Hangar

[dasher3]

Don't know if this is the right place for this question.
I am planning on building a fair sized steel framed hangar in eastern Canada and have noticed a HUGE difference in quoted prices ( up to 200% in some cases) between Canadian and American steel building manufacturers and their Chinese counterparts for a building kit of the same specs.
Anybody had any dealings with Chinese companies in these kind of matters?

[treykule]

Maybe..pm me

[clunckdriver]

Just be aware that the min snow loading specs have changed in some areas of late, insurance companies are up on this, local by-laws are often behind when it comes to updates to the regulations.{PS its B----dy snowing here right now!}

[dasher3]

Thanks Clunk
We are very much in the preliminary stages at the moment seeing if this thing is feasible or not but I am working with the local regional development people, airport authorities, the insurance company, investors, and just about anybody else who cares to listen, I don't want any nasty surprises halfway through the project.

[North Shore]

Not a hangar, but:
Substandard Chinese steel delays Johnson Street Bridge end date. - CHEK (http://www.cheknews.ca/critical-component-johnson-street-bridge-hold-may-weeks-delaying-entire-project/)

[dasher3]

Ouch, thanks for that, yet another thing to be careful of, wonder how one guards against that happening.

[20driver]

As someone involved in construction I can make a few comments.

How do you guard against that? With difficulty. Unless you have access to industry tools you have to rely on the reputation of your suppliers. You are making a long term investment. Does your supplier have a similar investment their business and its reputation? Who is going to make good on problems?

That some can undercut prices to that degree on a commodity product you have to wonder how they do it. A lot of steel fabrication for major projects is now being done in Asia. (A lot of the steel fabrication on NYC projects comes from Quebec and Ontario !) You can get quality from Asia but you have to be vigilant and have a trained set of eyes on the project. (The link to the video was very instructional and so true) In the end of the day, if you have a first class product you can get the market price for it so why would you sell it cheap? A few percent to get in the door, for sure if you are trying to get into the market, but no more than that.

There are basic things you can do.
Get mill certificates (easy to forge).
Billet or coupon tests can be done to check the material. That can be costly and a pain to organize.
Hiring an engineer to inspect the work is an idea but what do you do if the engineer says something is sub standard?

Your biggest problem will likely be the dimensioning and quality of drill outs etc. Every fabrication job assemble involves a bit of nip and tuck.

Be very careful about codes and loads. Older structures often had more material in them than codes required. That they are standing up does not verify the code loads. With modern CAD design every ounce of excess weight is shaved out. (Steel fabrication is essentially sold by weight). A structure may meet the code, but the code may not reflect the reality of your local conditions. You need to be very careful about things like ice build up etc. For a long life going "heavy" on the materials can be a good investment.

Leaky roofs are the major cause of claims against architects and engineers.

End of the day your best bet is to hire someone with a good reputation who is going to be around down the road.

20driver