Questions to Ask About Steel Buildings

Are you in the market for a steel building Congratulations – you’ve already made one important decisions about your project, a decision that will save you money at every stage of ownership and provide a safer, more secure building for your project. Steel buildings are affordable, built to your local safety codes and environmentally better than wood or concrete buildings. Before you make your final decision, you should ask a lot of questions. These are some of the questions you should be asking your metal building supplier.

Are You a Broker or Manufacturer?

Typically, you’ll be purchasing your steel building from either a manufacturer or a broker. There are benefits and drawbacks to each type of vendor. Buying directly from a manufacturer, for example, will probably get you lower prices since there’s no middle man to take a cut. Some manufacturers, on the other hand, are more accustomed to working with commercial buyers and contractors, and may not communicate well with individual private buyers. There are exceptions, of course. Some steel building manufacturers employ consultants who are trained to partner with private buyers and help them make the best decisions for a high-quality project.

Do You Use Recycled U.S. Steel?

Steel buildings that are made with up to 98% recycled steel are among the most environmentally friendly construction today. Choosing a company that only uses recycled U.S. steel for major building components is friendlier to both the environment and the economy.

What Kind of Warranty Do You Offer?

The manufacturer or broker may offer structural warranties, as well as warranties on the exterior coating, on the roof and on many other parts of the steel building The warranties range from 1 to 5 years on some parts to structural warranties of up to 50 years on the entire building.

What Kind of Equipment Will I Need to Erect This Steel Building?

Many manufacturers specialize in steel buildings that you can erect yourself using just light scaffolding and basic power tools. Manufacturers who supply metal building kits for garages and small barns generally offer bolt-together buildings that are reasonable for DIY construction. All of the components will be pre-drilled with holes lined up for precise construction. You won’t need to do any drilling, cutting or welding in the field.

Do You Offer Stamped Drawings?

In many cases, you’ll need to provide engineer drawing and concrete stamped prints for your local building office before you can start construction. Most reputable suppliers of steel buildings will provide the paperwork you need at no additional charge, or as part of your original quote.

Can You Buy Steel Buildings on eBay?

You can buy just about anything from baby cribs to cars on eBay, so why not steel buildings? In fact, if you do a search on eBay, you’ll certainly find steel buildings and metal buildings for sale. You’ll find listings for steel garages, steel barns, metal buildings, Quonset buildings, farm buildings and more – but just because you can find a steel building for sale on eBay doesn’t mean you should buy one that way. There are some very good reasons that you should always buy a steel building from a reputable supplier – either a manufacturer or a broker.

Quality

When you buy a steel building from a reliable supplier, you can be assured of the quality of the steel and the building itself. All building components will be made from at least 26 gauge steel, and all parts will be precision engineered. You can’t be sure of that kind of quality when you buy from a vendor on an auction site.

Custom Engineering

Every steel building you buy from a reliable supplier is custom-engineered to perfectly fit your site, meeting all the codes and standards of the region where your building will be erected. Many of the listings on eBay are for existing steel buildings, or metal buildings that have been used and dismantled. They’re not engineered to meet the legal codes and standards in your area. Depending on the laws in your municipality, you may not even be allowed to construct a building you buy on an auction site.

Expert Guidance

When you purchase a steel building from a reliable broker or supplier, you’ll have the benefit of the company’s expertise and experience in erecting similar buildings. The company rep can help you make the right decisions for your needs, guide you through acquiring the appropriate paperwork and even help you find an experienced contractor in your area to lay the foundation or erect your building. Few auction suppliers will be able to provide you with that kind of guidance.

Warranties

Most suppliers of new steel buildings offer considerable warranties for their products. The warranties you can expect with your metal building range from 20 years on the paint job to 40 years on the steel building components. Practically every part of your steel building will be under warranty for years, providing assurances and protections you won’t get from an auction steel building supplier.

Don’t sell yourself short when you’re looking for a good deal on steel buildings. Stick with legitimate suppliers and steer clear of unknown deals on auction sites like eBay.

Do You Need a Contractor to Put Up Steel Buildings?

