General FAQs
1. What if I don’t want to assemble my own structure, and I live out of your service area?
Our steel building and carport systems are expressly designed with the Do-It-Yourselfer in mind. If you don’t want to install the kit, it’s easy for you to find someone who has the capabilities to put your new structure together.
The heaviest single piece of our buildings weighs slightly over 27 lbs. Two people can easily erect a building or a carport. We have had husband and wife teams do it! A local contractor, or even just a good general handyman, should have no problems completing the work in only two to three days for standard sized buildings, and a weekend for most carports.
2. If I’m going to use a contractor or installer, shouldn’t I buy my steel building kit through them?
Not really. You can typically save 20% on your steel building kit by purchasing direct from Absolute Steel, the manufacturer, and have a contractor assemble it.
Sometimes we deal with government entities that want to “write one check”, meaning they’ll have to use a general contractor to build their steel building kit. When we speak with this type of purchaser, usually a municipality or political entity of some sort, we refer them to one of the many general contractors we have worked with. Some will opt to work with our suggested contractor, and some elect to choose their own.
Without exception, we have seen our material being billed at 15 to 25% higher than what we would charge the customer. In addition, there is usually 20% added to all other materials and subcontracted work such as concrete. Usually it’s in the bill presented to you as “overhead & supervision”.
In the final analysis you’ll do whatever you feel comfortable with, but we’ve made it pretty easy for you to save money. Try this…
A. Just hand the contractor the installation instructions (call us for this) and tell him you are considering constructing a steel building kit. And/or have the contractor look at our installation videos. Furnish the contractor with your particular dimensions, and tell them that you will be supplying the building materials for the structure. Careful though – the contractor, now or later, may attempt to sell you on another system and why he thinks you should purchase it…because he can mark it up.
B. Ask the contractor, or other steel building kit retailer, what they’d charge to provide you with plans and permits. This is because a general contractor won’t touch the job without them. Please go to engineered plans for more information on that subject.
C. A fair price for the installation of our buildings is about $3 per square foot. Roll up or sectional doors run about $2.25 per square foot to install and usually, because of the spring tensions and adjustments, you are better off to have a professional garage door installer put the doors in for you.
3. If I purchase only the frame kit, where do I go to buy the panels?
If you purchase a “frame only” kit and decide at a later date to purchase the standard panel package give us a call and we will give you a great deal on the panels and trim that are designed for your particular structure type.
Absolute Steel and our sister company Metal Roofing Source have been doing this a long time and have developed excellent sources for your exterior panels and trim. If you live in an area that we are unfamiliar with, we’ll call the company representative of the finest panels made and figure out the best way to get the material to you. 99% of the time we can do it. In the unlikely event that we can’t find panels from our sources we will refer you to a local source for the panels.
Our customer service department is an important part of what we provide you – it is part of what you pay for and we know that. All of our personnel are well versed at using our proprietary software that will quickly and accurately provide you all the quantities of exterior panels, panel screws and various trims you should order.
4. Do I need a building permit for my building?
In most cases the answer is yes for buildings, and “maybe” for carports. Some areas do not require permits for agricultural buildings. We have had cases where a rural building department will only want to see the assembly instructions for the structure. If your area of the country does require stamped engineered drawing to obtain a building permit Absolute Steel can provide them. Please visit our Engineered Plans page for additional information on steel building permits.
5. Do your steel building kits include all of the hardware needed to assemble the building?
Yes. All of the parts including the anchor bolts that fasten the steel frame system to your concrete foundation are included with the building kit. We also provide a detailed materials list in your installation instruction packet.
6. Does an Absolute Steel building or carport need a foundation?
Not all of them. Many of our structures can be anchored to the ground using specially designed “clamps”. The overall size of the structure, the eave height and the wind load in your area all need to be factors when answering this question. See this page Concrete Requirements and also this page Technical Information for more information.
7. I’ve seen similar building and carport kits as these before, why should I purchase yours?
The key word is similar. Do a little homework and you’ll find that these are the differences:
A. The difference is in the assembly. Other kits have connections that have two female ends that are attached by a sleeve that fits into each female end. Not only does this add about 33% more parts (plus twice the amount of work) to assemble but it also requires that each connection be measured to match the other so that roof lines etc. are level. Two and sometimes three people are required, very often-using string lines, to hold these parts together in precise positions while another person affixes them together with self-tapping screws. Our frames have a male end and a female end. Simply slip them together, tap them snug and use the self-tapping screws to affix the joints together. Frame assembly is a one-man job!
No struggling to hold loose parts in place – very little measuring!
B. There are several steel building kits on the market. None of them provide you with the finest frame system made in the world. We will. Our steel building frames are made of 2″ x 3″ 14 & 15 gauge galvanized rectangular tubing. All of our tube has the maximum galvanized protection: G90.
Applied on top of the galvanized is a patented clear coat process which gives our frames their corrosive resistant reputation. That’s why our steel building frame systems are in use by the United States Marines in Hawaii and our carport frame systems are used by Cargill Salt in their mines in Ohio to direct air flow down in the mine…imagine the moisture and salt inside that mine!
The competition uses bare galvanized tubing that has no rust or corrosion protection. Our frames are wind, snow load and salt spray certified. The competition’s are not!
C. Absolute Steel’s building is pre-engineered with engineered plans available for nearly all areas within the continental United Sates.
Ask the competition if they can do that!
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