Bid Too High? Time to Go to Plan ‘B’

Are you about to embark on a new church construction project? When God tells it you it’s time to start to build, or rebuild your church, you have a lot of options. Most likely, your church building committee or congregation has pondered the right course of action for the church. Now, you might feel like you’re at a standstill. Where do you go from here?

You have a couple of options. The first option is to speak to a qualified architect, preferably one that has considerable experience designing church buildings. It’s a pretty simple process. You’ll approach several different architects in order to get a bid for their services. These architects will submit a request for proposal, along with contract documents on planning and construction to your staff or board. You’ll go through several RFP’s, and pick the right design for the right price. An architect can draw some of the most beautiful and grand designs that you’ve ever seen. However, they can also ‘overdesign,’ and unfortunately, those designs can come with a hefty price tag, and cause your construction costs to inflate.

So what if all those bids are too high? It’s time to go to Plan ‘B.’

Have your church planning committee talk to a steel building provider. Steel framed buildings are usually half the price of traditional construction methods. Automatically, you can slash your bids in half. This is extremely important, especially when were talking about money that was difficult to raise. Your congregation will appreciate you and other church leaders looking into saving money on a new structure, but not sacrificing quality, or design.

But wait…if an architect isn’t going to design your church construction project, then who will?

Many good steel building suppliers employ structural engineers at their offices and facilities. These designers are a part of the company; not contracted out for additional costs to you, and not located overseas. In order to take advantage of an in-house structural engineer at a steel building supplier, you’ll just have to lock in your steel order by paying a small engineering fee.

There are many more advantages to having a steel church building. You’ll have one of the most durable structures on the market today. At Armstrong Steel, our steel buildings come with a 50-year structural warranty, 40-year paint warranty, and 35- year roof warranty. Steel buildings are designed to last multiple decades, and be the proud home of your congregation for your entire lifetime.

When you think of the perfect sanctuary, what do you think of? You think of unobstructed interior space with no internal columns, right? Steel buildings are extremely flexible, meaning the interior layout can be completely open to maximize your space for all of your church’s activities. Steel buildings are also considered ‘green’ construction, and better for the environment because of its energy efficiency and optimal use of materials. When you have your building components arrive to your job site, you’ll notice there is no residual waste. You only pay for the materials you order, as opposed to lumber. There is no ‘field fabrication’ needed. Every piece comes pre-cut and pre-drilled, ready to be erected and specifically designed to meet all of your local loads and codes.

Want to save even more money on your steel church building? Investigate the Direct Buy process. You’ll find that you’ll be able to customize your steel church building to your congregation’s wishes without constantly emptying the collection plate. You’ll pick out your doors, windows and insulation yourself, and see what you’re paying for. Don’t let a salesman or a contractor pick out your accessories for you. That’s where they hide the markup!

Another benefit of a steel building purchase is the cost savings at every step of the process, even the final part: construction. Because of the ease of the erection process, you’ll eliminate delays and excessive labor rates. You won’t even have to pay to rent construction equipment for very long. While some people hire a contractor to erect their building, many erect the building themselves, saving them even more money in the process. Construction of wood buildings could take a few months or more to complete. The longer you wait, the more your project will cost!

Plan ‘B’ might sound like an afterthought. But for many people, it turns into the only plan pretty quick.

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