One of the big selling points of residential steel buildings – small steel buildings meant to be used as storage sheds, garden houses or small garages or carports – is that you can buy a steel building kit and do the actual construction yourself. Erecting your own metal building can save you money – and there’s no denying the pride of ownership that comes with having built it yourself. But is it really that easy to erect steel buildings or should you hire a contractor to do the work for you?

The answer to that question depends on your own abilities and the complexity of the building you’ll be putting up. Here are a few things to consider before you decide that your metal building project is a DIY one.

Getting the Foundation Right is Essential

While smaller steel buildings don’t need a full foundation, they do need a poured cement slab foundation or, at the very least for the smallest projects, pier foundations. Getting these foundations precisely right is vital to the stability of your new metal building. Unless you’re an experienced foundation contractor, you absolutely, positively should hire a contractor to handle this part of the job for you even if you opt to do the rest of the job yourself.

Steel Is Heavy

While steel is considered a lightweight building material – it’s light in comparison to its strength and size – large steel components of your metal building can still weigh a lot. Depending on the size of your building and its component walls and beams, you may need more help than you can gather among your friends to move walls and supports into place.

You’ve Never Done It Before

If you’ve never done this kind of construction before, it can be confusing. While the steel building components will be pre-drilled and clearly labeled, mistakes can add to your construction time and to your frustration level. An experienced contractor – especially one that’s experienced in erecting the type and style of metal building you’ve chosen – can significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to get your building up and ready for occupancy.

If you have reasonable do-it-yourself skills, have a few burly friends and the steel building is small enough, you should be able to do the erecting yourself. If any of those factors don’t apply, though, you may do better to hire a contractor with experience erecting steel buildings.

Finding the Best Steel Buildings Online

Steel buildings are the best choice for a number of reasons: they’re versatile, affordable, durable and environmentally friendly. Deciding that a steel building is the right choice for garages and barns is the easy part. Choosing the right metal building or steel building supplier, on the other hand, can be the most difficult part of your project. There are hundreds of companies that sell steel buildings online. How do you decide among them to find the best steel buildings and metal building suppliers online?

Start by Knowing the Differences

There are two basic types of steel building providers online: manufacturers of metal buildings and steel building brokers. They each have their benefits and drawbacks, as well as differences that may make you favor one over the other. If you’re an individual buyer who has never done an involved construction project before, look for a supplier that is used to working with layman. They’ll be less likely to assume you know the ropes and more likely to make sure you understand all the terms of your contract.

Check Reputation

Any company that sells steel buildings online acquires a reputation, either good or bad. If you can’t find a trace of them online aside from their own website, be suspicious that they’re a brand new incarnation. Like many other “trendy” things, online steel building sales have attracted a lot of unscrupulous “entrepreneurs” that aren’t much more than scam artists. Some deliver substandard steel buildings. Others take your money and disappear. Take the time to research each company you’re considering buying from, and only short-list those who have excellent reputations for delivering quality products and quality service.

Avoid Flashy “Big Sale” Signs

The price of steel buildings is very subject to market prices for steel, which only stands to reason. Shop around to get price quotes on the steel building designs that interest you, but stay away from websites with big, flashing banners promising you “the lowest priced steel buildings anywhere” or “half off clearance steel buildings.” In most cases, you’ll be subjected to high pressure sales tactics, and you won’t even get a bargain out of the deal.

Once you’ve narrowed your choices down to two or three, contact each company and ask for a more specific quote. Expect to spend a good deal of time discussing the particulars of your needs – steel buildings come with lots of options, and each one is designed specifically for you, so the supplier will want to know exactly what you want and need in your building before committing to a quote.

These tips can help you find the best steel buildings available online or anywhere, and, more importantly, help you select a metal building supplier you can trust to handle your sale.

Farming In Steel Buildings

Steel buildings have been popular as barns on farms and ranches for decades, but these days, there’s a new way to use them on farms. With the rising popularity of hydroponics for growing food and flowers, many farmers are actually farming inside steel buildings.

Essentially, hydroponics is a method for growing plants without using soil or dirt. This allows farmers to grow crops regardless of the quality of their soil and without spending backbreaking days amending soil to be more hospitable to the crops. Hydroponic growing in steel buildings requires less space, allowing farmers to grow more food.

