What's Included in Your Quote

Every steel building quote reads a little different depending on the vendor. Some bundle everything. Some leave things out and tack them on later. Before you compare numbers, you need to know what's actually in the box — and what you'll need to source on your own.

This breakdown covers the three buckets every buyer should understand: what's always included with the building package, what you can add on, and what falls outside the steel scope entirely.

What comes standard with every building package

When you get a quote from Steel Contractors, the core building package covers everything needed to stand the structure up. Think of it as the skeleton plus the skin.

• Primary steel framing: Columns, rafters, and rigid frames — the main structural bones that carry your roof and wall loads down to the foundation.
• Secondary framing: Purlins (roof), girts (walls), and eave struts that connect the primary frames and give panels something to attach to.
• Roof panels: Standing seam or through-fastened metal roofing. Gauge and profile depend on your span and load requirements.
• Wall panels: Exterior metal sheeting, typically 26-gauge steel. Color selection is included at no extra charge.
• Trim and flashing: All the edge pieces — ridge caps, corner trim, base trim, jamb trim around openings. These keep water out and make the building look finished.
• Fasteners and hardware: Every bolt, screw, and connector needed for assembly. Nothing worse than getting halfway through erection and realizing you're short on hardware.
• Anchor bolt plan: A drawing showing exactly where your foundation contractor needs to place anchor bolts. This is critical — get it wrong and the building doesn't fit.
• Engineered drawings: Stamped structural drawings from a licensed PE. These go to your building department for permit approval.

Bottom line: the standard package gives you a weathertight shell. Walls, roof, structural steel, all engineered for your specific site loads. You won't need to source any of these pieces separately.

Available add-ons

These items aren't in every quote because not every building needs them. But when you do need them, it's almost always cheaper and easier to order them with the building package rather than sourcing them after the fact.

• Insulation: Blanket fiberglass (most common), spray foam (best thermal performance), or insulated metal panels/IMP (cleanest look, highest cost). Your choice depends on climate, budget, and whether the space is conditioned.
• Overhead doors: Roll-up or sectional, from 10x10 shop doors all the way up to 24x14 drive-through openings. Framed openings are included — the actual door is the add-on.
• Walk doors: Standard 3070 commercial steel doors with hardware. Most buildings need at least two for code egress.
• Windows: Single-hung, fixed, or storefront-style. Common in office areas and retail-facing walls.
• Skylights: Translucent roof panels that replace standard metal panels in specific bays. Free daytime lighting without electrical cost.
• Ventilation: Ridge vents, louvers, exhaust fans. A warehouse without ventilation turns into an oven by July.
• Gutters and downspouts: Not structurally required, but most jurisdictions need them for stormwater management. And your neighbors will appreciate it.
• Liner panels: Interior wall finish that gives a clean, professional look. Popular in commercial and retail buildings.
• Mezzanine: A second-floor platform inside the building. Great for office space above a warehouse floor or extra storage.
• Canopy or lean-to: A covered extension off one or more walls. Loading docks, covered walkways, equipment shade.

When you request a quote, tell us everything you think you might want. We can always remove line items. It's harder to add them after engineering is done because structural loads change.

What you'll need to arrange separately

The steel building package covers the building itself. But a building sitting on bare dirt with no power isn't much use to anyone. These items fall outside the steel scope:

• Foundation and concrete: Footings, grade beams, slab-on-grade — all poured by a concrete contractor working from the anchor bolt plan we provide.
• Erection labor: The crew that actually puts the steel up. Some buyers self-erect. Most hire an erection contractor. Steel Contractors offers erection as a separate scope.
• MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing): HVAC systems, electrical panels and wiring, plumbing for restrooms or floor drains. These require licensed subcontractors.
• Site prep and grading: Clearing, leveling, compaction, drainage. The site needs to be ready before any concrete is poured.
• Flooring: Polished concrete, epoxy coatings, or specialty flooring. The building slab is poured by concrete — finishes come after.
• Permitting and inspections: Filing for building permits, scheduling inspections, dealing with the building department. We provide the engineering documents they need.
• Landscaping and paving: Parking lots, driveways, gravel pads, final grading. Typically the last work done on any project.

How Steel Contractors simplifies the process

Coordinating five or six different contractors is the part that trips up most first-time building buyers. That's why we handle four core scopes in-house:

• Steel engineering and fabrication: We design it and build it.
• Erection: Our crews install the steel package.
• Concrete foundation: Poured to match our anchor bolt plans exactly.
• Excavation and site prep: Grading, compaction, drainage — everything the foundation sits on.

For HVAC, electrical, and plumbing you'll need licensed subcontractors. You can hire those yourself, or Steel Contractors can general-contract the entire project and manage every trade for you. One point of contact, one schedule, one party responsible for the finished product.

Either way works. The important thing is knowing upfront which pieces you're handling and which pieces we're handling, so nothing falls through the cracks between contract signing and occupancy.