How to Save Money When Buying steel flooring

Tips for Reducing Your Prefab Steel Building Costs

In addition to the money-saving ideas in our Building Metal Structures for Less and Save Money on a Steel Building blogs, here are more methods for lowering your metal building costs.

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Metal Building Costs and the Budget-Minded Building Buyer

Always begin with quality pre-engineered metal buildings.

It never pays to settle for a cut-rate building to save a few dollars.  In the end, you will definitely regret buying a cheaply made metal structure.

A well-made metal building provides decades of useful service.  It also enhances the resale value of your property.

However, even with a top-of-the-line product from a reputable vendor, there are other ways to reduce your metal building construction spending.

Tip #1: Do Your Homework

Know exactly what you want before you place your steel building order.

How much space do you really need?  Buying more building than you actually need drives up your construction costs.

Keep unnecessary modifications to a minimum. It saves money, time— and great aggravation.

Making changes after the order is in the works also wastes time and money.  Change orders are not only expensive, but also delay your project.

Tip #2: Choose Options for Pre-engineered Metal Buildings Wisely

RHINO Steel Building Systems offers many wonderful options to customize and accessorize your prefab metal building.

RHINO steel building options and upgrades include:

• Gutter and downspout systems
• Insulation packages
• Interior wall panels
• Mezzanine systems
• Overhangs, eave extensions, and canopy configurations
• Overhead doors and entry doors in various sizes and designs
• Pipe flashing boots
• Roof and wall vents
• Skylights and wall lights
• Standing seam, architectural, and cool-coated roofing panels
• Wainscoting

Determine which options you really need— and which ones you do not.  Eliminating unnecessary bells and whistles moderates your metal building costs.

Tip #3: Plan Now for Later Expansion

Pre-engineered metal buildings are simple and easy to expand— if you plan for expansion in advance. 

First, steel building endwalls should be engineered for later expansion on your order.

Secondly, locate your building on the lot so that there is plenty of room for later expansion.

To keep metal building pricing to a minimum on a smaller lot, consider ordering a taller structure.  A soaring ceiling allows you to add a mezzanine floor system—now or later—converting your building into a two-story structure and doubling your space.

However, be sure your foundation contractor knows in advance that you may add a second floor in the future.  That way, your foundation is engineered to support a later additional floor.

Tip #4: For Lower Metal Building Prices, Keep the Lines of Communication Clear

Local building officials, an architect, an excavator, a foundation contractor, framing erectors, a general contractor, and your steel building provider all need to be coordinated.  You are the one responsible for making sure all these entities are kept abreast of current local building codes, plan changes, and scheduling.

Tip #5: Carefully Check Your Bill of Lading

Don’t be so excited about beginning construction that you fail to inventory the steel building kit accurately!

Check all the pieces against the Bill of Lading as soon as your framing arrives.  Be sure that all framing parts are present and undamaged before you begin the framing erection.

Tip #6: Do You Have the Right Tools and Equipment?

Erecting prefab metal buildings requires specific tools and special handling equipment.  Make sure you have the right equipment for the job.

If you rent a lift or crane that is too large or too small for your building, you waste both time and money.

Scheduling rental equipment too soon or too late also takes a bite out of your building budget.

RHINO provides you with a list of materials.  Our steel building specialists can advise you on what heavy equipment would work best for your specific project.

Tip #7: Do You Have an Adequate Crew?

If you are using a professional erection crew, they are responsible for providing the right sized crew for the job.

However, if you plan to erect the building yourself, you need sufficient help to do the job safely and efficiently.

For example, a three-person crew typically erects a 40’ x 60’ RHINO steel building in about five days.  Generally, 60’ by 100’ pre-engineered steel buildings take a four-person crew about seven days to complete.

Ask your RHINO specialist for suggestions on how big a crew you will need for your specific project.

Conclusion: Watch the Details to Lower Overall Metal Building Pricing

To keep metal building prices low, pay close attention to the details. Careful planning and scheduling help keep your metal building costs to a minimum.

RHINO Metal Building Prices Cannot Be Beat

Get the most for your construction dollar; depend on RHINO pre-engineered metal buildings.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of steel flooring. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

Cost-conscious builders trust RHINO pre-engineered metal buildings for the strongest structure at the lowest price.

Designed for an efficient use of materials, RHINO metal building kits eliminate waste.  You never pay for something you will not use.

Prefabrication also cuts your construction costs.  RHINO customers find our building system trims erection time by about 33% over other building alternatives.

Call RHINO now at 940.383..  Discover the RHINO Difference in metal building pricing and quality.

 (Updated 7-29-.  Originally published 1-30-.)

