DISCLAIMER: It is important to note that construction prices are subject to drastic fluctuation. Please use the following information as a general guide, understanding that material costs, supply chain issues, and consumer demand due to current events can greatly impact construction costs.
Since 2007, the number of warehouses in the US has significantly grown, along with the average size —increasing from 10,000 to 50,000 sq ft.
During normal times, when materials are abundant and supply chains are flowing smoothly, a 50,000 sq ft steel warehouse costs between $12 and $19 per sq ft, or $600,000 to $950,000. In addition, it typically costs $3.85 to $7 per sq ft of poured concrete for building the foundation. However, the final cost to build a 50,000 sq ft warehouse depends on the design, location, finishing products, and of course, material availability and current economic circumstances.
What’s Causing the Increasing Need for Warehouse Space?
Today’s E-commerce businesses need more warehouse space to accommodate the growing demands of online shoppers. The number of online to total sales rose 5 percent between 2019 and 2021.
Surging online sales have pushed some supply chains to their limits, leading to shortages of essential and non-essential items. Furthermore, warehouse rents increased 5.6 percent between 2019 and 2020, or an average of $6.68 sq ft, while warehouse vacancy rates stand at a near-record low of 4.7 percent. The financial success of many E-commerce businesses depends on rapidly acquiring more quality warehouse space.
Quickly Build a 50,000 Sq Ft Building with Allied Steel Buildings
Allied Steel Buildings can help you quickly construct a pre-engineered 50,000 sq ft steel building from a steel building kit in just a matter of weeks, unlike traditional construction methods that can take months. Allied Steel Buildings precisely cuts each piece to accurately fit with the others, ensuring a smooth warehouse with clean lines. The process hastens delivery time and reduces labor costs.
Factors That Determine the Final Price
The cost to build a warehouse varies tremendously depending on what you need in order to maintain your inventory. For example, do you need temperature or humidity control, or will a simple storage warehouse work? However, other factors also determine the final price of building a 50,000 sq ft steel warehouse, like size, design, location, and steel prices.
Cost Considerations When Building a 50,000 Sq Ft Warehouse
When building a warehouse, you must consider the building’s hard (e.g., material, labor), soft (e.g. initial investment), and long-term (i.g., insurance, maintenance) costs. A true understanding of all these expenses will help confirm that your future revenues will outpace the warehouse’s costs, ensuring your business remains profitable.
Hard Costs to Build a 50,000 Sq Ft Warehouse
Many components contribute to the hard costs of building a warehouse. Hard costs include materials, labor, construction equipment, site, landscaping, utilities, life safety systems, HVAC systems, paving, grading, etc.
Material Costs
Building materials average $7 to $11 a sq ft for a 50,000 square foot steel building; however, these costs vary tremendously based on the building’s design, purpose, and location. In addition, the cost of steel and fuel also significantly impact material costs.
Building Design
The building design impacts the cost of a warehouse. For instance, a simply designed lightweight warehouse needs less labor and steel than heavy-duty projects requiring resistance to strong winds, snow, and seismic forces. Moreover, add- ons to your warehouse, like insulation or refrigeration, will increase the expense.
The Price Of Steel
Steel prices change daily, making it necessary to approximate the costs as close to the building start date as possible.
Fuel Costs
Like steel, fuel prices fluctuate, impacting the costs of getting steel, and other building products, from the supplier to the job site.
Labor Costs
Labor costs average $5 – $9 a sq ft/hour for constructing a 50,000 square foot building, representing 20 and 40 percent of the total construction project’s budget. To determine your labor costs for most building projects, you must consider at least these seven items:
- Wages
- Worker’s compensation
- Insurance
- Paid time off
- Payroll fraud
- Recruiting and trading expenses
- Equipment like company phones, computers, and vehicles
Long-Term Costs of a 50,000 Sq Ft Warehouse
To ensure a profitable warehouse, you must consider long-term costs like maintenance, energy bills, and indoor environmental quality. In addition, the steel framing system easily adapts to new loading conditions, vertical expansion, and changes in owner requirements, providing for a new life beyond its original design, further extending its lifespan.
