You've decided to build a metal building, which is an excellent choice.
Your metal building will offer several benefits over traditional wooden buildings, including price, dependability, versatility, and durability.
You've designed your building, your blueprints have been drawn, and they are getting your building kit pieced together, ready for delivery.
The only thing left for you to do is prepare your job site, a step that is often overlooked in the anticipation of receiving your metal building.
However, without an adequately prepared job site, you can't begin your construction project.
In the article below, we will discuss the importance of a prepared job site and what you need to do to prepare for your steel building project.
Table of Contents
- Why Site Prep Matters
- Can I Do It Myself?
- Location, Location, Location
- Laying The Groundwork
- Prepare Your Job Site
Why Site Prep Matters
Well-planned and well-executed groundwork is a crucial step for the concrete foundation of your metal building.
Your building's structural integrity will rest on the firm and robust foundation bed you set for it.
A construction site that hasn't been adequately prepared can turn into a nightmare really fast.
To begin the construction process, you need to get all the proper building permits and comply with all local building codes.
Without careful planning, you may have to deal with:
- Removing the entire building
- Ground shifts that compromise the strength of the pre-engineered steel building
- Fines or citations
- Deconstruction of your steel structure
- An inability to sell the property later, as lenders refuse loans on a non-compliant commercial building
- Serious injuries or death
There's no need to panic.
Unless your building is currently in transit to an unprepared job site, you can still avoid these problems with proper prep for metal building installation.
Can I do It Myself?
The first thing you need to do is decide who is going to handle site preparation for your metal structure.
Some metal building customers choose to build their own buildings.
For those that are confident enough in their ability to construct the prefab metal building, they should be able to handle the prep for metal building as well.
Just keep in mind that when you do it yourself, you are also entirely responsible for making sure all of the legal requirements are handled and all permits are up to code.
For bigger metal building construction projects, or if you simply want or need someone else to do the job site preparation for you, you should hire licensed contractors for proper site preparation.
Hiring professionals that can handle the excavation of the land as well as lay a sturdy metal building foundation will make it so much easier for you as the owner of the building.
Hiring a general contractor to manage the entire process will help you sleep even easier at night.
But don't choose the first contractor you can find.
Shop around and choose the contractor that you feel is the best suited to help you with your pre-engineered metal building project.
Location, Location, Location
Selecting your building location is probably the most essential step of the entire building process.
There are several things you should consider before you choose your job site to ensure that you get the best possible location for your custom metal building.
They are as follows:
Utilities: Is your proposed site going to interfere with any existing electrical, gas, or water lines? The commercial building department and your general contractor will know who to contact for this information. Be sure to call them before you start digging.
Access: Your construction crew will need a 10 to 12-foot clearance for construction beyond the foundation. You also need to consider how accessible your site will be for the metal building delivery truck. Make sure there is a road to the site free of debris, overhead wires, and low-hanging trees. You will also need ample space to unload and organize your steel frame.
Paving: What areas around your building are you going to pave? Include things like parking lots, sidewalks, and driveways into your building plans. And remember, everything has to drain away from your building.
Drainage: How will the water drain? Will it drain away from your building? Will other buildings or the lay of the land interfere with proper drainage? Is your structure going to require special trenching to channel water away from your building?
Orientation: How you place it is as important as where you place it. How will its orientation toward the sun, rain, snow, wind, and its surroundings affect the commercial steel structure?
Once you've answered all of these questions and found your perfect location, you are ready to have a surveyor measure and mark your foundation.
Laying The Groundwork
Preparing your job site for your metal building has to begin with the removal of trees, stumps, vegetation, and any large rocks to make room for a larger building.
Excavators will then come in and remove the topsoil and save it for later to fill in where it's needed.
Graders will remove the less-than-stable clay-based or silt-like soils during the site setup as well.
Depending on the condition of your soil, your site might require a specific type of fill dirt to create a solid foundation bed that will not shift over time.
The denser the soil, the more it can hold.
The moisture content of the soil will also affect your excavator's ability to compact the soil properly.
The graders will then come in and smooth the area to create a level pad for a firm foundation. The foundation bed must be compacted before the foundation work can begin.
Most issues people have with their foundations come from poor soil and site prep.
That's why it's usually a good idea to bring in professional help to complete the soil and site prep to avoid any issues down the road.
Prepare Your Job Site
It's okay to be excited about your new pre-engineered metal building system.
But don't let that excitement cause you to overlook the preparation details of your job site.
Luckily, it's a relatively straightforward process, that if you follow completely, you will soon be enjoying your metal building with no issues.
Although many people like to go the DIY route, it's usually in your best interest to use a reliable licensed contractor with metal building experience to ensure the success of your project.
It's just as important to get your metal building from an experienced company that will be able to construct a metal building fit for any job site.
If you're ready to get started on your metal building project, contact CDMG today.
I'm Ben Sparhawk, the Content Writer and Marketing Account Manager for CDMG. I write to showcase the work that CDMG does and everything related to the pre-engineered metal building industry as well as their engineering capabilities. When I'm not working on content, you can find me spending time with my wife and children. You can also find me in the gym, trying to better myself, and I also enjoy spending time outdoors hiking or checking out local parks.