Cheap Steel Buildings – You Get What You Pay For

Steel buildings are an increasingly popular option for people considering storage buildings, garages, commercial buildings, agricultural buildings, garden storage and home offices or additions. One of the biggest selling points touted by manufacturers is price – steel buildings are often far more economical than traditional construction for many reasons. But it doesn’t always make sense to buy the cheapest steel buildings you can find. As the old saying says, you get what you pay for. If you’re in the market for a metal building and find a sweet deal with a really, really low price, be sure to find out exactly what’s included and figure in the costs of other upgrades that may be necessary to make a cheap steel building usable for your needs.

Insulation and Weather Readiness

Consider what your building will need in the way of insulation in your area. In some parts of the country – and for some uses – insulation won’t be important to you. If, however, you’ll be working in your new building or need it to be kept warm because it will be sheltering animals or sensitive equipment, you may need to add the cost of insulation to the price.

In warmer regions, consider paying a slightly higher price to get a reflective roof that will help keep the interior of your building cooler. In snowy regions, paying for a building designed to shed snow may add a little to your cost up front but can greatly increase the life of your building.

Inferior Materials in Cheaper Steel Buildings

Be wary of economy steel buildings offered by some manufacturers. These are often made of substandard materials, such as substandard 29 gauge steel which is inadequate for even moderate climates. Cheap steel buildings are usually not painted, or may be painted with a single coating of color without any sort of rust or corrosion inhibitor. Cheap steel buildings like these may rust or deteriorate in just a few years. It’s far more cost effective to pay a little more up front for a metal building made from high-quality steel and painted with corrosion-resistant coatings.

Consider the Cost of Accessories

Many cheap metal buildings are little more than unpainted metal boxes. Any accessories that you add will come at a premium. Those accessories include doors, windows, gutters, ridge vents and other things that many people consider necessities. When comparing prices, be sure that you add in the cost of those accessories on those building choices that don’t include them.

Before you decide that cheap steel buildings are your best choice, be sure that you examine all your options and consider the hidden costs of making the cheap choice.

Assembly Tips for Steel BuildingsBuildings

Assembling steel buildings is a relatively straightforward process. Most steel buildings are delivered ready to assemble, with bolt holes pre-drilled and channels pre-cut. All you have to do is put the building together. If you think it’s rather like putting together a building from an erector set, you wouldn’t be far off – but the sheer size and scope of the project does require that you do things in a certain order. If you’re putting up a metal building for use as a carport, garage, storage building, home office or any one of a myriad other uses, these tips can help make the assembly process as simple as possible.

Make sure that your building site is prepared for construction before you begin. You can do this before your building kit arrives. Generally, you’ll need to level and grade the site, then excavate and add a 4-inch thick layer of gravel. That will guarantee that you have a level, strong surface on which to build.

Lay out all the pieces of the kit and check them against the shipping manifest to be sure that everything is there. Take out the assembly instructions and the blueprint and do a “walkthrough”, locating each needed piece before you begin assembly. If there are any missing parts, you can contact the manufacturer or dealer immediately so that it can be shipped while you are working on other parts. With luck, you can avoid building delays while you wait for a missing part to be delivered by taking this one simple step.

Always wear work gloves when you’re handling steel parts. The edges for assembling metal buildings can be sharp.

Start with the floor. Lay all of the pieces out on the ground, and only bolt them together after you have everything laid out where it belongs. This will help ensure that all of the fastenings are tightened correctly and make it easier to fit everything properly.

Most steel buildings are lightweight, though their shape – much like the Quonset buildings with which most people are familiar – makes them sturdy. It’s usually a good idea to anchor your floor to the ground, however, for additional security in high winds. In fact, your local building codes may require it. This is often best accomplished by setting footings in concrete and securing the floor to the footings.