Steel buildings are the ideal choice for setting up a large-scale hydroponics setup. Quonset buildings and similar structures provide fully unencumbered interior space that can be arranged in any way you want. There are inexpensive options for hanging pipes, fans and lights overhead to provide air and water circulation and maximum growing light. For those who prefer natural sunlight, there are options to add windows and skylights to steel buildings. Some manufacturers will even work with the farmer to create glass, plastic or fiberglass roofs and walls for hoop-frame metal buildings.

Benefits of Steel Buildings for Hydroponic Farming

Many of the traditional benefits of steel buildings translate very well to hydroponic farming. First, they’re far more affordable than any other type of building. Steel is the least expensive building material, and the construction methods used with steel buildings reduce the construction costs to well below what you’d pay to erect a traditional building.

In addition, steel is an ecologically friendly building material. Most steel buildings are created with recycled steel, so you’re not using more of the Earth’s natural resources. Because they’re weather tight, steel buildings are easy to insulate, making them more energy-efficient as well. Since they require little maintenance – no need for repainting for up to 20 years, for example – you’re not polluting the air with paint fumes, and if you should decide to demolish your steel building you can simply take the pieces apart and send them to the recycler, or sell your building so that it can be used by someone else.

Steel structures are structurally stable in the most extreme weather conditions because they are precision engineered to meet or exceed the building standards for the region in which they will be built. They’re also extremely flexible. As your farm and your business grows, your steel building can grow with you. Metal buildings can be easily and affordably expanded.

If you’re looking for the ideal solution to space for hydroponic gardening or farming, consider how much you could grow inside custom-engineered steel buildings. With the right decisions, you could have an entire, profitable farm that fits inside a barn.

Mistakes to Avoid When Insulating Steel Buildings

Steel buildings are highly energy efficient and weather tight, but in environments with extremes of heat and cold, you’ll want to add insulation. The right insulation for steel buildings will reduce your energy costs, improve indoor air quality and help you avoid the hazards of moisture retention. There are a number of common mistakes people make when insulating steel buildings. Being aware of these problems ahead of time can make your insulation project run more smoothly and ensure that your new building is environmentally sound and safe.

Choosing the Wrong Insulation for Steel Buildings

Some types of insulation won’t work well with steel buildings because of the way their constructed. In general, you’ll want to avoid blown-in loose-fill insulation because most metal buildings don’t have appropriate cavities to fill. Spray-on insulation is generally a good choice because it won’t reduce the size of the interior, but rigid foam or fiberglass insulation is a top choice.

Not Joining Seams

Fiberglass insulation and rigid foam panels butt up against each other side-by-side, creating a barrier between the outside walls and the inside air. Many people neglect the final step in installing this type of insulation in steel buildings – taping the seams. This isn’t disastrous when insulating other types of buildings, but steel is a great heat conductor. Cold or heat will find its way between the panels unless you tape them over. The few minutes it takes to apply a strip of tape along each of the seams will pay off in dramatically decreased energy costs.

Blocking the Vents

Vents are part of a steel buildings air quality control. They allow air circulation that reduces moisture condensation and cuts down the risk of mold or mildew growth. It’s important that you avoid covering the vents with insulation when you’re installing it, or you’ll compromise the air quality in your metal building.

Not installing Enough Insulation

As noted, steel buildings conduct heat more efficiently than other types of construction – and in terms of heat loss, this isn’t a good thing. There’s no such thing as too much insulation, so choose a higher grade of insulation and make sure you’re getting the most effect for your work and your money.

Cutting the Insulation Inaccurately

Measure twice, cut once. If you’re installing insulation that needs to be cut to fit, take the time to measure and cut accurately so that the insulation fits the walls without gaps. A smooth fit ensures that your metal building will be fully insulated.

Steel buildings can save you money and provide space you need for storage, garages and other uses. Proper insulation can even make them suitable for use as living quarters. Take full advantage of the potential for your metal building by insulating it properly.

