Buying the right storage building

Everyone wants to be sure their dollars go as far as possible. This page will give you some tips on how to do this when choosing and buying a storage building.

• Decide exactly what the purpose of the building will be. Will it be a workshop, an office, a play room, or just used for storage? Will it serve multiple purposes? Knowing what your long term plans are will help with the decisions you will need to make throughout the selection process.

• Decide how much space you will need in order to reach your goal. If your goal is to store a certain number of boxes for a certain amount of time, and then use the building for a tool shed, you should figure the number of cubic feet of space you will need, and base your decision on that figure. Remember to add aisle space into the equation sot hat you can get from front to back.  A note to the wise, always add 10 to 20 percent, you will be glad you did.

If your goal is long term storage, of course, the same things apply about the cubic feet. If your goal is to have a workshop, the number and type of tools and equipment, and the space to safely use them should be considered. Again, adding 10 to 20 percent for expansion is a good idea. I have never known anyone to say, I wish I had gotten less space!

• Decide where you want to place your building. If you already know the size you need, available placement space may help you to determine the buildings configuration. What I mean is this: If you have decided that you need 200 square feet of floor space, but a 10 x 20 building is too long for the space you have available, perhaps a 14 x 16 building would fit into the available space more readily.  There is always a solution.

• Decide what extras you will need. This is a function of the buildings purpose. Do you need to add a workbench to the building? If you plan to work in the building during the heat of summer, or the cold of winter will you need insulation to moderate the temperature? How about ventilation, or a cutout for an air conditioning unit? Will you need extra space above floor level such as a loft? How about extra shelves? Planning on storing and maintaining power mowers or all terrain vehicles, you might need a roll up door, and a ramp. Tailor these things to suit your needs, and you will be able to make a better decision.

• Decide the type of building you will need. This is also a function of the purpose of the building. If your goal is a small tea room for your Japanese garden, you might want to get a small wooden structure that will weather naturally. For almost all other applications, the more weather resistant the materials the better.

Composite shingled roofs look great, for a while, but they will need to be replaced regularly over the years. The same is true of wood siding. Steel clad buildings seem to weather more gracefully, and as a result, stay functional for a longer period of time.

When choosing a building the longevity should be taken into account as a part of the value. Maintenance costs should also be considered. If the building is going to last half as long, before needing to be replaced, and during that short life, add to the over all cost per year by $500.00, the value has decreased. If that cheap wooden structure with the shingled roof you picked up for $1500.00 dollars costs you $500.00 per year to maintain, and only lasts for a quarter of the time that the $3000.00 building, your bargain is not really a bargain. Materials matter!

• Go shopping. You don’t have to climb into the car and drive all over town to start this. You can do it from the comfort of your own home. Search the Internet for buildings like the one you know you will need. Search locally by adding the name of your location. For instance, if you live in a town known as “Example”, search for “storage buildings Example My State”. Don’t add commas between the words. that will cause the search to serve up results for storage buildings, and results for Example, and results for My State, all separately. Look through the results of your search. There should be at least some results for businesses close to your area. click on the results, and see if they have what you are looking for. Continue to click on the results until you have the results you are looking for, even if it takes several pages of results to find what you need. Collect the phone numbers and addresses of the most promising dealers. If at first you don’t succeed, try a different search for a different group of words.

There is also the good old fashioned phone book. Use it to find local dealers, and call about details. You are already armed with the facts about what you need!

• Now, hop in the car, and take a look at the buildings that you have discovered. There is a good chance that exactly what you are looking for, is setting somewhere on a local lot! If it is not, many dealers can have one custom made for you in short order. In most cases, you will not be charged much, if any, above what the building would cost if it were already setting on a lot.