Important Things to Know About Steel Buildings Before You Buy

Are you planning to add on to your property? Steel buildings make great garages, storage buildings, workshops and home offices. When they’re properly finished and outfitted, steel buildings can even add extra living space to your home – a free-standing metal building can be the ideal solution when adult children return home or the perfect answer to providing a safe home for elderly parents without cramping either family too much. Before you jump right in and order a steel building for your purposes – or even get too enamored of the idea – there are some things you should know about steel buildings before you buy.

Does Your Community Allow the Erection of Steel Buildings?

Before you get too far into the planning stages of a steel building project, check with your local zoning office and homeowners association. Some communities don’t allow metal buildings at all, while others place specific restrictions on where you can put up a steel building. You may need to locate your new structure a specific distance from neighbors or from the street, for example, or only be allowed to erect a metal building that conforms to certain community standards.

What Local Building Codes Must You Meet?

Even in communities that allow steel buildings, you’ll still have to meet all the applicable local codes. Some of the regulations will apply to any building you erect. Others will only apply for specific uses. Dog kennels may have certain requirements, for example, and residential buildings will almost certainly have to meet certain standards of livability. In addition to those, your building will have to meet local safety codes. Metal building manufacturers will work with you to design a steel building that meets or exceeds all of your local codes and regulations, but you’re responsible for providing them with the right specs.

Should You Use a Contractor to Erect Your Steel Building?

One of the big attractions of steel buildings is their ease of construction. You’ll often see assertions that you can erect your own metal building with the help of one or two friends over a weekend or two. While this may be true of simple structures, the finish work on a steel building can be more complex. If you’re not an experienced do-it-yourself enthusiast with good skills, you might do better to locate a contractor to do the actual assembly.

 Before you ask for quotes on steel buildings, do your basic research so that you’re not disappointed if things don’t work out the way you want. Steel buildings are an excellent value for most uses, but buying a building you can’t erect because you didn’t check the particulars is a waste.