Preparing for Delivery of Your Steel Building
If you have purchased a steel building from a manufacture or supplier there are several details that need to be addressed before you are in receipt of your structure. This will guarantee that your project will go smoothly and result in a successful completion of your building project. The first consideration is to be available to the steel building manufacturer by phone anytime during the business day should any questions arise. A correct shipping address for your building’s destination needs to be provided along with directions if the site is in a remote or hard-to-find area. Your steel building company should make arrangements with you to contact you seven to ten days before the scheduled delivery date to confirm all shipping details.
Once you had placed a engineering deposit with a manufacturer or supplier, a set of erection drawings should be forwarded to you in a matter of weeks. These erection drawings are the guide to be used in all facets of your project and should be studied by your erector thoroughly before beginning construction. There should be an anchor bolt plan for the foundation included along with the correct reactions. Each steel building erection drawing package is different and only the plans specified for your building should be used. Provide the anchor bolt plan and reactions to your foundation engineer so he can design a suitable foundation. An erection and safety manual should also be included along with a materials list.
Delivery of a steel building should be scheduled for the morning. This will allow ample time for any unforeseen issues to be resolved. The route to your jobsite should be accessible by an eighteen wheeler.
Cashier’s checks are usually required to satisfy the amount due on your building once it is delivered. The trunk driver takes this payment.
You are responsible for unloading your building from the delivery carrier. Extra manpower and lifting equipment like a forklift with a spreader bar may be required or a boom or crane for larger loads. Check with your shipper for the longest and heaviest component to ascertain what removal equipment will be required. It make take up to three hours to unload and inventory the entire building shipment. Prior to shipment, make sure that the shipper does not combine your order with someone else’s building.
All shortages and damages must be reported immediately to the supplier once inventory is complete. Most manufactures or suppliers will reject shortage or damage claims after one week.
Most manufactures and suppliers have no way of ascertaining whether any customer is skilled enough to erect a steel building. It is always recommended that a qualified erector be employed even for the smallest of structures.
Review all of the above mentioned particulars and follow them prior to erection of your steel building.