Steel buildings enjoy a constantly growing reputation as a budget-friendly and expedient building option. As with any construction project, however, knowing the exact costs before you build can help you pick which type of steel construction is best for you, your needs, and your bottom line. Consumers have two choices when looking at steel building construction for their residential or commercial building projects—erection-only and custom build. Both have their pros and cons. Here we outline some of the basic cost expectations of each to help you make the best choice for you.
Basic Cost Expectations for Steel Building Projects
Steel building projects are quite commonplace, both in commercial and residential applications, and with good reason. Steel buildings are very economical, typically starting between $25-45 per square foot with basic set-up labor averaging somewhere between $5-$10 per square foot. The exact cost will vary depending on whether you choose a prefabricated building, a kit, or construction on-site. Of course, your site location, actual building size, and height also influence costs.
Working with a professional, experienced company can help you determine exactly how much your project will cost before you start. At Steel Erection and Maintenance, Inc., we have over 47 years of experience helping businesses in Arizona erect facilities on their commercial and residential properties. We have experience with erection-only projects, like Bradshaw Mountain High School East in Prescott Valley and an MLB Practice Facility in Goodyear, as well as custom-build projects like the Glassford Hill Marketplace Starbucks.
Erection-Only Cost Expectations
Many steel building erection-only projects include prefabricated kits. With prefabricated kits, what you see is what you get, leaving no room for customization. Depending on the size and scope of your building, they can range in price from $5 per square foot on the low end but can climb upward of $24 per square foot for larger facilities with tacked-on amenities. Most prefab buildings come with a standard I-Beam construction, but larger buildings may require a more expensive C-Channel beam. If your needs are simple, the round-topped Quonset Hut is the least expensive of the prefab kits.
Another erection-only option that offers consumers more design freedom but still keeps overall costs slightly lower than a complete custom-build project are prefabricated buildings. Typically, this type of building is made to order but the components are fabricated off-site in a factory and transported to the construction site ready to assemble. For the building alone, exclusive of labor costs, you can expect costs from around $5-$18 per square foot.
Custom-Build Cost Expectations
If you have specific needs or a particular design in mind, you can still enjoy the benefits of a steel building, but you may want to choose one of the custom-build options. Even if this is more expensive up front, the extra cost is vastly outweighed by your ability to pick and choose features perfectly suited to your needs. One of the options for customizable steel buildings is modular buildings.
Modular buildings are metal buildings that come in standard sections which can then be assembled into a variety of layouts to best accommodate your particular needs. Modular buildings typically fall into a more costly price range, with building costs alone starting in the neighborhood of $40-60 per square foot.
As you can see, there are a variety of options available if you are considering steel buildings for your next construction project. If you are on a tight budget or have very simple needs, you might want to opt for an erection-only project which keeps your overall project costs lower and still affords you all the benefits of a metal building versus traditional construction. If you have particular design ideas, specific needs, or environmental considerations, a custom-build metal building is most likely the best option for you. Regardless of which type of steel building construction you choose, working with the knowledgeable folks at Steel Erection and Maintenance, Inc. will ensure your project gets done exactly right for you. If you reside in Kingman, Phoenix, or Prescott areas, get your personalized quote today.