by Chris Dotson

Thanks to the engineering departments of the steel building companies there are several types of buildings to withstand extreme weather and high seismic forces. Its common knowledge of the seismic activity that resides in California.

But what most people don’t know about are the small pockets of seismic activity that are scattered across the entire United States, like in Tennessee. And just last week there was an earthquake detected right on the border of Colorado and New Mexico with a magnitude of 3.0 or less. So what does this mean in terms of designing prefabricated steel buildings?

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, an earthquake is the sudden shift of the earths crust due to the release of stress accumulated along geological faults or by volcanic activity.

Say an earthquake hits, the shift of these plates will send a force of kinetic energy through out the structure. This is why it is important that the building is designed to absorb and control these energies till they dissipate. Building designers have known for some time now and are pretty knowledgeable when it comes to building a structure to withstand this.

There are several rules to follow when designing residential and commercial steel buildings that will be erected in the high seismic areas across the country with respect to the kinds of bracing that can be used for the prefab metal building.

There are two different types of wall bracing that can be used when designing steel barns. It should be noted that it’s not necessary to brace every part of every wall of the steel barn for it to be able to resist the lateral forces of an earthquake. In a smaller steel garage only one bay of each wall needs to be braced. In steel buildings consisting of five bays or more, two bays at each wall need to be braced. The first type I’m going to describe is called diaphragm bracing or panel shear. This is the least expensive type of bracing and is mostly used in areas where the wind speed and seismic forces are the lowest. Diaphragm bracing is where the wall sheeting of the metal barns is designed to absorb the lateral wind and seismic forces.

In areas of very high seismic activity, all engineering departments of the steel building companies and factories require that a prefab metal building be braced using cable bracing (also called x-bracing). This type of bracing uses rod or cable structural support diagonals connected to the eave strut and the columns on each side of the designated bay to be braced.

So if you are a resident of California or one of the more remote earthquake areas and you are ready to purchase your discounted steel building from Price A Building, you can definitely be assured that it will be designed to withstand any issues that you may have.

About the Author: Make sure to check our discounted steel buildings if you are in need of a structure that needs to withstand the forces of nature.

Tags: construction, earth quakes, prefacbricated steel structures, putting up a steel building in a seismic area, seismic activity and steel buildings, steel building, steel buildings

Virtual marketplace lets suppliers bid to win construction jobs

By Ambrose Clancy

Nobody understands the concept that time is money better than a contractor.

Just listen to Frederick Cann, a veteran contractor of 20 years based in Huntington: “Sometimes it takes two days to get a lead for a job, two days to prepare a proposal and then three days to get the prices of the material you need. Finding the right price takes only one thing, which is time. But time today is not easy to come by.”

Cann found himself going to different suppliers, asking them if they could match the last quote he got. Often a supplier would tell him he could give him half of what he needed cheaper than other suppliers.

“Eventually you’d get your order from three different people,” he said, which complicated and lengthened the process.

Cann figured out a way to shorten the process of finding materials prices to just  a few keystrokes.

Along with partners Tom Costarelli and Allen Weinstein, Cann created Bid For Materials, a national online service which allows contractors to post a detailed request for materials needed for a job. Suppliers then quote prices on the materials, creating, in effect, a bidding war.

Launched just two weeks ago, the online company has already signed up 300 suppliers across the country and is now lining up contractors. Suppliers are listed free of charge, and contractors – involved in all trades – pay a $50 monthly fee.

New ideas are welcome in an industry which has been hammered by the recession.  Recently the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that workers in the construction industry accounted for one-third of the jobs lost this past summer.

Keith Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, said that since the beginning of the recession, 1.4 million individuals in the construction trades are out of work. Nationally the industry unemployment rate is 16.5 percent, compared to the overall unemployment rate of 9.7 percent.

“While most Americans are experiencing a recession, construction workers are being forced to cope with depression-like conditions,” Simonson said.

Bid For Materials works simply, Cann said. An example would be a contractor getting a job requiring 10,000 square feet of acoustical tile. One the Web site he would post what was needed and registered suppliers would bid to supply the tiles.

There is also a comment section for the supplier to ask questions about the materials and the job. The contractor can then pick and choose among the bidding suppliers.

Scott Boerckel, a contractor and owner of Bethpage’s East Coast Dormer, which is involved in modular construction, said even though the cost of materials has been going down due to weak demand, he believed Cann’s idea would be successful. “[Bid For Materials] seems like a really good idea,” Boerckel said.

Mark Levine of Freeport’s Green Art Plumbing Supply said the only downside of the new online service is that a personal relationship with the individual contractors would be lost. Green Art has been in business more than 60 years and has developed strong partnerships with contractors, going out of their way to get prices quickly for strong customers.

“Guys come in and have a three-page list and say they need an hour to get their bids in on a job, we’ll work with them,” Levine said.

But benefits outweigh any drawbacks. “This will create new customers for me if my price is right and I’m competitive,” he said.

“If you’re a contractor still in business, you know you’re making it through the storm,” Cann said. “This site will help ensure you’ll survive because it’s guaranteed to save you time and money.”

Cann is already measuring his success by the number of calls he’s received from major manufacturers. And someone is already interested in buying the Web site, he said.

Tags: building materials, construction supplies, contractors, subcontractors

1 – Reduce Your Overhead

The number one way you can boost your bottom line is by keeping more of the money you already have. Cutting back on unnecessary expenses can save you more than you think. Instead of providing vehicles for every employee, have your employees go directly to the job site in their own vehicle. You can keep one truck as a delivery vehicle to deliver bulky equipment and materials to the job site.

Hiring jack-of-all-trade employees can minimize the amount of sub-contractors you may need to hire can also help you to cut overall costs.

