Steel buildings seem like a perfect solution to so many problems. You never have to worry about beams rotting due to exposure to water or termites. Your insurance premiums tend to be lower because they are so durable. Yet you can make a mistake when buying or building a steel building.
Here are four mistakes to avoid when buying a steel building.
Not Knowing the Building Code Before You Buy or Build
There are some councils that limit the installation of steel buildings. Some will allow portal framed buildings and refuse others. Understand the local council’s building code before you design a steel building to be assembled on site or transported to the site pre-constructed. If your building code requires certain architectural standards be met, learn this in advance and work with the steel building company to meet them, whether you have to put a brick façade on the outside of the building to get it approved or have to paint it a particular colour. Or you may have to appeal for a zoning change before you can build your building.
Failing to Plan for the Supporting Infrastructure
A building without the guts is a mere shell. You need to work with a construction manager who will finish out the steel building or a steel building construction firm such as Steel Buildings who can also install all of the related infrastructure for your steel framed building. This supporting infrastructure includes the electrical connections, telecommunication infrastructure, be it phone lines or Wi-Fi routers, the HVAC system and related HVAC supply components.
Not Considering Long Term Needs
Yes, steel framed buildings are far more adaptable than concrete, brick and wood frame buildings. Cutting a hole in the wall so you can add on or reinforce existing members, and adding a second floor are far easier with steel buildings than other types of structures. However, too many fail to consider the long term needs of the business or occupant before they agree on a design.
For example, a building you can add onto is irrelevant if there isn’t room to do so. If you want the option to add a second storey, it is cheaper and easier to reinforce the ground floor now than try to do so later. If you are using the building as manufacturing space now, but may expand your offices into the building, insulate the building now and add the necessary electrical and plumbing connections while you have the work crew on site.
Failing to Consider Your Financing Options
You can build a steel building using a mortgage through a bank, but you could also finance the building through the building manufacturer. Be careful about the rules and regulations that may conflict with each other if you have a mortgage note for the land and a mortgage with the builder for the building and what may happen if you’re forced to default on one or the other.
You may also want to consider building the building on a short-term loan and then refinancing the combination of the new building and real estate into a single loan with a lending institution. Or you may be able to take out a line of equity against your existing building to build the new steel building, whether you pay the payments against the old building while running part of the expanded business in the new building or pay it all off when you move into the new building and sell the old one.
Before you start looking for steel buildings for sale, make sure that you are properly prepared and don’t commit any of these mistakes. One simple mistake could throw a wrench into your whole project and end up costing you much more than you expected.