PREPARING A STEEL BUILDING BUDGET

Preparing your steel building budget requires more than a quote from a steel building manufacturer. In most cases, those quotes only account for the design, relevant drawings and actual building materials. However, there is a lot more included in building and finishing a complete steel building project. You have permitting fees to consider, the costs for excavating the site and pouring the foundation, building accessories, interior trim pieces, and so on.

Hence, preparing a steel building budget can be a little more complex than you would have thought.
TIPS FOR PREPARING AN ACCURATE STEEL BUILDING BUDGET
The following are tips for taking a "Big Picture" approach to steel building budgeting, so you don't miss important fees or costs that will throw your original budget out of the water.

Understand soft versus hard costs. Typically, we talk about soft and hard costs. The soft costs are the things you'll never see once the building is completed. These consist of things like surveying fees, traffic studies, design fees, legal fees, the cost of insurance, financing costs, legal fees and administrative costs.

Hard costs are more concrete or visible. They include things like the cost of land, the foundation, building materials, construction labor, electrical and plumbing costs and the interior finishes. Your budget should include all of these factors, and - of course - they will vary a bit whether you are building a residential or commercial building.

Ask yourself important questions. There are some important questions you should ask yourself:

How many square feet will my building be?
How much have I budgeted per square foot?
What is the average steel building construction cost per square foot where I live?
Does my budget seem to align with current market values?
Is my budget realistic, or do I need to make adjustments?
Schedule a meeting with your local building department. Your local building department is a wealth of information because they know exactly what work is being done in your area and how much it costs. In addition to helping you establish your total budget for building permits and related fees based on your building design ideas, they can also help to provide cost-per-square-foot information based on similar current projects.

They will also educate you regarding specific or notable building codes in your area. This information, which includes things like seismic codes or codes pertaining to wind and snow loads - among other things - is crucial to getting an accurate steel building quote from your prospective manufacturers. They need this information to design your building, and determine the best materials for the specifications.

If you put the cart before the horse, the building may have to be re-engineered, which will cost you more money.

Excavation and grading. To enhance the overall function and comfort of your building, you want it to rest on solid ground (and a solid foundation - more on that next). The site should be planned to accommodate adequate water runoff and drainage, while simultaneously reducing the site's vulnerability to erosion. This is especially important for sloped land and will require extra budgeting for grading permits and professional grading services.

Budget for a solid foundation. Foundations are actually a pretty easy DIY project - - as long as you are familiar with the soil quality and composition at your building site as well as local seismic requirements. Unless you are building a simple, residential carport, garage or hobby shop, we highly recommend using a professional concrete subcontractor to pour your foundation.

You can build the world's strongest steel building, but if it is built on a weak, crumbling or generally unstable foundation, it is not going to do you any good.

Include appropriate functional accessories. There are an array of metal building accessories that cost more now but will return those costs and then some over time. Don't make the mistake of leaving these out in an effort to shrink your budget. Some of the most important include things like:

Waterproof/shedding roofs- get rain water and snow melt down and off your building.
Gutters and downspouts - same as the above.
Awnings for added shade protection - this will significantly decrease solar heat gain, which makes a noticeable difference on annual utility bills.
Reflective roof coatings - studies have shown buildings with cool metal roofs, or roofs with reflective coatings, save an average of about 40% on annual cooling costs.
Moisture barriers - choosing insulation with moisture barriers or adding separate moisture or vapor barriers will increase moisture control.
Protective coatings - The right protective coating can mean the difference of decades in terms of lifetime steel panel and parts performance.
A reputable steel building manufacturer will take the time to assist you in creating a realistic and accurate budget for the full scope of your steel building project. Contact the folks at Whirlwind to get started.


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