Starting a new project, process, or innovation is an important step for any business owner. FBi works together with our customers to help them define and refine what their needs for a new building will be. Asking the right questions from the start helps proficiently advance the process.

Do you have a good understanding of what goes into site prep? Or do you think it’s a tedious and somewhat difficult process? Maybe for you it comes natural and you’d rather tackle preparing your site instead of choosing pole barn colors. Don’t get me wrong, at times it can seem overwhelming. If we lived in a perfect world, everything would go smoothly and we wouldn’t have to worry about any obstacles to tackle. But (I know...I always ruin it with a but), there is a decent amount of coordination that goes into site preparation. For those of us that are not overly organized, it’s not exactly an exciting part of the construction process. Needless to say, this won’t make site prep go away and as the old saying goes, “the show must go on.”

Did you know that condensation control starts with site preparation? Who would have thought, right? But how do you manage it? Removal of all sod, humus, and organic matter pre-construction eliminates the risk of that natural material decomposing later, causing the flooring to settle and crack. Coarse stone is layered over a crowned base to prevent any capillary action from occurring. Fill material can often be problematic itself. Wet fill material can hold up to 15 pounds of water/cubic.

If you close your eyes (but not right now because you need to keep reading) and think about pole barn permits or zoning, what words come to mind? Perhaps confusing, complicated, or frustrating, to name a few?

Building a new building can be complicated – but not if you start at literally the ground up. A successful project starts with the ideal site selection and then preparing the site to maximize its usefulness and save money in the process. Keep in mind that good, early decisions make for the best long-term building. Plus, it’s also critical from the start to carefully consider functions: the purpose of the building – office, equipment shed or barn.

There are multiple aspects that go into determining the cost of your pole barn or post frame building. Your builder will quote you on a building shell, but what about the other costs? Here’s a list of common items that you’ll want to remember. Getting quotes on each of these items early will help you eliminate surprise costs over the course of your project.