In any rapidly growing community, the construction of new buildings is inevitable. These may be economically-related structures or government ones. Whatever the purpose, there is a material that they have in common.
Steel is a staple in construction. It can be mixed with other metals or elements to produce steel with varying properties. It doesn’t catch fire easily and can be cut and assembled into different pieces.
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If you’re considering doing heavy construction and building, steel is your best bet. So, how much are the fabricated steel prices?
Structural Steel Fabrication Average Cost
The expense mainly depend on the steel and the weight of the steel to be fabricated.
The prices for a metric ton of steel go from $549 to $726, according to Steel Benchmarker. They list steel prices from major suppliers in USA, China, and Europe.
This then equates to the average cost of structural steel per pound as ranging between $0.25 and $0.33.
For a metric ton of fabricated structural steel, average prices typically start out at around $1,000 and could potentially go as high as several thousand dollars.
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- Shandong Mechanical Manufacturing Co., Ltd. sells fabricated steel at a price ranging between $1,000 and $1,200.
- Each Metal Co., Ltd. offers a ton of fabricated steel from $1,200 to $1,600.
- Dowcon Steel charges $3,800 for a ton of fabricated structural steel.
Generally speaking, the fabricating structural steel is about (or even greater than) three times as costly as raw steel per ton.
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Inclusions
Fabricated steel is an expensive investment. For the money you pay, you’ll get the fabricated steel fitted to whichever specifications you gave the contractor.
If you still have no concrete design plans for the fabricator, they can provide you one. Fabricators have dedicated and skilled teams of engineers and architects who can put your vision to paper.
Aside from that, the different parts and sections that you’ve specified will have been tested and assembled together before it’d be shipped to you. This ensures that the parts are all working together, and any flaws are addressed before shipping.
If you’ve specified the building of custom parts which are outside the typical shapes that the contractor builds, its costs will be included in the total bill too.
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The parts will be shipped to your building site. The shipping fees are already included in most cases.
Other Costs to Consider
The first additional cost involves the permits and other government requirements needed, such as building permits. Check with your local government if permits are needed and at what rates.
Next consideration is the finish you need for the fabricated steel. The finishes vary and include painting, coating, galvanizing, and sandblasting. As fabricators typically deliver raw fabricated steel (raw means that there are no finishes added), any desired finish is an additional expense.
Buying Tips
The cost of structural steel per pound usually varies widely from day-to-day. Anticipate this variability in the cost and look for legitimate suppliers and dealers who have good reputations. Look for a downward trend in steel pricing and buy the raw materials during that time period.
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Also, to cut back on the expenses, provide your fabricator with the drawn plans for your structure. As the ideation stage is one of the most expensive things included in the cost, providing the plans can ensure that the fabrication can start the soonest. This is beneficial both for money and time spent on the project.
If you are to provide the plans, make sure that you have a clear idea of what you want your fabricator to do. Draw good and accurate plans so there will be no additional expenses incurred by mistakes along the process.
Be sure to obtain quotes from at least three different fabricators. Check for reviews by other clients and customers to give you a clear idea of how the fabricators handle the job. Choose the best fabricator for the least amount of price.
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Fabricators such as Swantonweld will be happy to provide you with their services.
Maintain close communication with your fabricator. They can alert you of sudden and unexpected price changes to raw materials and other factors such as labor and electricity.
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Structural Steel Fabrication Cost Factors
The main factors are as following:
- The raw material that you or the fabricator chooses is one of the most important factors. As mentioned earlier, the prices of steel vary a lot throughout a given period of time. Further, there are also other varying types and forms of steel to choose from, each with differing prices.
- Design Complexity. The more complex a design you require, more expensive it would be. This applies both to the ideation stage and the creation of the pieces as well. Basic designs require less attention to detail, allowing the entire process to be faster and less costly.
- If there are more pieces needed to be produced and assembled, many workers are needed. Although there have been advancements in technology needed to ensure quality control, labor is still present to help out. If there are more workers present, the cost of the process becomes bigger.
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- More precise equipment is needed for more detailed materials and pieces. These equipment are often more expensive.
- The farther you are from the fabricator’s plant, the more expensive the cost will be. This is because fabricators ship the pieces to your building site, and if your location is farther, it can incur greater fuel costs. Similarly, the nearer you are, the less fuel will be needed, resulting to lesser costs.
- Time for Completion. Long and short completion times can both result to more expensive costs. Long completion times tend to accumulate the costs throughout a longer period of time. Meanwhile, rushed (or short) completion times require more attention and priority and also incur greater costs.
Structural steel is a great building material for whatever purpose you need it. Fabrication prices help you get a better idea of how much you need to spend and for which those costs are.
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