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Before you purchase a metal building, it is important that you know what and how much maintenance is needed to upkeep these buildings. The best part: Maintaining metal buildings is easy, fast, and cheap! Inspecting Your Metal Building Inspecting your building is essential, as you want to find problems and fix them before they get worse. I recommend inspecting your building 2 times a year, possibly in the spring and fall seasons. During these inspections, you want to make sure that the metal building is exactly how it should be, nothing is shifted or out of place and there is no damage. Keep a record of your inspections so that you will have an organized system, either paper or digital. You’ll want to note the dates that you did your inspections as well as any updates or fixes you have done or things that you are worried about (but maybe you don’t want to fix it just yet). Is Your Metal Building Damaged? Repair it! You’ll want to repair any damages as soon as you can, as the s

Purchasing a steel building for your company can be a difficult process. Not only do you need to make sure that you have enough space for your current needs, but also your needs in the near future. So, what size metal building do you need? What happens if you need more space down the road? Metal Buildings Are Expandable Lucky for you, metal buildings are expandable. This means that if the business picks up and need more room than you had planned, you can easily increase your space. If you know that you are going to expand, you will want to make sure that you work the expansion potential into your metal building design. Using Expandable End Frames There are a variety of components that make up your metal building. For starters, you have your Main Frame. This consists of the rafters and columns that are your main support for all of the additional framing. Then, you have the Expandable Frame. This frame is made to support any future expansions, as long as they are the same width a

You have finally decided to purchase a new steel barn to either replace that maintenance, heavy wood structure that has been on the property for years or to simply expand on the indoor space at your disposal. Your decisions, however, do not stop there. Proper Planning Now that you have made the choice of a steel barn there are many things that now need to be considered before the initial construction can begin. One of the first things to be addressed is the local bylaws that govern the structures you can build on your property. These vary from township to township and city to city so be sure that you have the right information on whatever permits and zoning bylaws that you may have to purchase and adhere to. Intentions Another important thing to fully consider is the intended use of the building as this will dictate certain details that will need to be addressed. Exactly how big will the structure be after completion? Will the unit need to be insulated so that it is truly

Optimal utilization of space is an tough task, generally when you want a big covered space you most likely ended up with a big metal structure with lots of legs.These unwanted legs not only consume space but also restrict the use of your metal building. Having enough space to perform the functions that you require is always tricky. This is where Clear Span Buildings come into the picture. The Important Aspects of the Clear Span Building A clear span building is a structure, usually made of steel, which requires no additional support columns to hold up the structure. Columns take up valuable space in the interior. The true beauty of the clear span buildings is the fact that they are traditionally cheaper, much stronger and much more durable than wood or concrete buildings. All of which is highly important to the end user. By having no support columns in the interior you can easily section off areas within the structure to fit any design ideas or requirements that you may have.

PRICING METAL BUILDINGS BY STANDARD AND CUSTOM PACKAGES Did you know that altering your structural design slightly might greatly reduce metal building prices? It is much like buying a car; the more bells and whistles you add, the higher the steel building costs. In the same way, unnecessary add-ons increase your metal building costs.  Consequently, if you can adapt your design to fit into the “standard” prefab building package, you will pay less per square foot. STANDARD VERSUS CUSTOM METAL BUILDING PRICING First, let’s look at the differences between standard and custom packages and see how each affects metal building costs. At RHINO Steel Building Systems, a “standard” order is a basic box design.  It comes with a simple gable or single slope roofline.  The roof pitch is 4:12 pitch or less. A standard eave ranges from 10’ to 40’ in height. On the other hand, a design classified as a “custom” order requires more complicated engineering. For example, a complex roofline

