Don’t ‘Go Cheap’ Putting Up a Steel Building

After we got an assignment to write a story about steel buildings for storing cars, we made contact with Rob Boaz of Web Steel Buildings Northwest, LLC. We were asking building companies to send pictures of their products. Rob turned out to be a great photographer who had taken a lot of photos of the buildings his company put up for car collectors. The “Texaco station” pictured in this blog is a good example. The other photos ARE NOT one of his buildings!

Rob’s company puts up steel-framed buildings. But among the photos he sent were the other photos seen here of a building with cars in it that collapsed. Rob assured us that the building in the photo was not engineered for the snow load it was subjected to. In fact, it looks like it was not well put together at all.

Rob said that some buildings with wood framing – called “post frame construction” – aren’t well engineered. So, he warns that anyone thinking of putting up such a structure should make sure it is a quality job that has been engineered. And he’s not taking pot shots at competitors, because he only sells buildings in his region. He did say that steel frame buildings are almost always engineered. But if you’re buying one, it doesn’t hurt to check for certain.

“Nobody (in the building industry) wants the liability of building failures,” said Rob. “But, the one in the photo was clearly not engineered for the load. “

Rob’s company puts up buildings in his area. The address is Web Steel Buildings Northwest, LLC, 37396 Ruben Lane, Sandy, OR 97055. (855) 668-7211 or 503-668-7211 or 503-668-9028. The website is www.wsbnw.com.