completion. Engineering, fabricating, delivery of materials or structures, considering snow loads, wind loads, seismic resistance, soil types, are all things that vary from location to location. Start your planning early, is the advice metal building companies suggest.
