You’ve done the hard part. You got the permits, figured out your specs, signed the paperwork, and put down your deposit. Now your metal building kit is on its way, and you’re probably wondering what happens next. The delivery and receiving process for Arco buildings is straightforward, as we aim to make everything clear and painless for our customers. That’s why we’ve put together this guide on what to expect when your metal building kit arrives and how you can prepare with these expectations in mind.

Your Site Must Be Ready Before the Truck Shows Up

The most common mistake people make is waiting until delivery day to think about site prep. Don’t do that. Your building materials are heavy, and you shouldn’t make the delivery driver wait around while you figure out where everything should go.

You need a clear, level area where the truck can pull in, drop the load, and pull out without any obstacles. Make sure there’s enough room for a large commercial vehicle to maneuver. Overhead obstructions like low-hanging branches or power lines are concerns here, so walk the path ahead of time and clear anything that could interfere.

Your site should also be dry and firm enough to support the weight of the materials. Soft, muddy ground can cause pallets to sink, which makes unloading dangerous and damages the materials.

The Unloading Process Depends on Who’s Erecting the Building

Once the truck arrives and parks in a clear, stable area, it will be time to unload the building materials. Who does this job depends on who’s erecting the building.

By an Arco-Referred Erection Crew

If you’ve arranged for an Arco-referred erection crew and your concrete is poured and cured by the time the shipment arrives, the crew will take care of unloading. You won’t need any special tools or equipment.

By Yourself

You might opt to erect the building yourself, in which case you’ll need to prepare. You’ll need equipment capable of lifting up to 5,000 pounds to unload your metal building materials.

Additionally, even if you arranged for an erection crew to do the work but your concrete foundation isn’t ready when they arrive, you often pay a fee to unload-only. This is an additional fee not included in the original labor price that is incurred if the concrete pad is not ready. The concrete must be poured and cured for this third party to proceed. If you anticipate this possibly being the case, make sure you have lifting equipment ready to go.

You Can and Should Inspect Parts as They Come Off the Truck

At Arco, when we coordinate the delivery of a building kit package we encourage customers to always check for missing or damaged parts. Since accidents can happen during transportation, it’s a good idea to inspect the building parts as you unload them to report any missing or damaged materials within 7 days of arrival. Check to make sure you received everything in your kit and that each part is in good shape. Here are the main things to check for (but always use your quote as a reference):

• structural steel framing members
• roof and wall panels
• trim pieces and fasteners
• doors, windows, and any other accessories you ordered
• anchor bolt drawings and permit drawings

If anything appears damaged or missing, reach out. We will make it right.

Reviewing Your Drawings Is the Next Step

Once everything is unloaded and looks ready for construction, your next job is to review your anchor bolt drawings. Your kit includes stamped anchor bolt drawings and permit drawings, which tell your crew exactly where the anchor bolts need to be placed relative to the foundation. This is the first step in erection, so it pays to do it well. Of course, if you hired an erection crew, they will take care of this.

There’s an Order in Which Construction Should Happen

Even if you’re not building the structure yourself, understanding the sequence of construction can help you manage the project and catch problems before they compound.

The general order goes like this:

1. Concrete foundation & anchor bolt placement: As mentioned, this must be done before the building kit arrives. Though you can install the anchor bolts with epoxy after the foundation cures, installing them in the concrete is recommended.
2. Steel frame erection: The rigid frames go up first, followed by the endwall framing.
3. Insulation installation: If you ordered insulation with your metal building kit, that will get installed after the primary and secondary framing go up.
4. Roof panel installation: Panels go on after the frame is fully braced and insulation is installed.
5. Wall panel installation: Sidewalls and endwalls get paneled out.
6. Trim, door, and window installation: These go in during the final stages of the shell.

Each phase has to be complete before the next one starts. Rushing the sequence or skipping steps could create structural problems that are difficult and expensive to fix after the fact.

Documentation Organization Is Important

Between your anchor bolt drawings, permit drawings, order confirmation, delivery receipt, and any foundation plans, you’ll accumulate a hefty stack of project documents. All of them are important, so keep them organized and on-site throughout the construction process.

Your local building department may require inspections at multiple stages of construction, and inspectors will want to see the stamped drawings. If you can’t produce them on demand, then you might suffer delays that push your completion date back and affect any contractors or tenants waiting on you.

The Last Step Is a Final Walkthrough

Once your erection crew has completed the building, do a thorough walkthrough before you sign off on the project. Arco wants you to be 100 percent satisfied with your building, and we will provide support if you encounter issues, even if we weren’t involved with them. Here’s what we suggest checking:

• panel seams
• trim installation
• door hardware
• window frames
• fastener seating
• all meeting points for gaps

If you catch installation issues while the crew is still on-site, it’s usually easy and quick to correct them.

Make the Most of Your New Building

Whether you ordered a commercial shop, an agricultural structure, an aircraft hangar, a self-storage building kit, or something else entirely, your Arco steel building is designed to give you decades of reliable service. The investment you made in quality materials and American steel manufacturing is built into every component we ship, which all shows up on that delivery truck.

We hope this guide to what to expect helps you prepare for when your metal building kit arrives. And always remember that the Arco team is here to support you. If you have questions at any point in this process, you can reach us at 1-800-241-8339.