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Considering a pre-engineered metal building?
Helpful Tips
Do your homework when choosing a building company:
- Get the full name, address and phone number of the building company.
- Ask how long they have been in business and get the name of the Owner/President.
- If the company doesn't offer references, request a minimum of 5 local references. We automatically provide 25 plus references, with more available upon request.
- Call or check online with your local Better Business Bureau.
- Does the company perform the building erection themselves or do they subcontract the erection? Are they willing to provide the subcontractors certificate of insurance with you listed as certificate holder? Is the erector licensed by the building manufacturer?
- Does the company have established relationships with local building authorities, code administrators, concrete companies, electricians, plumbers, architects and engineers? (This is very helpful during the building process.)
- Has the company included the foundation design?
Things to look for when choosing a building:
- Is the building all steel? Steel is maintenance free, no wood rot, no termites, no nails backing out, no cracking or splitting and no fire hazard. For those reasons, most insurance rates are less for an all steel building vs. wood frame.
- Steel truss or I-beam construction? I-beam construction means solid steel painted iron frame with solid steel columns, beams, roof purlins and wall girts. Since our columns are generally spaced 25' - 30' apart, you get more usable space and more flexibility to add windows and doors. Many truss buildings come with wood purlins and wall girts.
- What gauge is the wall and roof system? Our buildings have standard 24 gauge mechanically seamed roof systems with no exposed fasteners to elongate and leak. Our wall panels are 26 gauge Kynar 500 with fasters and self sealing washers.
- Is the building certified? Our buildings are AISC (American Institute of Steel Construction) or MBMA (Metal Building Manufacturing Association) Certified, which is a requirement on many commercial and industrial projects.
- Does the building come with drawings? All of our buildings come with a complete set of stamped-engineered drawings and an anchor bolt layout plan.
- Do the roof and wall panels have a warranty? Our roof and wall panels come with a 25 year finish warranty which is backed by the building manufacturer.
Things to look for in your building quotation:
- What is the building code? The live load? The snow load? The wind load? The wind exposure? Always check with your local city or town Building Inspector to verify that the code and loads will be acceptable to obtain a building permit and in some cases pass a building inspection.
- Does the quote include freight to your jobsite?
- Does the quote include any applicable sale tax or usage tax?
- Does the quote include the actual accessories such as preassembled pass doors with hardware, windows, framed openings for overhead doors and building insulation? Energy codes have changed dramatically over the past few years; make sure the insulation meets current building codes. Assuming all accessories are included can be misleading.
- Who is responsible for unloading the building upon delivery? What type of equipment will be utilized? Are they prepared to handle long sheets of roofing and wall panels?
- Does the quote include all trims for the building? Such as formed base trims, gutters and downspouts, eave and gable trims and snow protection.
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• Letter From Steve
• Helpful Tips
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