Moving a steel building...

Anyone ever dismantle, move, and reconstruct one of these? I'd need to move it 100 miles. Tools? I figure electric impact wrench and boom truck. New foundation advice?

Our buildings are SEAMED together like a tin can. Very good for preventing leaks. Very difficult to unseam and reseam without our special equipment.

You might want to check before proceeding further. I would hate for you to get it all planned out and then realize that you cannot get the building apart.

Also metal buildings MUST be insulated due to condensation from heating and cooling.

Good luck!

Cliff (VA)

• steel building

Good luck - email if you think I could answer questions.

Bill

During the next year, he rebuilt the building on his property, which is only about 5 miles from the original location. He has a big concrete mixer and cast the individual footings one by one, being very careful to place the bolts very exactly. When he was ready, he again hired the guy with the crane and over a weekend raised the basic framework. Over the summer, he and his son put on the rest of the framework and the outer shell. He found that he had to replace some of the sheet metal, as some had rust and some got damaged. When the building was mostly complete, he got a bunch of his friends to help him pour the concrete floor, which took 3 days.

I think that building is about 50 x 100. My friend put in all new roof insulation and insulated the sidewalls with recycled fiberglass insulation. He has said he has less than $20k out of pocket in the new building. He continues to add to the wiring and will probably need to replace at least one of the overhead doors.

But that is one HUGE building, that is extremely strong and will not have a rot problem like a pole barn might in our lifetime. It has been a lot of work, but it is probably worth at least 5 times what he has invested. A good deal, if you have the time and ambition to do the job. Good luck!

Without original drawings you have little choice but to make your own drawings, as detailed as you can get, and number all the pieces before it comes apart. Probably some sort of white paint marker. Leave as many parts together as you can, such as purlin clips attached to the purlins or beams, and when you get it down, you will need to carefully measure and draw out the stud patterns.

I wouild take lots of digital photos, lots of them, several of every joint in the building.

get as organized as you can, set out buckets for hardware to go in, the more you save, the less you will need to buy.

Remember you will need 4x4's and 2x4's to set parts on on the truck or trailer and if you are hauling this yourself, you will need lots of good ratchet straps, etc, to safely secure it to the trailer or truck. You don't want to lose parts, or damage them.

tip, Home Depor has AMERICAN MADE 2" wide, 10,000 lb ratchet straps, 27 ft long, for about $14. They keep creeping up in price, I bought two at $12, two more later at $13 and now they are $14 or so, best deal going, get 6 or 8 of them minimum.

Make sure you note the diameter of the anchor bolts, and other important dimensions that you may not be able to go back and get later on.

As far as a slab goes, I would talk to a metal building company, they may give you some ideas. You are going to need several people and equipment to get this apart and down without damage to the building or yourself. You might just want to consider contracting the slab to someone who does this for a living.

Charles