Assemble your walls starting with corner panels on at least two adjacent corners, then fill in the wall panels between the corners. Line up the pre-drilled holes in the two pieces you want to fasten and bolt them together using a power drill to make sure that they’re properly tight.

Lay out the roof and the side frames on the ground and connect them together before attaching them to the building. The more work you can do on the ground, the easier it will be to get everything together properly.

Attach the roof securely and add the trim. If you’re installing electricity or plumbing, you should be able to run the wiring, cabling and pipes before adding the roof.

Once the shell of your steel building is complete, you can move on to adding a plywood floor and customize the interior as you desire.

Ease of construction is only one of the many advantages of using steel buildings as storage buildings, home offices, garages and other additions to your home. These tips can make your experience erecting a steel building even easier.

Steel Buildings Considerations for Workshops

These days, hobbyists and small business owners who want to build a workshop often turn to steel buildings rather than building a more traditional stick-built structure. The advantages of using steel buildings for hobby or small business workshops for crafting, woodcrafts, jewelry fabrication, pottery and auto repair are many. Steel buildings are less expensive to put up, easier to maintain and offer many long-term benefits that you won’t find with other types of construction. If you’re considering putting up a metal building as a workshop, these are some of the things you should consider.

Affordability

Both in the short term and over time, steel buildings are more affordable than other types of construction. Steel is a less expensive construction material than wood or concrete, and the methods of construction bring the costs down even further. Most steel buildings don’t need foundations, and, since they’re delivered prefabricated and ready to bolt together, can often be assembled on site by the homeowner. That saves the costs of a contractor, often needed to put up a stick built structure.

The affordability continues over the life of the building. Because steel buildings are precision engineered to fit tightly together, which makes them easier to heat and cool, as well as making it easier to completely control the interior climate. That, in turn, reduces the heating and cooling costs over time. In addition, metal buildings seldom require repainting or refinishing – most of them come with a 20 year warranty on their finish. And since everything is engineered and planned in advance, adding power and plumbing is much simpler than it would be in a wooden or concrete building. Just feed the cable or pipes through the pre-drilled channels and you’re set.

Ease of Construction

Steel building kits make putting up your own workshop doable for DIY enthusiasts who have even a modicum of do-it-yourself skills. All of the pieces are delivered to you with holes pre-drilled and ready to put together. In most cases, all you need is a power drill or two and a few friends to help muscle the building pieces into place.

Along with the ease of construction, steel buildings also go up much faster than other types of structures. Gather a few friends, and you can usually put up your workshop in a weekend. If you choose to use a contractor who has experience working with steel buildings, you may have your building ready to occupy in just a day.

Steel buildings can be customized in just about any way you choose. Your new workshop can stand out, or blend into the rest of your property. It can be easily expanded when you need more space, or converted to another use, or, if you choose, dismantled and sold or reassembled elsewhere.

In short, when you choose a metal building for your workshop needs, you’ll have the benefits of better construction, lower costs and more flexibility than any other type of structure.

Why Steel Buildings Are Best for Garages

Garages are a major selling point for new home buyers, and steel buildings are among the most cost-effective and attractive solutions to a garage addition to your home. If you’re looking at steel buildings as a garage for your property, there are several things you should take into consideration. Here are several key points to keep in mind when selecting steel buildings to use as garages.

Bigger is Usually Better

When it comes to garages, the general wisdom is that bigger is always better. The size you choose depends on a couple of factors, though, including the number of vehicles you plan to park inside it and whether or not you’re planning to use your garage for other purposes, such as storage or a workshop, as well.

In general, the minimum size for a one-car garage is 20 feet long and 10 feet wide, and for a two-car garage, 20 feet long by 18 feet wide. Those are pretty tight quarters, though, and a more comfortable size for a one-car garage is about 24 feet long by 15 feet wide, and a two-car garage should be about 24 feet by 24 feet. If you plan to use your garage to store a few smaller things like your bike and lawnmower, add another four feet to both dimensions, and if you’re planning a workshop, add another 10 feet or so to give you space for a workbench and tool storage.

