When sourcing your new commercial building, you’ll need to ensure two main things. It’s low cost to ensure solid profits, and it serves the purpose it was design for.
Metal is an extremely popular building material for commercial applications because it is durable, expandable, resilient, and cost-efficient. One popular type of metal building design is prefabricated metal building kits. We’re examining prefab commercial metal buildings to give you all the information you need to decide if this is an answer to your building needs.
In this guide you’ll find:
What's In This Article
Commercial Buildings
Prefab metal buildings are a popular choice for commercial applications because of many of their features and ability to adjust their basic design to fit your business needs. In general if you aren’t familiar with this construction style, it involves buildings made from parts that are prefabricated which are very commonly made from metal and steel components. The components of the structure are manufactured and assembled ahead of time and then shipped to the construction site where they can be further assembled and finished.
Generally speaking, prefab is a cost-efficient type of building because you save a lot of money on construction and design costs. In the business world where cost is always a deciding factor, prefab kits are very appealing building designs.
There are many kinds of prefab building kits available to suit a variety of needs and applications. They are useful for a wide range of commercial applications, including office space, retail stores, warehousing and storage, commercial kitchens, and more. Below, we will examine the benefits and drawbacks of these building types when applied to the commercial setting for building a metal building kit.
Pros for Commercial
In this section, we’ll break down the appeal of commercial prefab buildings. There is a lot to love about these buildings for commercial purposes.
Good Return on Investment (ROI /cost)
If you’re constructing a building for commercial purposes, the cost is likely at the forefront of your mind. Every business needs to focus on its return on investment for every project they undertake, making sure they get the most out of their investment. Commercial prefab buildings are a cost-efficient solution and can help keep your risk low and provide a good return on your investment.
Prefab commercial metal buildings are affordable because they minimize labor, design, materials, and transportation costs. Because many of their components are constructed ahead of time, they arrive bundled in a kit with all components ready to assemble on site. The construction process is still very involved depending on how large your commercial building is and if it requires electricity, plumbing, insulation, and internal finish. Overall it’s fair to say that using a prefabricated kit certainly saves a lot of time and money when compared to traditional construction.
Steel prices are relatively low compared to many other building materials, and since metal is relatively light, the cost to transport the prefab components to the site is lower than you might expect.
Finally, you save money on the design as many metal prefab manufacturers have spent years designing their own kits and stock designs that can be modified by their in-house design teams. Hiring an architect to plan a building can cost a lot of money so with prefab design, you benefit from building designs that are standardized, saving you money and time that would be spent designing a building from scratch but still have the ability to customize them. Although the buildings are somewhat standardized, there are many customization options available, which is what we’re going to take a look at next.
Customization Options
When designing a building for commercial purposes, being able to customize the design is very important. You want a building that is well-suited to your commercial needs as for some businesses, the building itself becomes important for business operations and in achieving the business’ goals. Metal prefab buildings can be customized to meet these goals.
First, there are many varieties of prefab metal buildings available. They come in all shapes, sizes, and structures so you can find the perfect prefab structure for your needs. Whether you need a long and narrow building, a wide open warehouse or an open retail space, you can find a prefab metal building that fits your needs and priorities.
There are also many options to customize the interior spaces of these commercial buildings. The interior space is an important aspect of any commercial building as designates areas for different business tasks. Most prefab suppliers will work with you to build a sophisticated 3D model of your building’s interior before you approve it for construction. You can mark out different rooms, partitions, storage areas, mezzanines, room sizes, and more.
Style is a big consideration as well. A commercial building is a representation of your business, so you want it to look good. There are several options when it comes to style and aesthetic appeal. You can customize doors, windows, interior and exterior wraps, colors, textures, and or cladding, including rock, wood, and brick. This is a benefit as you can customize the design to match any business branding or existing buildings on your site. Additionally you might have site specific needs for the placement of windows, doors and loading bays which are all able to be added to its standard design.
Varied Usage
All these customization options mean that a metal prefab building is suitable for a wide range of commercial applications. From office space, retail space, commercial kitchens, storage & warehousing, and even to specific ventures like breweries, you can achieve it with a metal prefab building. Additional uses for commercial metal buildings include veterinary clinics, animal shelters, livestock barns, light industrial manufacturing plants, indoor arenas, and agricultural applications.
Durable
Another huge appeal of metal construction is that it’s so versatile and durable. Prefab metal buildings are made with strong beam framing and use 26-gauge steel for the walls and ceiling. This means that they are versatile, resilient, and can stand up to wear and tear.
Plus, metal doesn’t experience the common issues of many other building materials, including fire, rotting, and pest infestations such as termites. The result is fewer overall building issues and lower maintenance costs, things that are very important to most business owners.
Less frequent damage generally leads to lower insurance premiums because metal doesn’t have as many risks as other more traditional formats of building it is less costly to insure, saving you money on your insurance premiums over time. If you have a large commercial business building or several buildings, these savings can add up very quickly.
Open Design
Metal prefab buildings typically have a wide-open design due to the high strength-to-weight ratio for metal, a metal framed buildingcan often be supported only by its frame. Many metal prefab buildings are made with I-beam framing, using 26-gauge metal sheeting to make up the ceilings and walls. The result is the ability to create wide open spaces that require less interior beams and support columns.
This allows more interior space for your business activities, storage of materials, room to complete large scale projects and the ability to build mezzanines for office or showroom space for example. Maximizing interior space within a commercial metal building is the most valuable use for this space you’re investing in creating. For example, in a retail environment, you can have a bigger showroom with more space for customers to browse. More space is almost always advantageous to a business, even if it means that you simply have a more open area.