 

2 – Make Your Proposals Stand Out

Don’t just focus on price and the project’s scope. Be sure to include a detailed description of the attention that will be paid towards cleanliness and the protection of any household items that may exist in areas of remodeling. Homeowners are concerned about their valuable property, show them that you are as well.

Always arrive 5 Minutes early for every meeting. A client who is afraid that you may not show is a client that’s unlikely to sign a contract with you. Consider how you like to be treated by the people you do business with, and act accordingly.

 

3 – Never Pay More Than You Have To

Price, price, price your materials! Getting the best price for your materials puts more money in your pocket. By using Bidformaterials.com you’ll be able to be more competitive with your pricing as a supplier, and to provide better bids to your prospects if you’re a contractor.

 

4 – Go Green

Everyone is going green and if your company is the exception, your bottom line is sure to suffer. By offering green technology, and new inventive ways to save energy, you’ll have a foot in the door with a much wider market. Using Energy star equipment is an absolute must in the current construction industry. If you are not versed in this field you may be losing potential clients.

 

5 – Provide Job Security

Give your employees motivation to bring in new clients. With today’s economy, there are a lot of skilled tradesman who are either unemployed, or underemployed. Many of these workers are even trying to get day labor jobs in order to survive and will offer their bids off the books. Even full time employees, nervous about their jobs, are trying to secure weekend work, which can sometimes make their work during the week, the work they do for you, suffer.  It’s important to let you employees know that bringing work into your company will help the whole company to thrive, and will ensure that their Monday through Friday work is secure, and abundant. Think about giving finder’s fees to your employees. It takes a team effort to get through tough times, so work on making your employees feel like they’re an important part of the team.

Tags: construction industry, construction materials, green technology, reduce your overhead

by Claude Solnik
Published: September 30, 2009

 

Building material prices have been falling amid a decline in global and local demand, hurting firms that sell materials and tantalizing builders who could get better deals if only they had the work.

 

Edgar Goodale, president of Riverhead Building Supply, said the prices reflect fewer requests for products due to a construction slump.

 

“It’s simple supply and demand,” Goodale said. “There’s too much capacity in the industry for the amount of housing being built nationwide.”

 

The price slide across most products comes after prices for labor and materials rose over the past two years.

 

“Two years ago construction costs skyrocketed,” said Gregg Rechler, co-managing partner of Rechler Equity Partners. “Commodity costs skyrocketed. Now demand is considerably lower. Prices have leveled off from the highs of 2007 and even 2006 and gotten back to the 2005 level.”

 

Builders said prices for materials fell 25 to 50 percent in the past 18 months, except for oil-based products, which are holding strong.

 

Petroleum-based asphalt shingles over the past 18 months shot up from about $18 to $28 as the price of oil rebounded, according to Goodale.

 

But two-by-four studs fell from $2.59 to $1.99 and 18-inch cedar singles dropped from $80 per bundle to $38.

 

Frank Perruzza, president of New Hyde Park-based Block By Block Builder said four-by-eight sheet rock fell from $12 a board last year to $10.  Lower demand for concrete and metal in China drove down prices for those commodities as well.

 

“Last year when China was building so much, the United States was selling it to China,” Perruzza said. “We found a shortage. They [concrete suppliers] started charging us more. This year it went down.”

 

New ways of obtaining supplies such as online bidding also could drive prices down further. Various Web sites let suppliers bid for work through online auctions. And Fred Cann, owner of JR Solutions, a contractor in South Huntington, recently launched Bidformaterials.com, letting builders buy supplies from vendors who bid in an effort to offer the best prices.

 

“We have less time to spend shopping for materials,” he said. “More and more managers are having to work themselves, which eliminates time in their day to perform these duties.”

 

Goodale is optimistic demand will bounce back before the winter lull, saying “the coming months look much better than the past months” and that “people seem to be dipping their toes in the water, signifying they may be starting to do something.”

 

But Cann sees the winter around the corner as bringing further price reductions. “Everything fluctuates by season,” he said. “We’re going into the winter months, so prices will come down more.”

 

Contractors are seeing another trend in terms of building materials as more residents seek to save by buying their own supplies, which sometimes causes problems.

 

Perruzza talked about one resident who insisted on buying a faucet online, which he said led to additional complications and costs.

 

“The plumber said, ‘Where’d you buy this faucet?’” Perruzza said. “Online. That’s your mistake. It’s not made for New York. You have to upgrade it.”

Tags: building materials, construction supplies, drywall supplies, electrical suppliers

Bidformaterials.com allows construction pros to create profiles and then access a nationwide database of suppliers and fellow contractors

By Andy Carlo

 

A new website is looking to connect suppliers with contractors who are hoping to save money and find the best price available for materials.

 

Launched last week, www.bidformaterials.com is the brainchild of Frederick Cann Jr., a 20-year veteran of commercial and residential construction. The site allows construction pros to create profiles and then access what its organizers hope will become a nationwide database of suppliers and fellow contractors.

 

After logging onto the site, pros can list the materials they need in the designated region of the country where they are working. Suppliers, including lumberyards, can then make private offers of the materials they could provide.

 

Cann said the motivation behind the site was giving contractors an opportunity to save money while receiving competitive prices. “Contractors get endless possibilities for better prices on materials, which would result in better bids to customers, generating more work for their company,” he told ProSales. “Suppliers get unlimited leads, which improves their sales as well. It’s a no-brainer.”

 

Membership in the site costs $49.95 per month. Based in Medford, N.Y., Bidformaterials took about eight months to develop and just began a direct mailing campaign to spread the word. The site also hopes to affiliate itself with industry trade sites and media, Cann says.

 

“At the end of the day you are going to be more competitive and you get more jobs,” Cann said. “I believe there is always a better price available.”

Tags: bid for materials, construction supplies, contractors, material suppliers, subcontrators, suppliers