Yesterday I started a 3 part series. A simple typographical error on the Internet got me to “hansonsteel.com” (Hanson versus Hansen-which is the company I work for) where I found an interesting page on “Steel vs. Pole Buildings”.

To continue the story….

(For sake of ease of reading, words in italics are those from the all steel building website.)

Insurance

Property insurance for a pre-engineered steel building is generally 30% lower as compared to wooden pole buildings. This is due to the increased fire hazard with wooden buildings.

Insurance rates are based upon the replacement costs of the building. As pole buildings are less expensive than all steel buildings, the insurance on them is less expensive as well.

Assembly

All Hanson Steel Buildings include extensive assembly documents, plans and engineer certifications. All plans are engineer stamped and ready for submission to the local building department. Parts are numbered to enable easy and rapid construction.

Generally assembly instructions and plans are not as thorough for pole barns/buildings. Parts are normally not numbered or sorted. All of this can cause delays in obtaining permits and in overall construction.

What they do not tell you about all steel buildings, is the need to obtain (from yet another engineer) foundation designs. As long as the foundation bolts are placed absolutely perfectly, all steel buildings assemble fairly easily along with the use of lots of expensive heavy equipment (such as forklifts and cranes – neither of which is required for post frame construction).

Hansen Pole Buildings include detailed full sized 24” x 36” blueprints of seven or more pages which detail every component of the structure. Complete engineered calculations and seals are available for any of our designs. Every Hansen Pole Building kit package includes complete installation constructions with “live” pictures and diagrams in a fully illustrated construction manual.  We also offer technical support 7 days a week for assistance.  Does this all steel company provide technical support?  If they do, they don’t advertise it.

Come back tomorrow and I’ll finish my story…