All individuals looking to purchase pre-engineered building packages should first look for Metal Building Manufacturers’ Association (MBMA) member sellers. The MBMA is a national organization headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio that monitors the quality of the steel and all the other components that make up a pre-engineered building system. Ensuring that one is purchasing from an MBMA member will certify the quality of the system and guarantee that the system meets code requirements.
Purchasing from an MBMA-member seller provides several other benefits, as well. First, individuals can generally find MBMA packages sold at lower prices than those of non-MBMA or “back of the magazine” sellers. Furthermore, when purchasing an MBMA-certified package, individuals receive a full warranty and guarantee on the system.
Finally, individuals purchasing pre-engineered building systems from MBMA member sellers benefit from these sellers’ understanding of various building codes and requirements. For instance, it is impossible for someone to determine a steel column’s strength and quality simply by looking at it. Individuals at MBMA-certified sellers will consider a column’s strength relative to snow loads (an important consideration for those living in snowy areas such as Medina, Akron, and Cleveland, Ohio), wind loads, collateral loads, and the seismic region in which it will be located, etc., and as a result, they will be able to recommend the proper product for a given application. In contrast, many “back of the magazine” brands do not consider such matters, and as a result, they are often unable to provide intelligent recommendations regarding the best products to use in particular situations.
Often, builders in areas like Akron and Medina, Ohio are asked to erect buildings that were purchased over the internet or out of a magazine. To the buyer’s dismay, most of these buildings do not meet such codes as Ohio’s snow load code requirement, and therefore, builders located throughout Ohio cannot erect these buildings. In the experience of 620 Construction, these buildings are useless for commercial applications.
Sure, individuals will hear radio advertisements for such steel buildings as the General by Paul Harvey, but clearly such ads are misleading. These ads fail to mention that the pre-engineered building package usually only represents about 10-15% of the total building cost, which also includes design, permit, and site costs, as well as the costs for footers and foundations, concrete floors, overhead doors, plumbing, heating and/or cooling, electrical wiring, and landscaping, among others.