We get questions all the time about how to save money on a barndominium or shop house. Honestly, there are a LOT of ways, big and small, to make your build fit in to a budget, but here are the top ways we have found to be simple, and effective, in reducing construction costs!

1. Be strategic about where you put your framed openings:

Steel buildings can be manufactured using portal framing, or X-bracing. Portal framing is essentially two upright beams, connected by a third beam running horizontally (often called a header) to help reduce movement. X-bracing is where you use “X” configured cables on one (or both) of the gable ends to of the building to create structural stability.

X-bracing is almost always a less expensive than portal framing (typically, we see this run about 20% lower cost). The challenge with X-bracing is that openings have to be strategically placed, as to be able to accommodate the cables without interfering with windows and doors.

Working with a draftsman to strategically place your openings to maximize both aesthetics and and frame type can save you thousands of dollars on the cost of your steel building envelope!

2. Use concrete floors

Once upon a time, the only option for concrete floors was a polished slab. Now, however, there is a near-limitless amount of design and aesthetic options for concrete! Using your existing concrete slab can save you a lot of money on flooring. Here are some of our favorite finish options:

Good ol’ fashioned polish

Cheap, cost effective, and can look super sharp, especially when paired with darker colored design features.

Leggari Coatings (Epoxy or Overlays)

Leggari flooring solutions are quickly becoming some of our favorite flooring products for barndominiums. Plus, they make it super easy to DIY, with little prep, and have awesome warranties. They also have a great YouTube channel full of ideas!

Stamped, Stained, Acid Washed

There really are so many options for concrete! You can stamp it, stain it, acid wash….or any combination! Knowing what you want to do

3. DIY finish work (Stairs, Barn Doors, Light Fixture Installation)

Little things add up fast! Even if you’re not a big “DIY” person, or feel like you have limited craftsman skills, here’s several simple ways you can save thousands on your finish work:

DIY Floating Stairs:

This is likely a blog post in itself, but we have found that it is pretty simple to build and install your own loft stairs! Just make sure that you understand the building code in your area for railing, and rise. Here’s stairs we did in our own home, using stringers ordered online from Fast Stairs, and treads bought at our local lumber store. Total cost was around $, plus an additional $800 for stair railing, made at our local welding shop

DIY Barn Doors:

If you’ve checked barn door pricing lately, you know how ridiculous it can be! With the rise in popularity of barn doors has come a big price increase. We bought the barn doors in our home stock/unfinished, then painted them and added the hardware. This saved us about 2/3 of the cost. There are also a lot of really good, super simple tutorials for making your own inexpensive barn doors on Pinterest, like this one.

DIY Light Fixture Installation:

Talk to your electrician about hanging your own fixtures. This can be a simple, straightforward way to save money, and it’s pretty easy! Purchasing your own fixtures is also often a great way to save, as most contractors will charge you “cost plus” (price of the fixture, plus a markup typically of 5-10%) if you buy materials through them. We love Houzz for purchasing lighting, as it often allows you to see it in homes, or used in other projects, and provides a super wide variety of unique options!

4. Ask for “builder grade”/“build program” or scour the remnant yard for countertops

If you’re considering solid surface countertops like quartz or granite, this can save you thousands! Most countertop stores and warehouses will have a “builder program” where they have a handful of countertop options that can be ordered by the square foot. Builders use these in spec houses and developments where they do the same design repeatedly, and the warehouse can order in bulk, and also justify cutting slabs down to any size, due to volume.

Typically you have to purchase countertops by the slab (resulting in excess), but “builder grade” can be purchased by the square foot, therefore eliminating waste and you  only having to pay for what you need.

Similarly, the remnant yard is a great place to find beautiful slabs that have been cut down as excess for larger jobs. Remnants are priced by the piece, and can be great candidates for vanities and small islands.

5. Work with a designer or experienced residential draftsman.

This may seem like an obvious tip, but many times we see clients with floor plans that are’t functional, or, once built, require major, costly adjustments down the road. It is one thing to engineer a structure that “works” and meets code, and an entirely different thing to intentionally design a floor plan that feels like home. Some ways a designer can help save you money include:

–Designing for the future (if you were to add a patio, where would it go? What structural supports need to be in place to inexpensively accommodate that in the down the road? How will you be using rooms 10 years from now so that minimal remodeling is required to accommodate your next phase in life?)

–Spatial awareness (How does it feel to be in the space? Where does your existing furniture go? Do you have enough counter area? When a door opens, is it cramping or impeding what’s around it?)

–Optimized layout (Can we save money by placing bathrooms against one wall and not having to run plumbing across the house? Where are HVAC returns placed to be as inconspicuous as possible?)

If you want to learn more, please visit our website industrial workshop flooring.