Steel Buildings Down on the Farm

Barns, dairies, riding arenas, equipment garages – there are tons of reasons that steel buildings are a perfect fit for the farm. Farmers and ranchers are certainly not new to the realization that a steel building is often the best choice when they need to replace a barn or build a new equipment shed. They’ve been relying on steel buildings for their needs for decades. There are many excellent reasons that metal buildings are the preferred choice for agricultural uses. Here are just a few of them.

Value

Farmers understand the importance of economy when it comes to building. That’s one of the major reasons that they opt for steel buildings when they need barns, garages, equipment storage buildings, dairy houses and even greenhouses. Pre-engineered and prefabricated steel buildings are the only choice for price-conscious consumers. It’s not just the cost of the materials that makes them so affordable. Steel building components are cut to precise specifications at the factory so that all the pieces fit together tightly, making them weather-tight in just about any weather. All the holes required for assembly are pre-drilled so there’s no chance of mis-meaurement or spoilage. Because all of the early stages of construction and fabrication are completed in the tightly controlled factory environment, steel buildings deliver a higher level of consistent quality that’s vital for farm and agricultural buildings.

Because all of the pieces are cut, drilled and ready to assemble, the actual erection of the building requires far fewer skilled laborers than erecting a traditional building does. Your new barn goes up more quickly, often without even having to bring in outside help. If you do have to hire a contractor to manage the erection of your building, you’ll be paying for far less of his time.

Durability

Steel buildings are constructed of high quality steel components that are precision engineered to fit tightly together. Each building is designed to meet or exceed the building standards in the area in which it will be erected. That means that if your building is going up in hurricane region, it will be engineered with the tolerances need to withstand heavy winds. In a blizzard prone area, steel buildings will be engineered to stand up to heavy snow loads and high winds. Steel buildings can even be built to stand through earthquakes.

Steel buildings are also non-combustible, and steel won’t warp or rot. It won’t attract insect infestations, either, and the paint won’t peel and flake. For all those reasons, steel buildings are safer and cheaper to maintain than wood or masonry buildings – and, as a bonus, will nearly always cost less to insure.

When you consider the many benefits and advantages of steel buildings for agricultural uses, it’s the obvious choice for barns, storage buildings and more on the farm.

Building a Barn or Riding Arena? Check Out Steel Buildings

Steel buildings are nearly always a great choice for just about any building project. They offer so many benefits, from more money in your pocket to higher quality construction and lower maintenance costs. That’s why metal buildings are so popular for use as barns, equipment garages, agricultural storage buildings and riding arenas. If you’re putting together the particulars on a building for your farm, ranch, agribusiness or animal related business, you should be giving a serious look to the advantages and benefits of choosing a steel building for your project.

Riding Arenas Made of Steel Are Affordable

Steel buildings have been the choice of riding professionals and horse trainers for years. Pre-fab metal buildings offer many excellent benefits as riding arenas. Steel is nearly always the most affordable building material on the market, so you start with savings from the very outset. You’ll also pay considerably less for a foundation. Because steel buildings are far lighter in weight and structurally superior to most other materials, they require minimal foundations. Because the metal building components are delivered ready to bolt together, you’ll save considerable cash on construction costs. Finally, you’ll save additional money over the years because steel requires far less care than other types of building materials. You won’t have to worry about repainting for decades, and wood-munching pests like termites have little interest in steel.

Steel Buildings Are Sturdier

Steel is the strongest construction material available. Pre-engineered steel buildings are designed with structural stability and safety in mind. All the components fit together precisely, and are meant to support each other as a whole. Every steel building is engineered to meet local building standards, ensuring that they will withstand the most extreme weather conditions in your area. Metal buildings have remained standing through blizzards, hurricanes, tornados and even earthquakes, because they’re built to last.

Flexible Design and Wide Open Space

The one thing you really need in a riding arena is unobstructed space for riding. No other material beats steel when it comes to flexible interior space. The styles of construction used for steel buildings require no interior support beams or posts, so your floor plan is completely your own to design. You can easily build in the number and style of arenas that you want in your building. Add a training facility, build in stalls and stables – and if you decide to expand in a few years or a dozen years, it’s easy to add on to the size of a steel building.

Before you make any decisions about your new riding arena, consider all the advantages of steel buildings with regard to cost, safety, flexibility and durability. When you do, the choice will be clear.