Questions that recur before contracting and after handover

Six items: intended use (storage, production, showroom, agricultural); the clear dimensions you need (clear span between columns, length, and clear height below the lowest structural member); equipment movement, particularly whether there is an overhead crane and its capacity; the positions of openings and doors; site conditions (soil, groundwater level, design wind speed, proximity to the coast); and regulatory constraints such as setbacks and permitted height. The more firmly these are fixed, the closer the quotation is to the final cost.

Duration depends on area, structural system and site conditions, and we do not give a figure before studying the project. What can be said with confidence: fabrication runs in the shop in parallel with foundation work on site, and that parallelism is what makes steel construction faster than concrete alternatives. The schedule is supplied in writing as part of the quotation.

Because they describe different scopes of work while looking alike on paper. Compare on line items rather than the total: steel grade and specification; estimated structural tonnage; design code and the adopted wind and snow load values; cladding type and insulation thickness; the corrosion protection system and how the surface is prepared; and whether foundations and civil works sit inside or outside the scope.

Yes. Name the project location in your message, because site conditions affect the design: proximity to the coast means a saline environment and a different protection system, and cold regions add snow loads to the calculation.

Yes, within the design and engineering department: following through on the permits each structure requires with the relevant authorities, civil-defence requirements included. Mention it in your enquiry so it is written into the scope of work.

Clear height is the distance from the floor to the lowest structural member or suspended service — it is what your equipment actually needs. Overall height is measured to the apex of the truss. Many complaints arise because the client measured to the apex while their crane needed the clear height. Always specify the clear height.

Not to a structure that was not calculated for one. Crane capacity and span change the design fundamentally — columns, frames and foundations. If there is even a distant possibility of using a crane, say so while requirements are being fixed: calculating for it now costs far less than strengthening a standing structure.

Yes, and this is one of the advantages of steel: extending by adding new bays is possible if it was allowed for at design stage. Tell us about any likely expansion and we will design the end wall so it can be opened later without demolition.

Through four measures: mill certificates matching the specified grade; a weld inspection plan with systematic visual inspection and non-destructive testing of critical joints; dimensional and squareness control through a survey; and trial assembly of complex members before shipping. Ask for these documents — their presence or absence is a real difference between two quotations.

The moment temporary support is released. Our rule is not open to discussion: temporary support is not released before the permanent bracing system is complete. Most partial-collapse incidents in this sector happen at precisely that moment.

A project file containing as-built drawings, mill certificates, inspection reports and maintenance instructions. It is preceded by a conformity checklist covering dimensions, squareness and floor levels, an operating test of doors and openings, and a roof water-tightness test. The file is part of the handover, not a favour.

A simple, regular one: an annual visual inspection of the coating and any localised rust; clearing gutters and drainage outlets before the rainy season; reviewing bolt tightness in members subject to vibration; checking sealants around penetrations; and treating any scratch that reaches bare metal when it appears rather than next season.

Around the floor perimeter, not the roof — contrary to the common expectation. Drainage around the building and the floor-to-wall junction are two items that are frequently neglected, and leaks there are harder to fix once the building is in service. On the roof, what fails is the penetrations and the details at edges and corners, not the sheets themselves.

When the member loses part of its section. Before that, surface rust is treated at negligible cost. After it, the answer is structural strengthening or full replacement of the member, with downtime. The cost gap between the two states is very sharp, which is why the annual inspection earns its time.