Finnish economics professor Osmo A. Wiio claimed that we typically overestimate the near future and underestimate the distant future. His thoughts resonate well with today’s perception of design automation. Back in the 1980s, I took part in the first-ever Finnish “integrated CAD” projects, in which the architect, the structural, HVAC, and electrical engineers exchanged CAD files instead of blueprints. We used minicomputers, which had about as much computing power as today’s laser printer. Still, we were able to automate design tasks. Our flagship project was the biggest office building in the Nordics. The design consisted of repetitive floor units and, thus, was ideal for primitive design automation. We could, for example, make changes to a few base units and propagate the updates throughout the floors and blocks of the building. It was a huge time saver if you compare it to manually doing the same operation a number of times to dozens of drawings. Today’s designers have tools

Is your company hedging on whether or not to set up a Google+ account? We'll be honest; we understand your reluctance to set up yet another social media platform, especially one that requires you to press Shift and the + sign in order to type it in marketing material and web content. But, the reality is Google+ does, indeed, matter when it comes to getting qualified leads to your website, blogs and especially your brick-and-mortar storefront or office. YES - GOOGLE+ DOES HELP CONSTRUCTION BUSINESSES GET LEADS If you've followed the importance of social media and business marketing for a while, you're aware that Google+ was a late arrival to the show. Forget the idea "the early bird catches the worm" (consider that Linked in started back in 2003 and both Facebook and Twitter fired up in 2006). Google+ relied on its pseudo-monopoly of the online search engine world and knew that if they built it, we would come. And, they were right. It didn't matter th

Metal buildings aren't designed solely for commercial, industrial and agricultural use. Quite the contrary; the residential sector is quickly adopting steel frames and pre-fabricated metal buildings to produce affordable, weather-resistant, seismic-sturdy and sustainable homes. However, we've also noticed an increase in queries regarding retrofitting existing metal buildings so they can be made into a livable space. The reasons for doing so are vast. Homeowners can increase their immediate income potential - as well as their property's resale value - by adding a rental unit. Baby Boomers look towards granny unit-styled remodels so aging parents can relocate for long-term care. On the flip-side, Boomers are also interested in metal building conversions as an easy way to transition from larger homes, into smaller, more livable units while they rent their original home for retirement income. TURN THAT OLD METAL BUILDING INTO A LIVABLE SPACE From full-time houses to rent

Home builder and construction marketing is as complicated and layered in the virtual world as building projects are in the real world. There is layer upon layer of due diligence that must be performed before, during and after online and social media content is created and posted. Best practices must be adhered to  in order to benefit from continual returns on your initial investment, and your company's reputation and brand are largely dependent on the finished product. Similarly, any mistakes you make in your marketing efforts can have negative ramifications for quite some time. Just as with a mistake during a construction build-out, there are certain marketing snafus that can lead to additional costs, negative brand exposure and a decrease in business. Who wants that? DO YOUR COMPANY A FAVOR: AVOID THESE 3 COMMON CONSTRUCTION MARKETING MISTAKES While none of these mistakes are intentional, all are very common in small to medium sized construction  companies that simply &quo

Let's be honest here; training new employees is a pain in the girts. It's time-consuming, requires the patience of a saint and can slooooooow the working process considerably - which isn't ideal for construction projects dependent on a timeline. On the flip side, not taking the time to adequately train your company's new hires is a huge mistake. In the best case scenarios, you wind up with minimally trained employees who can't perform up to the company's expectations through no fault of their own. In the worse cases, poorly trained construction personnel can be responsible for serious safety issues or poor workmanship that results in expensive repairs, warranty work and the potential erosion of your reputation. 5 TIPS FOR TRAINING EFFICIENT, RELIABLE AND LOYAL CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYEES Thus, taking time to thoroughly train new construction hires is good investment on your part. At the very least, they'll do things "your way," and odds are you&#

Is your construction complying with federal, state and local labor laws? The rigors of doing day-to-day business in order to meet client demand inevitably becomes the focus of any construction firm, regardless of how much they desire to maintain an "employee first" attitude. Thus, it's easy to slip on one or more of the 180 federal laws administered and enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor. PAY ATTENTION TO THESE CONSTRUCTION LABOR LAWS AND STAY OUT OF TROUBLE That's right, the U.S DOL has written 180 laws and your state and local municipalities may have a few of their own. It's almost impossible to keep track of all of them but the following laws are the ones that are most apt to get you in trouble if you aren't current in your Employee Handbooks and Safety Manuals or if you simply aren't paying attention. The good news is that even the DOL realizes the average business owner doesn't have time to research and remain current on 108 separat

