Can you negotiate the cost of a building

woodlandfarms · Jul 12, 2018

So I am talking with a steel building manufacturer. I assume they do, but can you negotiate the cost of the building. Not talking labor, just the physical metal? If so, what is a good percentage.

Lets say the quote I am getting has the building at 31K (which it is). My problem is I am not finding other people who use this system to build in (which I probably should).

plowhog · Jul 12, 2018

woodlandfarms said:
I am not finding other people who use this system to build in.

I have no idea what that means.

I negotiated the price on my steel building. I recently completed construction-- and I probably made every possible mistake and then invented some new ones.

btw, I doubt that you are talking with an actual manufacturer. There are only two in the United States-- NCI is one of them. Lots of companies come up with "their" design and then have NCI or the other company fabricate their building. Just curious-- is the building supplier also willing to do building erection, or do you have to find someone else to do that?

newbury · Jul 12, 2018

Whatever is bought can usually be negotiated. The amount ($$), details (free shipping, extra parts, etc.) But with the tariffs about to kick in I'd recommend you do it quick.

jaxs · Jul 12, 2018

plowhog said:
I have no idea what that means.

Who's on first,what's on second and nobody's on third.:silly:

747driver · Jul 12, 2018

Plowhog is correct. I was looking at steel buildings along with the polebarn people. Renegade steel is one of the few who buys their steel from a manufacture then makes some of their own parts. Same as pole barn builders. Morton who I elected to go with makes all their own parts. FBI buildings is also like Morton. I didn't negotiate much as Morton is pretty firm on its prices. But I was allowed to to pick and chose what materials and design I wanted with the budget i had. The steel building has more 'middle men' involved. Most steel builders don't erect, just supply the metal. So that makes you negotiating with the steel people as well as the erector. Morton is doing everything but the concrete...which I will do. Steel buildings when done correctly requires a engineered concrete design for the anchor pilings. Usually 3' diameter holes 4' deep at each post. Never hurts to negotiate for anything !!

fried1765 · Jul 12, 2018

newbury said:
Whatever is bought can usually be negotiated. The amount ($$), details (free shipping, extra parts, etc.) But with the tariffs about to kick in I'd recommend you do it quick.

Panic buying to avoid Tariffs?
Not a wise idea in my opinion!

buckeyefarmer · Jul 12, 2018

Looked into this yrs ago.

Most of the steel building guys are just middleman,selling a building "kit" only. They offer no construction or the critical foundation design. They will deliver you the parts and be done.

woodlandfarms · Jul 12, 2018

OK. What I am looking at is a new process for steel buildings, called Cold Rolled steel. I was something an architect in LA recommended. It is lightweight steel framing, instead of heavy red. The reason I am looking at this system is that you can treat the concrete differently (Like a pole barn) which is significanlty less to install than a normal Monolith slab. They company claims to do the cold roll forming, I am looking for alternatives to do competitive bidding with but not having any luck.

And if you are still wondering on cold rolled, it is a system that is used in building storage units.

RNeumann · Jul 12, 2018

Good luck! They are probably back logged about 6 months at this point and have many more customers wanting on buildings.
Most contractors give a bid with the understanding that they give you their best price knowing you are getting other bids.
In general, we’ve found that the ones who are trying to haggle before the project even starts tend to be difficult. Often times not worth the effort- especially in this economy.
If they can be there quickly you probably don’t want them- again, especially in this economy.