Moving Your Project from Steel Beams to Steel Building

            You’re the customer. You need to be in touch with what’s going on in the building process. Talk to the dealer. Talk to them to ensure that you understand everything about the building process–especially information regarding the delivery of the building. Once your new building has been pre-engineered, it will be delivered to your job site. Although some steel building suppliers do deliver with their own fleet of trucks, this is usually managed by a third-party carrier. All shipment arrangements will be made by the manufacturer in accordance to the invoice. It is necessary to plan ahead and figure in whatever accommodations must be for made for shipping and the corresponding time necessary to fulfill it. Those who wait until the last minute to notify the building supplier of changes to the shipping arrangements may expect to pay more in the way of fees or overall costs.
            Who is responsible for delivering the building to the worksite? The manufacturer. Most likely the structure will be shipped by a standard carrier. The common carrier is the one who will be responsible to receive the building materials from the steel building supplier and then ship it to the work site. When the building is transported to the work site, it is all up to the customer or buyer to receive the steel and all materials associated with it. If everything on the invoice is filled out correctly, then the new building will be hauled directly to you at the place of construction so that building construction can immediately begin. It is the customer’s responsibility to establish that the proper address is specified on the paper work prior to shipping.
            Verifying when the building is to be sent is also up to the customer. The total completion time for a new pre-engineered building may vary. From start to finish it could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. However, when judged against to conventional construction methods, this is still a lot faster. The customer should give ample time allowance to finish the steel building design, pre-engineering, and delivery.
            Some customers will decide to have their new pre-engineered steel building trucked in to the construction site before the start of the erection process. Once the building pieces are brought in to the place of construction they need to be sufficiently covered and not left out into the open. Most steel buildings are shipped with primer and protective coatings applied. Simply because these parts have protective coatings does not mean that they are impervious to the effects of adverse weather conditions. In other words, even if the pieces are left out in the open for only a few weeks.
            An erector is the one who will move your project from steel beams to steel building. Therefore, start early–well in advance of the start of construction–and hire the best you can find. During the high building season most building erectors and contractors are booked up for weeks or even months. The best approach is to secure a qualified and experienced erector and lock-in a date feasible for the customer, supplier, and erector to receive the building and then specify a delivery date.