How Long Does it Take to Build A Commercial Structure?
7 July 2021
How Long Does it Take to Build Your Structure?
IN BRIEF
- In Victoria, Vicsmart planning approvals can take around 10 days, but standard planning permits take up to 60 days. Meeting the specific conditions of the planning permit can take around 5 weeks.
- Digital modelling of the structure’s design is the next step, which takes around 2 weeks.
- Then we source Australian steel and all the other components, which has a lead time of around 4 to 5 weeks. Structures take at least a week to fabricate in our factory, then an additional 2 weeks for galvanising.
- All up, the kind of commercial and industrial structures we normally handle can take 4 – 6 months to complete if weather and site conditions are favourable.
How Long Does the Process Take?
It’s been rolling around your head for a while. The perfect structure. You can see it in your mind and now you’re ready to press the button and make it happen.
What you really want to know is… how long will it take to get my project built?
“Designing and building the perfect structure is what we specialise in,” says Steelcorp’s Business Development Manager, Shane Barker.
“After building hundreds over the years, we’re pretty good at estimating how long your project is going to take. Of course, this will be different for every customer, but there are a few common factors that go into estimating the project timeline.”
Let’s take a closer look at the aspects of the project that will impact how long it takes to build your new structure.
How Long Do Permits and Approvals Take?
Firstly, obtaining the relevant permits for your building project is critical. We can help oversee the building permit phase which includes talking to your local Council or building certifier.
Although providing organised, clear and prompt information can help expedite the process, final approvals are often dependent on the individual Council or certifier – some are more efficient than others and bigger Councils can often have more of a backlog.
“Having a qualified architect prepare the plans for Council helps smooth the process. This also avoids any comeback from the Council that could prolong the process,” notes Shane.
So how long does it take to get a building permit in Victoria?
“In Victoria, there are 2 types of planning permits: some structures qualify for a Vicsmart application which is a 10-day permit, otherwise, the standard planning permit is up to 60 days,” says Shane.
Once planning is approved, there are usually conditions to be met on the permit which the building surveyor will ask for when in the building permit approval process. It may take 4 – 5 weeks to meet the planning permit conditions. These can include things such as requirements for drainage, engineering plans, energy rating information or soil test requirements.
Once all the plans are in place, the building permit can be signed off.
Digital Modelling
Your building needs to be modelled before it is ordered. Our experienced design team create detailed concept drawings that are a powerful way of helping you visualise the completed project. Depending on our backlog, this process can take up to 2 weeks.
Lead Times & Steel Availability
The next thing we’ll do once you order your structure is to consider the availability of all the necessary parts. This includes everything from raw steel down to fixtures, insulation, door hardware, guttering and more.
Because we only source Australian steel, we don’t cut corners to save snippets of time: we’d rather ensure you get a building that lasts a lifetime by guaranteeing it’s made with Australian steel.
Sourcing steel isn’t usually a problem, although because it’s a commodity product, availability from our suppliers can sometimes fluctuate. As a guide, it usually takes around 4 to 5 weeks for steel lead time.
Current Project Pipeline
“Our factory is large and well kitted-out and we’ve got a great team of fabricators on board – but much as we’d like to, we can’t build 50 structures at once. Slotting your project into our current manufacturing pipeline is part of our estimating and project timeline process,” explains Shane.
As a guide, a basic rural shed might spend around 5 to 6 days in our factory. During this time, our team of experienced fabricators will carefully manufacture the steel components for your structure including web trusses and columns, ready to ship everything to the galvanisers.
“The galvanising process takes up to 2 weeks depending on the project and the galvaniser’s own workload and lead times.”
Weather
The one thing that’s totally out of our control!
Unfortunately, weather delays do happen, however, we try our best to ensure your project is still completed in the best possible time frame.
And whilst it’s generally rain that causes delays, high winds can also make parts of the construction processes dangerous – for example lifting the roof. Safety is our first priority, so if our crane operator decides it’s too dangerous to lift, we might have to reschedule, which could push this part of the project back by a few days.
Site Conditions
Shane says that if your site is flat, dry and easy to access there shouldn’t be too many issues.
“However, we know that’s not often the case. Many of our customers are keen to build structures in specific areas that require some initial site preparation. This can include stabilising the soil before laying the slab, or ensuring access roads are appropriate for our trucks and construction crew.”
Managing guttering connections for stormwater runoff needs to be factored in too, and although farm sheds will often plumb downpipes to a water tank, commercial buildings or very large structures may need to take underground connections into account.
So, What Kind of Time Frame Should You Expect?
We can’t give you an exact number for your specific project, but you could be looking at anywhere from 3 – 4 months for a relatively simple farm shed. Commercial structures like warehouses, factories, storage complexes and multi-tenant facilities are a little more involved and subject to more complex requirements, so these can typically take 4 – 6 months to complete.
These estimates cover the entire process from our initial site consultation through to placing the order, securing approvals and permits, fabricating the components and finally building the structure.
If you’d like more detailed information on timeframes for your project, get in touch with our building design consultants at Steelcorp. We’re here to support you throughout the whole process from start to finish.
