5 Steel Building Traps

( And How To Avoid Them! )

So you've decided you want to add a steel building to your property. CONGRATS! These structures can be both beautiful and functional. We hope that the construction process will be a satisfying, seamless experience.

That said, we know from experience that this isn't always the case. Many of our customers come to us at the tail end of a long, frustrating process. One bought a steel package years ago, but hasn't been able to find someone to build it. One started construction and was stopped by a county inspector because they didn't have the right paperwork. Still another hired a contractor to handle it for them, paid a large deposit upfront, and hasn't heard from them in months. You get the idea.

We've heard too many of these!

It is for that reason we've decided to write this article. Actually the first publishing of this list is a youtube video you can watch here. Of course we would love to work with you. We believe that we offer a quality product at a fair price. We also recognize not everyone looking for a steel building will hire us. Maybe you don't live in Arizona so we can't help you. Maybe you feel qualified to do the work yourself. Maybe you've weighed your options and have decided another contractor is a better fit. Whatever the reason, we'd still prefer to see you succeed.

We provide this article as a free service in the hope that it helps you avoid the problems we see customers in this industry regularly dealing with.

1 ) The "Deal"

It's a very common occurrence. Someone's looking to have a steel building built. They call a business and immediately are offered a

Special limited time deal!
JUST FOR YOU!!
Act Quickly to Lock in an Historic Low Steel Price!
or
Secure a Special Discount on Your Steel Package!

Unfortunately we have some bad news for you. You're not special.

Certainly all our customers are important to us, and we try to offer the same high quality and fair price to everyone. But if you just called someone for the first time and they have a "special offer" there is nothing special about the offer. They're just a salesman trying to make the sale.

Keep in mind that the building you're purchasing is a large, expensive item. It's going to be one of the more complex processes you'll undertake. That means getting municipal permits, it means specially engineered plans, and it means multiple work crews. If someone quotes you a price and hasn't at least asked for your area code, that's not the actual price. (And if that's not the price who knows what is?)

Please take your time

With the amount of time and money on the line here; it just makes sense to take the time to do it right. Don't let anyone push you into a decision until you're confident in that decision. Which leads into our next point.

2 ) Know What You Want

Unfortunately we humans can't read minds. Your contractor doesn't know what you want, they can only give you what you ask for. In order to be satisfied with your steel building it's important to be clear about what it is that you want before you even start calling businesses.

Ask Yourself These Questions:

What size does my building need to be?
A 20-foot x 30-foot building will have a very different use case than a 50-foot x 60-foot one.
How tall does it need to be?
If you're a personal trainer building a private gym 10-foot eaves may be tall enough. If you're looking to store a 13.5-foot tall trailer you'll need at least a 14-foor tall door and 16-foot eaves.
How many doors do I need? How big? Where will they be placed?
Be sure to specify both overhead doors and walk-through doors.
Do I need windows or other sources of natural light?
Are there any concrete features I would like other than the foundation? Driveways? Parking?
The easiest (and cheapest) time to add those is along with the foundation, before the building goes up.
Does the building need to be insulated against heat or cold? How much? Will it be heated or air conditioned?
Are there other features I can think of?
For example: some of our customers have wanted wall mounted AC units. We don't offer these, but we can build the opening and framing for them. Doing that during principal construction will be much simpler and cheaper than cutting holes and adding framing after the fact.

Having the answers to these questions before you talk to a contractor will help ensure you get the building you want the way you want it, and put you in a better position while negotiating pricing.

3 ) Regulatory Compliance

As we've mentioned; one of the things you'll need to do is get the appropriate permitting. You may own the property but unfortunately that does not necessarily mean you can do what you want with it. The building department, flood control, environmental services, etc. may to want to review your project.

Yes we know it's a headache

We deal with municipal authorities every day. For one job it will be a smooth process and be done in one month. The next will be an endless back and forth taking six months or more. If your city or county requires you to change where the building is placed, it'll be far easier to make that adjustment on paper then have to remake the actual building. It can be frustrating, but preparation will help avoid the headache.

Sketch a plan

a hand written site plan including major existing features on the property and the proposed steel building to be used as a visual aid while talking to municipal authorities

What we recommend is to take a common 8½x11 sheet of paper, write down your address and sketch out your property. Include major existing features such as your house, pool, driveway, etc, as well as the proposed building. Another option is to print out a satellite image of your property and draw the proposed building onto that. Then take that down to your local building department and ask what permitting you'll need and changes you may have to make to your plan before you can begin construction.

Trust us, things will go so much smoother and ultimately you'll be happy that you did.

4 ) What Did I Just Buy?

So you're doing your homework looking around for a steel building. One manufacturer quotes you $25,000 for a steel package. Then another contractor quotes you $100,000 for the same building.

How is that possible?
On what planet are those comparable prices?
Are they even talking about the same thing?

In short, no. They may both be honest businesses doing good work, but one of them is selling just the steel itself while the other is selling a completed building.

Again this is a large, expensive, complicated item. There are multiple industries and trades involved selling different levels of service. For example, one company may offer to deliver and unload a steel package while another will offer to only have the truck deliver it to your property, but expect you to have a forklift to unload with. As you can see, details are important here.

Why not bundle?

What we offer is called a "turn-key" service. That means we start with a bare lot, and finish by handing you the keys. That includes:

Engineering the steel and concrete
Municipal permitting
Ordering the steel package
Earth-work
Concrete the foundation
Erecting the structure
Insulation
And installing any doors

Offering these as a single service makes the process simple. If you're not confident in your ability to coordinate multiple contractors we'd recommend a turn-key service. That said, even if you work with us there are things we don't include. For example We nclude grounding wires and pipes sleves in the foundation, however we do not include electrical wiring or plumbing fixtures themselves.

Whoever you choose to work with; be super clear about what is included and, more importantly, what is not included.

5 ) Don't Overpay Upfront!

( This One's the Most Important )

Everyone has heard stories of construction contractors dragging their feet getting a job done. Not everyone knows why that happens. In a word: Incentives. Why would a contractor do the work unless they have a reason. That reason is money.

For small commissioned items, like a tailored suit, the entire price may be exchanged when the item is either commissioned or delivered depending on the industry. For building scale items, the money is almost never exchanged all at once.

The reason for this is to keep both parties as safe as possible. If the customer pays all the money upfront and the contractor fails to complete the work the customer is out a lot of money. If the contractor is paid all the money at the end of the job and the customer fails to pay then the contractor is out all the materials and labor cost. If payments are made along the way as work is completed both parties are kept safer.

Keep incentives in mind

Sizing these draws appropriately is important to keeping both parties honest. If a builder prices their entire profit into the initial deposit then once they have that deposit they've lost all incentive to actually complete the work (hence contractors dragging their feet). In that case you'll have to give them another incentive such as calling to complain.

Our initial deposit is typically 20% or less. The absolute highest we'd recommend you go with is 25%. That's enough money to order the steel package and get it into production while maintaining that hunger to actually do the work of erecting it. If the contractor you're working with is asking for more than that we'd recommend thinking hard about whether you want to work with them.

If you remember nothing else from this article remember this point: Don't overpay upfront!

Wrapping up

This has been a very heavy article. It's important to protect yourself against mishaps, but we'd hate to leave you disheartened. We've helped hundreds of customers build a steel building that satisfies their needs and we're confident you can too.

This is doable

You can get the steel building you want. You can get the quality you're paying for. And it can be a pain free experience. We're certain that if you keep these 5 traps in mind, the process will go much more smoothly.