How to Order Steel for a Construction Project: A Builder’s Guide

Building is only one small part of construction — the planning phase is significant, too. In fact, it’s critical to the success of the entire project. This phase is all about estimating costs, drawing up blueprints, and choosing and ordering materials. If you’re constructing steel frame buildings, this means deciding which steel products to use and arranging for their delivery to your site.

So how do you order steel for a construction project? How do you find a reputable steel supplier, and what information will you need to provide? This guide simplifies the steel purchasing process, enabling builders to order steel, aluminum, and other metals with confidence.

Information You Should Have on Hand When Purchasing Steel

Before you can approach vendors, you’ll need to do some calculations. Knowing exactly how much, what type, and what size of steel you need will make ordering steel products much simpler.

1. The Types of Steel You Need

The first step in ordering steel is to understand exactly what you’ll need. Identify your components, naming and numbering each part. You can categorize items by function, such as structural pieces, flooring, or roofing. Here are some examples of the types of steel you might need for a project:

• Structural steel: Beams and columns or posts for the building’s frame
• Enclosures: Steel plate for floors, sheeting for walls and roofs
• Connections: Purlins to attach sheet metal to the structural frame
• Decoration: Ornamental fencing, stainless steel handles, window latches, etc.

Once you have a list of everything you need, you can start calculating how many individual pieces of steel to buy based on standard lengths available. 

2. Which Steel Grades You’re Using

If you’re using steel for construction, chances are you’ll be working with carbon steel, of which there are three major groups:

• Mild (low carbon): Grades A36, A572, A588
• Medium: Grades 1045, 1050, 4140
• High: Grades 1060, 1075, 1095

Carbon steel is suitable for most construction projects, and the more carbon in the steel, the stronger and more rigid it will be. If you require additional corrosion resistance, consult your steel supplier about alloy steel grades.

3. Detailed Dimensions 

The more detail you can provide about your project, the better. Most vendors will request specifications, such as the thickness of the steel and the width and depth of each piece. For hollow sections or tubing, make sure you’re working with the outside diameter; this ensures you account for the thickness of the steel in your building plans. 

Another thing to remember is that structural steel comes in standardized sizes. Familiarizing yourself with the available sizes before planning your project helps:

• Prevent waste
• Simplify sourcing
• Reduce the need for revisions

4. Your Construction Schedule

Sometimes it’s not about what you need, but when you need it. Share your project timeline with your supplier before you start a project in order to avoid delays caused by slow deliveries and collections. You may be tempted to order everything you need before construction begins, but this can actually lead to more chaos than advantage. 

Having too much steel on site leaves it vulnerable to the elements, making it more susceptible to corrosion. It also forces you to find storage space on site — or pay for it elsewhere. Purchasing steel in phases according to your project schedule is a much neater approach.

Finding the Right Steel Supplier 

Once you know what you need, it’s time to find the right supplier so you can purchase your products. Here are some questions to consider when shopping around for high-quality construction partners:

• How diverse is their product range? Will you find everything you need?
• What quality control systems are in place? Are they ISO 9001 certified?
• How long has the business been in operation? Do they have good reviews?
• Do they offer additional processing services, such as steel cutting or punching?

The answers to these questions can help you discern whether your supplier is reputable. Apart from quality steel supplies, Eagle National Steel also offers buyers:

• Expert support and advice for buying steel
• Tailored product suggestions to help save money and reduce material wastage
• A seamless ordering process developed over 30 years
• Professional steel processing services

Get a Quote for a Bulk Steel Order 

We make purchasing steel stress-free and straightforward with local delivery to any location within a 300-mile radius of our steel yard in Hutchins, Texas. Give us a call today to order steel beams, trusses, sheeting, and more for your project, or explore our massive inventory in person by visiting our showroom.