Get Going Faster
Considering all of these points, you can see that it’s easier to get your business off the ground faster with metal prefab construction. If you have a business idea that you want to get started on right away or you are in desperate need of expansion, then there are very few construction options that get you business-ready in less time than metal prefab construction. Many turn to this type of construction if their business idea is time-sensitive or they simply want to capture their revenue potential right away and streamline their building construction process.
Environmentally Conscious
These buildings also minimize waste in the construction process. Because everything is built to exact specifications, there aren’t issues with sections being built improperly and scrapped. Each component is built to fit perfectly, and there is less waste throughout the construction process. Additionally, the metal used in steel prefab warehouse kits contains up to 25% recycled content and is able to be recycled at the end of its useful life.
Cons
Of course, as with any area of design, there are trade-offs. Let’s take a look at some of the cons of this type of construction so you can make an informed choice as to whether these buildings are right for you.
Not as Customizable
The biggest drawback of prefab metal buildings is that they simply aren’t as customizable as building from scratch during which you’d have complete control over the final outcome of your building processes. There are customization options available, but you aren’t going to get the complete range of options that you do by designing a building from the ground up.
You have to weigh this trade-off against expensive architecture costs and the additional time required to construct traditional buildings. As a business owner, it’s up to you which method of construction best suits your needs and your timeline. Balance the additional customization options against the higher costs for design and construction.
Zoning / Permitting
One of the primary concerns with metal buildings is adherence to local zoning and building regulations. Depending on your location, these regulations will differ and it’s’ important that prior to the start of your building process that you investigate what limitations or rules surrounding the construction of a metal commercial building.
It is recommended that you work closely with your municipality or relevant governing body to sort out these issues before you get started. Be sure that you deal with this before it becomes an issue, not after.
Commercial Metal Building Prices
Metal prefab construction is a cost-efficient choice for your business; however, exactly how much a building will cost depends on a multitude of factors, including the style of building you choose, interior options, exterior options, framing, how outfitted you want to make the interior, and more.
As you can imagine, the price varies quite a bit but one constant with metal prefab buildings is your ability to save costs with streamlined design and construction processes. It is a much faster method of building and these cost savings are standard.
In the table below we’ve included a general outline of what you can expect to pay for a basic type of commercial metal building – the truss building. Commercial metal truss buildings are standard for commercial purposes. They utilize strong frames and open interiors which makes them versatile and adaptable to many different businesses. As you can see, these buildings are quite affordable, depending on how big you need it to be.
Commercial Metal Truss Building Prices
| Truss Building | Size | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Large truss metal building | 40×20 | $7,295 |
| Large truss metal building | 40×24 | $8,345 |
| Large truss metal building | 50×20 | $9,595 |
| Large truss metal building | 50×24 | $10,695 |
| Large truss metal building | 60×20 | $12,495 |
| Large truss metal building | 60×24 | $13,595 |
If you plan on fully outfitting your metal commercial building there are additional costs to consider including services required such as electricity, heating, insulation, or drywall to finish the building. As well you’ll need to budget costs allowances for your foundation, construction costs and any other site-specific customizations.
Average Prices
| Open plan shell | $7.15 per sqft |
| Full fitted | $21.40 per sqft |
| Average cost | $10.80 per sqft |
These estimates will give you some ball park figures to work with, for an accurate price for your project you can compare quotes to find local suppliers.
Building a Commercial Metal Steel Building
If you’re interested in pursuing a prefab metal building for your commercial needs, then you might want to know a little bit about the process involved in choosing the model that’s best for you and building one. This next section can help manage your expectations and let you know more about turning your plans into action. Generally, a building process for a metal prefab building kit goes like this:
Identify Needs
Before you can get started on a metal prefab building, you should have a general idea of what you are looking for as far as the overall size and design of the building best suited to your needs. The truth is that there are a lot of types of commercial metal buildings and to know which one best suits your needs will make your project management easier to coordinate.
First, identify your business’s requirements. Consider how much space you need, what the interior space should be like, and any other relevant considerations. Then, settle on the type of prefab building you need. You don’t have to have a finalized selection at this point yet but you should have a general idea of the type of building you’re looking for before contacting suppliers.
Check with your municipality or city hall to see whether there are specific zoning or building guidelines that apply to your structure. Before you build a commercial building, you need to be sure you comply with the law and apply for any necessary permits. This will also help you understand required setbacks that will affect your building size and help you match it to the land that’s available to build on. It is better to do this earlier than later so you can avoid costly legal troubles down the road.
Work to Design
Next, begin to collect information from some prefab suppliers and see what they have available. Generally, you can choose from a list of standardized prefab templates with the option to customize them to your needs.
Prefab building suppliers will work with you to ensure you get exactly what you want and help you design a building that suits your needs. They build sophisticated 3D models to match your preferences and submit them for your approval before moving forward. Custom prefab structures are slightly more expensive than picking a standard template, but there is the distinct advantage of having a building that is more suited to your commercial business needs that you’ve been able to tweak with their help to match exactly what you need.
Suppliers will also provide you with quotes. It is a good idea to compare quotes from a few suppliers to make sure you are getting the best price possible. Once you are satisfied with the 3D models and the cost and work out payment, your prefab building can start construction.
Manufacturer
Once everything is approved, the manufacturer starts construction on your prefab building. The components will be made, packaged together as a whole kit and shipped to your building location.
Construction
The final step is construction for which you will likely need to work with professionals to get this done. Commercial buildings are typically quite extensive and require a lot of work beyond the construction of the structure itself. This includes the installation of electrical, plumbing, insulation, heating/cooling systems, installation of machines or components, and more. Even though it is an extensive job, it is still quite a bit simpler than traditional construction as the metal building kit with precise components really streamlines the construction process.
Popularity of Steel Commercial Building Kits Across the United States
Steel commercial building kits are very popular in most states but are built and installed across all of the United States.
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