To choose a steel building manufacturer, start with your building’s size, use, and location. Then compare each supplier on five points: the engineering and stamped drawings, the structural system, what the kit includes, what it leaves out, and how far the design can be customized. Compare complete written packages, not headline prices.
What Should You Look for in a Steel Building Manufacturer?
Look at engineering first, then the structural system, the materials and the scope of supply. Price only means something once you know what it covers.
Start with your own requirements. Write down the building’s use, its width, length and eave height, your location, and the openings you need. Then ask every supplier to quote against the same brief.
Ask each supplier what it provides and what you arrange yourself. Get the framing, panels, hardware and drawings listed in writing. A package that looks cheaper often leaves more of the project to you.
How Does a Supplier Handle Engineering and Building Codes?
A steel building has to be designed for its use and for the loads and codes where it will stand. Ask every supplier how they do that and what paperwork you receive.
The International Building Code is in use or adopted in all 50 states, and some jurisdictions amend it when they adopt it. Your local building department decides which version and which amendments apply to your site.
Here is how Titan Steel Structures describes its own process on its steel building kits design and build page: “Each of our pre-engineered steel buildings comes stamped and sealed with engineering blueprints that are signed by a licensed engineer in your state.” On its coverage areas page, it adds: “Every steel building kit we ship is engineered to meet local building codes…”
When you compare suppliers, ask three things. Are the drawings specific to your building? Are they stamped by a licensed engineer in your state? Which local codes and loads do they address?
How Should You Check the Drawings and the Structural System?
The drawings show what the supplier will actually engineer. The structural system has to suit your use, your size, and the clear space you need inside.
Review the Engineering Documents
Ask which engineering documents come with your building. They should match your dimensions, your structural layout, and your design requirements. Read them before fabrication, while changes are still simple.
Wind and snow loads depend on where the building stands. The ASCE Hazard Tool retrieves site structural design parameters, including wind, snow and seismic, for a specific location. Confirm that the engineering in each quote is prepared for your site’s loads.
Compare the Structural System
Match the structural system to your use, your dimensions and the openings you plan. Tell each supplier about large doors, interior space needs and any future changes before it proposes a system.
Titan Steel Structures supplies red iron and cold-formed buildings. Its red iron buildings are “pre-engineered steel structures made from red iron, a type of steel coated with red iron oxide to prevent rust and corrosion.” This is its heavy-duty line. Its cold-formed steel buildings are “structures made from steel that has been shaped and bent at room temperature (without heating),” offered as a less expensive building. Ask any supplier why the system it proposes fits your project.
What Should a Steel Building Kit Include?
A kit should come with a written scope of supply. Ask for a line-by-line list of what the supplier provides and what you buy separately.
Use the same questions to check the scope of every quote you hold.
Structural Components
Confirm which primary and secondary members are in the package: columns, rafters, purlins, girts, bracing and connections. You want the quoted price to cover the whole structural system.
Check whether any structural members or connection hardware are left out. A written breakdown lets you compare the structural scope of two quotes line for line.
Roof and Wall Materials
Check whether the package includes roof panels, wall panels, trim, and fasteners. Ask for the panel specifications and finishes in writing.
Read any warranty by component. The Titan Steel Structures site publishes three limited warranties, each tied to a named component:
- Platinum Series sidewall panels: “40 year limited warranty against chipping, cracking, flaking or peeling”
- Platinum Series roofing: “25 year limited rust through perforation warranty”
- Fasteners: lifetime limited warranty
Each covers only its named component. See the Platinum Series page for the panel details.
Drawings and Assembly Information
Ask which drawings you receive and whether they are specific to your building. Assembly information shows how the parts fit together.
Confirm that the drawings carry the details needed for fabrication and assembly. Building-specific drawings also flag requirements before on-site work begins.
Items Outside the Kit
A kit is not the whole project. Titan Steel Structures supplies the kit and the stamped drawings. You arrange the permit, the site, the foundation, and the erector.
Ask every supplier for a written list of what its package leaves out. Add those costs to each quote before you compare totals.
How Much Does Customization Matter?
Customization matters as soon as your building needs more than a standard size or layout. A good supplier works from your dimensions and your use instead of fitting you into a set package.
Titan Steel Structures puts it this way: “Steel Buildings Designed To Your Specifications.” Before you request a quote, decide on the features that shape the design.
Those features include width, length and eave height, roof style, openings, interior space, insulation and room for future expansion. Share them early. Then ask each supplier how each feature changes the structure, the materials and the package.
How Should You Compare Steel Building Quotes?
Compare quotes by matching the specifications and scope of each one. A lower headline price can leave out materials, engineering or work you then pay for separately.
Use this checklist as a scorecard. Copy it into a sheet and add one column for each quote.
| Category | What to compare |
|---|---|
| Building size | Width, length and eave height, written the same way on every quote |
| Structural system | Red iron, cold formed or another system, and why it suits your use |
| Engineering | Which drawings are included and which codes and loads they address |
| Engineer’s stamp | Whether a licensed engineer in your state stamps the drawings |
| Exterior package | Roof panels, wall panels and trim |
| Hardware | Fasteners, bracing and connections |
| Openings | Doors, windows and other openings, and whether each is in the price |
| Component warranties | Which named components carry a written limited warranty, and what each covers |
| Customization | Features included in the quoted design |
| Exclusions | Materials and services you arrange separately |
Every blank cell is a question to take back to that supplier before you decide.
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What Questions Should You Ask Before Ordering?
Ask these before you place an order. Get the answers in writing.
- What structural system do you propose for my building, and why?
- Which engineering drawings are included?
- Are the drawings stamped by a licensed engineer in my state?
- How does the design address my local building codes and site loads?
- Which structural components are in the package?
- Are doors, windows, panels, trim and accessories included?
- Which materials or services are excluded?
- What do I need to arrange separately, such as the foundation and site preparation?
- Which details must I finalize before fabrication?
- Can the building handle my intended use and future changes?
How Can Titan Steel Structures Help With Your Project?
Titan Steel Structures prepares and provides pre-engineered steel structures. It offers reliable and affordable steel building kits for residential, commercial, and industrial use, including heavy-duty red iron and the less expensive cold-formed line.
For a barndominium, Titan Steel Structures supplies barndo shell kits: the barndominium shell only. You arrange the home design and finish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit for a steel building?
Yes. Most counties and municipalities require a building permit. Titan Steel Structures provides engineer-stamped drawings to make the permitting process smoother, but requirements vary by location. Always check with your local building department before starting construction.
Can I change a steel building design after I order?
Changes can affect the engineering, the materials, the price and fabrication. Raise any change with your supplier as early as possible, and get it confirmed in writing before it becomes part of the purchase.
What should I have ready before I ask for a quote?
Have the building’s width, length and eave height, its intended use, your location and zip code, and your major openings ready. The more complete your brief, the closer each quote matches your building.
Does the foundation come with a steel building kit?
No. Plan the foundation separately. Its requirements depend on the building design and your site conditions, so set its scope and cost before you compare totals.
Can a steel building include large doors or custom openings?
Yes. Openings are part of the design. Include the size and use of each major opening when you request a quote so engineering can account for it.
Should I compare suppliers by price per square foot?
No. A price per square foot cannot tell you what your building will cost. Every buyer is in a different location with different codes, and that changes the engineering and the cost. Compare complete written packages instead, and Get A Quick Quote for your building.
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