Construction job site theft: at first, you may not notice the little things that walk away from your site here and there. However, once perpetrators of the theft - often comprising names from your company's payroll (we're sorry to say) - figure out nobody's watching, larger quantities and higher-dollar items may disappear as well. According to figures from entities like the National Association of Home Builders and the LoJack Corporation, construction theft accounts for as much as $1 billion dollars worth of losses each year. That's a big chunk of collective change, and small to medium-sized construction companies don't have the financial wiggle room to lose any amount of money in a recovering economy where providing affordable products and services are essential to remaining in business. Thus, implementing security measures protect your site can be one of the most lucrative steps you can take to prevent significant financial losses in the future. 5 TIPS FOR P

Trade shows and conferences are a great way to network steel framing system and expose your company to a new target audience. It's a place where you can increase your list of qualified leads, launch new products or services and cultivate more personal relationships with some of the vendors and distributors you work with on a regular basis. Plus, in an era when business communication is largely digitized, construction trade shows and conferences are the place you can enjoy some good ol' fashioned face time. STAND OUT FROM COMPETITORS AT CONSTRUCTION CONFERENCES & TRADE SHOWS If you're a trade show veteran, you know that setting up a booth and having a few free pens to give away is a far cry from what's required these days to generate any kind of buzz about your business, products and/or services. Getting the most from construction trade shows and conferences requires a bit more panache. The following tips can help you get the most bang for your buck, so your

Faster, faster, faster! The world keeps moving rollforming machine faster and yet, in the construction industry, we are still beholden to natural laws of gravity, momentum and velocity. We are vulnerable to Mother Nature's patterns as well as natural disasters or unexpected superstorm-worthy events. Finally, there is the reality of the imperfect human. All in all, the sum of these parts make it a challenge to come up with a realistic project timeline and bid dollar amounts low enough to get the job but high enough that you can complete the job in the black. The faster you can get your construction crew to work, the better chance you have of coping with the more uncontrollable factors that hinder construction schedules; but how to do that while still maintaining a safe and positive jobsite? TIPS TO MAKE YOUR CONSTRUCTION CREW & JOBSITE MORE EFFICIENT Your ability to create an efficient jobsite starts long before ground is broken and continues throughout the duration of

Steel, wood, plastic, vinyl, cement - the options are incredibly varied when it comes to choosing siding for your residential or commercial construction projects. As with all building products, we always recommend analyzing first-time and lifetime costs when making materials selection. What may cost more at the outset will often pay for the difference in pricing and then some over the course of the product's lifetime. Steel and metal siding products are some of the most durable and low-maintenance products on the market. They are so durable, in fact that most warranties are offered between 20- to 40-years, although properly installed and well-maintained siding will last longer than that. Even so, no product is perfect so the following is a list of pros and cons to help you determine whether metal siding is the right choice for your building. THE PROS OF METAL SIDING We always like the good news first, so here it goes: Tough as nails. Get it? Metal siding products are liter

Don't let that metal garage just sit there; put that thing to work. Metal garages are one of the most versatile metal building products on the market. They can serve as a learning tool, a straight-forward, do-it-yourself project as you work up to bigger and better metal building projects, and are a perfect solution for keeping your property more neat and tidy. Whether you choose to use it as the primary parking spot for your car or toys, or as your new and improved hobby shop, uses for a metal garage are numerous. 5 GREAT WAYS TO CAPITALIZE ON METAL GARAGES & MAXIMIZE THEIR POTENTIAL In addition to being useful, metal garages can earn or save you money. In many cases, parking your car(s) or toy(s) in a garage will reduce the total premium on any associated insurance bills. Garages add value to your property, especially if you have an older home without an existing covered carport or garage. If you use your garage for moneymaking hobbies, side jobs or other income earning