Buying and building a prefabricated metal building requires meticulous planning, and a better-planned project has a better chance of going smoothly from start to finish. Two categories of consideration cover almost everything: practical and legal.
Practical Considerations
Start with how you intend to use the building. A storage warehouse needs high roll-up doors sized for forklifts and tall shelving. An agricultural building housing livestock needs adequate ventilation. Even your foundation type may need to differ from a standard flat concrete slab depending on use. Beyond the building itself, confirm the site has:
- Firm, Level Ground: The foundation depends on it — uneven or soft ground creates problems before construction even starts.
- Natural Drainage: Poor drainage around the building leads to water problems that are expensive to fix after the fact.
- Access & Utilities: Confirm practical access for delivery and daily use, plus access to any needed utility connections.
Also leave room for possible future expansion — it’s far easier to plan for growth now than to retrofit for it later.
Legal Considerations
Every province and state has different building codes covering things like wind and snow loads, and these codes change over time — check with your local planning department to confirm current guidelines. Beyond structural codes, also factor in:
- Drainage requirements set by your municipality
- Zoning laws governing where and how large you can build
- Energy codes, which in some cities require additional insulation to meet green building standards
That heavier insulation investment usually pays for itself in reduced heating and cooling costs — often within the first year.
Where Practical and Legal Overlap
Some design decisions require weighing both at once. A retail storefront, for example, needs a layout that works practically for customers while also satisfying accessibility and occupancy codes — the kind of decision worth discussing directly with your engineering team rather than solving in isolation.
Coordinating with Your Contractor
Since Toro designs, engineers, manufactures, and ships your building kit while foundation work and assembly are handled by you or your local contractor, it’s worth bringing your contractor into the planning process early rather than after the kit arrives. Confirming foundation requirements, delivery access, and assembly timeline with your contractor before you finalize your order helps avoid a mismatch between what’s been engineered and what’s actually feasible on your site.
A Realistic Planning Timeline
Planning well means budgeting real time before the kit ever ships. Site evaluation and use-case decisions typically come first, followed by working with your Building Specialist on size, doors, and accessories, then a review of your local zoning and permit requirements before finalizing the order. Once your design is approved, engineering and fabrication take several weeks depending on size and complexity — building that lead time into your overall project timeline from the start avoids the common mistake of assuming a steel building can be ordered and delivered on short notice.
Common Planning Mistakes to Avoid
- Skipping the site evaluation: Soil conditions and drainage issues are far cheaper to address before the foundation is poured than after.
- Sizing for today only: Most steel buildings are single-story, so sizing without accounting for future growth often means a costly separate expansion later.
- Requesting quotes before finalizing use case: Door placement, ventilation, and insulation needs all affect the design — and the price — so nailing these down early leads to a more accurate quote sooner.
Permits, Codes & Engineering
Structural code requirements follow the ASCE 7 standard from the American Society of Civil Engineers in the U.S., or the National Building Code of Canada. Toro’s in-house engineering team — not a third-party engineer most competitors outsource to — ensures your building meets all published wind, snow, and seismic loads for your specific location before it ships.
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