Maintenance Costs
A productive and safe warehouse requires scheduled maintenance to protect its integrity and ensure a long lifespan. Maintenance includes building inspections for damage and pests, immediate repairs, bi-annual cleaning, snow removal, touch-up painting, etc.
A 50,000 sq ft metal building’s maintenance and repair costs typically range between $1.40 and $1.85 a sq ft/year.
Insurance Costs
Insurance companies determine a warehouse’s premiums mainly on the building’s resistance to damage. The design of Allied Steel PEB contributes significantly to insurance rates that are 30 to 40 percent less than wood-framed building rates:
- Steel provides a greater strength-to-weight ratio with built-in resistance to structural damage from earthquakes, high winds, and heavy snows than wood construction.
- Fire-resistant steel warehouses protect the structure from fire damage.
- When lightning strikes a properly grounded steel warehouse, the lightning flows through the framing, passing safely into the ground.
- Inorganic steel repels damaging mold, mildew, and termites.
Some experts predict a rise in property insurance prices of 10 to 30 percent this year due to recent wildfires, floods, tornados, and hurricanes, emphasizing the need to control insurance rates by building steel warehouses.
Allied Steel Buildings Reduce Warehouse
Material and Labor Costs
Allied Steel Buildings strives to reduce building material costs by efficiently managing the supply chain, from purchasing to manufacturing, aiming to save our customers on the final cost of building a warehouse.
- Allied Steel Buildings qualifies for a discount by purchasing steel in bulk, passing the savings down to their clients, and lowering the cost of building.
- Precision-cut Allied Steel Buildings minimize waste, which reduces material cost.
Lower Labor Costs with Allied Steel Buildings
Allied Steel Pre-Engineered Buildings also hasten the delivery time, which lessens labor costs because they specifically cut each piece to accurately fit with others, creating an efficient building method that ensures a smooth building with clean lines.
Reducing Long-Term Warehouse Costs with Allied Steel Buildings
Allied Steel Buildings provides several significant features that can help manage long-term expenses for energy, maintenance, and repairs for a 50,000 sq ft metal building:
- The precision used to cut the pieces for Allied Steel Building Kits minimizes gaps in windows, doors, and other areas prone to air infiltration, lowering HVAC costs. However, steel buildings lack sufficient insulating properties. Maintaining the internal temperature of a prefabricated steel building requires applying an insulation product like batted insulation or a thermal insulated metal panel.
- Allied Steel Buildings paint finishes have multiple-decade warranties, protecting against peeling, blistering, cracking,and chipping.
- Allied Steel Buildings stand up to severe weather. Some models can handle winds of 180 mph and snow loads of 120 lbs per sq ft, which saves on costly repairs.
- Dimensionally stable Allied Steel buildings do not contract and expand when exposed to moisture. Moisture-resistant steel also prevents the growth of unhealthy and structurally damaging mold.
- Steel naturally resists structurally damaging pests, like termites.
- Fire-resistant steel also will trap flames, preventing the spread of fire.
- Steel buildings will absorb earthquake energy with adverse effects, like collapsing.
FAQ
How long does it take to build a 50,000 square foot steel building?
Prefabricated Allied Steel Building Kits for a 50,000 sq ft steel building arrive at the job site ready to assemble, regardless of the outdoor temperature. Assembling and erecting a steel structure takes about 33 percent less time than other construction methods, significantly saving time and labor costs.
Can you finance a 50,000 square foot metal building?
Yes, and the professionals at Allied Steel Buildings, along with PayPal, are here to help you. It’s simple, just establish your budget, apply, get approved, and start building. By paying off the loan in less than six months, you can avoid interest.
How much does a 50,000 sq ft warehouse cost?
A 50,000 sq ft steel warehouse costs between $600,000 and $950,000, depending on its design, inventory type, location, and steel prices. However, to ensure future profits for the warehouse, you must also consider the warehouse’s soft and long-term expenses.
Plan for Long-Term Success with Allied Buildings
A detailed pre-building plan will significantly provide a warehouse with enough secure space to store goods and materials for long and short-term storage. It will also contribute towards managing an efficient supply chain and a profitable business.
Get in touch with Allied Steel professionals today for more information on building a 50,000 sq ft building.