Pick a Pretty Exterior

If you’re putting the garage near the house or in view of the street or house, the exterior appearance of your garage should be a consideration. A raw steel building could detract from the aesthetics of your home and actually reduce the value. Luckily, steel buildings come with many different kinds of exterior finishes, including powder-coated paint finishes in various colors, clapboard or vinyl siding and stucco or brick.

Other things to keep in mind when choosing steel buildings as garages are the slope of the roof, the style of the doors and window frames and the size of the building. Consider a detached garage that’s connected to the home with a covered breezeway or a walkway or path that’s landscaped to fit the rest of your yard. Choose steel buildings that echo the style of the main house and make it feel as if it has always been there to keep a harmonious appearance for your entire property.

Steel buildings are an ideal choice for use as garages for many reasons. If you’re planning to build a new garage on your property, take a look at the many advantages offered by steel buildings before you make your decision to be sure that you’re getting the best and most attractive building for your money.

Quick Facts on Steel BuildingsBuildings

Steel buildings are a quick solution to many different homeowner and industrial needs. They’re often the best choice for storage, garages, a carport for an RV, a boathouse or airplane hangar or an office or workspace. For the DIYer, steel buildings can be especially cost effective, as many manufacturers offer steel building kits that include everything you need to build your garage or storage building except the power tools, at a cost of about half the price of a stick-built storage building. If you’re considering a new storage shed, room addition, garage or home office, take a look at what steel buildings have to offer.

Steel Buildings Are More Affordable

In addition to the initial cost savings when you choose a metal building kit, steel buildings also are more affordable throughout their lives. Pre-treated and powder-coated metal doesn’t corrode and is rust-resistant, and the powder-coated color can go ten to twenty years before it needs repainting. Because steel building parts are precision-engineered to fit together perfectly, steel buildings are more weather-tight than wood or concrete buildings, and easier to insulate. A well-insulated steel building will cost far less to heat and cool over the years, saving you a considerable amount of money each year. In addition, because using steel for building is more environmentally friendly than using wood, you’ll often qualify for tax incentives when you choose steel over wood for building.

Steel Is More Environmentally Friendly

Wood may seem to be the logical choice for a “natural”, environmentally friendly building, but using wood depletes the planet’s natural resources. A great deal of the steel used in constructing steel buildings is recycled, and is recyclable, so you’re not taking anything new from the Earth. Steel is also a good choice for sustainable building, and the methods of construction and transportation are generally friendlier to the environment than building with wood or concrete.

Steel Buildings are Safer

A well-constructed steel building that meets the local codes can withstand most weather and natural disasters, including earthquakes and hurricanes. Metal is naturally fire-resistant, and steel used for building is often treated to make it even more resistant to fire. Other health and hygiene hazards you don’t have to worry about with steel buildings include termites and mold, neither of which finds steel terribly attractive.

People, however, do often find the newest types of steel buildings to be very attractive. They come in many styles and colors, and can usually be customized to fit right into their environment. Before you make a decision about your new storage building or room addition, take a closer look at the advantages of steel buildings. You’ll be surprised how friendly they are to your pocketbook, your aesthetics and the environment.

How to Find a Steel Buildings Dealer

Steel buildings are among the most popular types of construction today. From garden sheds to full-scale industrial buildings, buildings made of steel are cropping up everywhere. They may be used as storage sheds, retail stores, gyms and recreational buildings, garages, barns and just about any other purpose you can imagine. Choosing the right steel building can be tricky, but the right steel building dealer can make it much easier on you. The right dealer of steel and metal buildings can help you determine the best building size, configuration and other options for your needs.

