If My Family Member Was Buying a Metal Building, I’d Warn Them About This

If one of my family members were purchasing a metal building, I wouldn’t start the conversation with how much the building cost itself. I would start with the things that most people don’t realize until their building is already installed. 

If it were someone I cared about, I’d want them to understand the small details so that they can avoid common regrets and feel confident in their investment. Because the truth is, the decisions you make during the planning stage can affect how your building performs, how long it lasts, and how happy you are with it years from now. 

“Your Building Will Sweat”

If someone in my family was strongly against adding a moisture barrier to their structure, I would honestly call them crazy. Why? Because honestly all metal buildings sweat and while it may not cause any damage to the building itself, it could lead to a collection of moisture on their tools and other stored items. 

A moisture barrier is often something that many customers feel like they don’t need and skip, but it’s something all of our specialists highly recommend. 

“Don’t Get Caught Up In Just Gauge”

While the gauge of steel is important for performance and long-term durability, two things that have an even bigger impact are how spaced out each truss is and the orientation of the paneling on your building on both the roof and the sides. 

Structural decisions like the spacing between each truss (also known as “on-center”) and panel orientation are two things we would be sure to inform our families about. And to be even more specific we would tell our families to upgrade from 5’ on center to 4’ on center and vertical paneling instead of horizontal paneling on both the sides and the roof. 

The strongest building isn’t always the one with the thickest steel, it’s the one with a well-designed framing system overall. 

“Go Bigger Than You Think You Need” 

This is honestly one of the things we would tell someone even if it wasn’t our family member. And it is honestly the biggest regret we hear from our customers. 

What many people don’t understand is when you first receive your structure, it can feel so big and so spacious. But overtime, you will collect equipment, vehicles, tools, and more that fill the space faster than most people anticipate. So if it is in the budget, we would recommend going bigger now instead of trying to add on later. 

“Take Site Prep Seriously” 

This is one of those things that some people believe just isn’t their problem. But really it is and if you avoid it, all it does is create unnecessary delays and frustrations. 

It’s important that your site is properly leveled, compacted, and most importantly ready for installation before the crews arrive. Something I would be sure to tell my family members when it comes to site prep is that “close enough” is usually not enough. It is important that you treat site preparation as an integral part of the project, not an afterthought. It is one of the most effective ways to keep your building project both on schedule and within budget. 

“Think Through How You’ll Use It” 

Doors, openings, and the overall layout of your building sometimes may feel like the after thought during the purchase process. Often customers will say I want a walk in door on the left side of my building and won’t specify where exactly. This could cause an issue that could have been avoided with just some extra communication. 

If my family member was buying a metal structure I would suggest that before calling in, that they know exactly what they plan to use their building for. I’d encourage them to think carefully about how they’ll actually move in and out of their building day-to-day and not only about how they plan to use their building now, but how they may use it in the future. 

I’d remind them of how easy and affordable these changes are at the planning stage, but how difficult and expensive these changes are once your structure is up. 

“Understand What’s Included – And What’s Not” 

Lastly, I would be sure to let my family know that while delivery and installation are both included, they are only getting the shell of the structure. The majority of metal building companies do not offer any concrete, plumbing, electrical work, insulation or interior work. This is something that many people fail to realize, but understanding this upfront helps buyers plan and budget for the entire project instead of just the structure itself. 

The Bottom Line

At Carport Central we want all of our customers to feel as if they are family. We want to help you ensure that your building has been properly planned and that it is installed correctly to serve you well for decades to come. We encourage you to take the time to get the details right at the beginning of the process, so that you can eliminate results at the end. 

Work with people who are willing to be honest with you, answer your questions thoroughly, and treat your investment with the same care that you will.