Just as there are many types of steel buildings, there are many ways to buy a steel building. The two most common ways to purchase a prefabricated steel building are through a manufacturer and through a dealer. Some dealers work closely with one or a small number of manufacturers, and will work closely with you to ensure that the building you purchase is precisely right for your needs. Others are more like a catalog shop, selling standardized steel building kits without much option for customization. These tips can help you find a dealer of steel buildings that’s best for your needs.

Decide What Type of Building You Need

Your first step is to decide on the type of building you want – the size, configuration and use will make a big difference in which dealers can supply your needs. Some deal in all types and sizes, and will develop custom plans to suit your purpose and needs. This is the case whether you’re considering an 8x10 garden shed or a full-scale industrial operation in a steel building, but others specialize in large, small or custom configurations. Deciding what you want can help you rule out the many dealers who don’t sell steel buildings that suit your needs.

Skip the Home-Improvement Stores

In most cases, the storage sheds available at home improvement and hardware stores are standardized and offer few opportunities for customization. In addition, you’ll pay a premium to account for the company’s overhead. Look for an independent dealer who’ll have incentive to work with you.

Check Out Home and Garden Shows

Often, you’ll find dealers of steel buildings displaying garden storage sheds and steel garages at home and garden shows. You can talk to a dealer representative and get a feel for their dealings with customers, as well as the types of steel buildings the company offers. In addition, you can often take advantage of special trade show deals, including special pricing on floor models used at the show.

Find a Steel Building You Like and Ask the Owner

Check with people you know who own structures similar to the one you want to erect and ask about their experiences with dealers. It will give you a good idea what it’s like to deal with a specific manufacturer or dealer.

Check Online for Steel Buildings Dealers

You can find almost anything you want online, and steel buildings are no exception. Check out dealers of steel buildings online to shop and compare their inventories and the options they offer, then contact the best to get pricing quotes for the type of building you want.

Choosing Doors for Steel BuildingsBuildings

Among the many options you have when planning steel buildings is the type of door or doors you’ll choose to get in and out of the structure. The style of the door will affect the utility and appearance of building, as well as other factors, such as its ability to withstand weather and how hard or easy it is to manage the humidity and other conditions inside the building. Choosing the right doors for your steel building can make your new structure more flexible, versatile and attractive.

Styles of Steel Buildings and Doors That Suit Them

Steel buildings come in many styles and types, but there are a few common types that may limit your choice of doors.

The most commonly used steel buildings are based on Quonset buildings, with their hoop frame construction and wide-open interior space. Because the sides of these steel buildings curve, fitting doors into the sides can be difficult and, because it requires special fitting, more expensive. Typically, doors for Quonset steel buildings and others with curved walls are fit into the front and/or rear walls, which are flat.

The other most common style of steel building is a modified A-frame with straight sides curving into a rounded, pitched roof. Depending on the height of the walls, you may be able to fit doors into the sides of these steel buildings as a standard option.

Tips for Choosing Doors for Steel Buildings

Talk to an expert before you make a decision. Discuss your door choices with someone skilled in erecting steel buildings, such as a local contractor who works with them frequently. Another option for advice about door choices for steel buildings is a dealer who specializes in them. Discuss how you’ll be using your building, its location and other things that might affect your choice of door, and ask for suggestions and price quotes.

If you choose to purchase a door separately from your building, you’ll have to measure the door opening carefully to be sure you get the precise size door to fit it. In most cases, manufacturers of steel buildings will cut door and window openings to standard sizes so that you can easily find a door to fit. If your door openings are odd sizes because of the design needs for your steel building, your best option may be to have the door fabricated by the same manufacturer to be sure that it fits.

Consider a walk-through door and an overhead door for versatility. It’s always easier to build in options than it is to retrofit later. If your budget allows, opt to have a small door for entry and exit and an overhead or sliding door to allow for easy drive-in or backup access to your building.

The easiest way to eliminate the whole conundrum of choosing doors for your building is to choose your door from the steel buildings manufacturer or dealer who supplies your building. That way, you can be assured of having a door that fits both your building and your purposes perfectly.