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Recently, we spoke to Chad S, a Great Western customer who owns a tree service company in Colorado. An industry veteran, Chad started his business in 2018 and hit the ground running. Within four years, his company needed a new space to call home.
Chad needed a building that doubled as a warehouse for storing company trucks and heavy equipment, as well as office space for his growing staff. He turned to Great Western in April 2022 for his metal building needs. We recently reached out to Chad for a follow-up interview and to talk about his experience with our product and our company.
Beyond the above-listed need for storage of heavy equipment and office space to be his company’s home base, Chad also outlines that they needed proper storage for plant care chemicals for his company.
“Without an office and office staff, you are never going to grow a company,” said Chad. “We house a lot of chemicals as well, so we have to have a place to store those chemicals that’s heated and temperature controlled…there’s a handful of chemicals that have to be kept in certain storage containers that are secured (and) locked up with the proper stickers on them in case of an emergency, ” he continues.
Overall, Chad’s need for space ultimately arose not only for the growth and operation of his company but also for the sake of properly doing business by the books in a professional manner.
Chad outlines that his location makes for bitterly cold winters, so he opted to use a pretty hefty insulation system throughout. To match, his garage doors and windows are also insulated. The entire building is heated, with the 800-square-foot office area also featuring air conditioning.
“Once we decided to do this, we didn’t really spare any expense…I’m not going to save $1,000 on windows to go cheap. Get the good ones. I’m not going to save $1,000 on garage doors. Get the good ones that are insulated,” Chad told GWB. “It could be five degrees outside, you open a garage bay, and it just immediately is freezing in the shop…and you shut that door…within two minutes with the heaters we’ve got, it’s comfortable,” he continued.
He says the ultimate goal of the building was to provide his team with a home base and customer service/office duties building and a place to act as his hard-working employees’ home away from home. After-work gatherings for a bit of relaxation and rejuvenation go a long way, and an inviting atmosphere makes for happy employees.
Chad told us that he appreciated Great Western’s ability to provide timely drawings during the building’s planning phase, during the entire permitting process, and while working with his general contractor.
“Going back, if I needed anything sent to architectural or civil or anything like that, I would just call you, and you’d [Great Western Building Systems] send it immediately,” said Chad.
With the interior buildout necessary for the office space of his building, Chad told us that it wasn’t clear that additional framing would be necessary for the drywall and interior buildout beyond the partition wall that Great Western provided in the building design.
However, he went on to say that he handled the interior buildout of the office area largely on his own. In addition, Chad’s building was delivered with the wrong-sized personnel door jambs. Still, he stated that Great Western quickly rectified the issue and delivered the correct size immediately.
“The expectations were all met. From the drawings to working over all the details to the deliveries and problems that came up, they were handled quickly in a timely fashion,” said Chad.
Though Chad was present throughout the erection of his building and occasionally stepped in to help with the process, he hired Mountain State Construction to erect the steel, and he highly praises both Mountain State and their crew. He says the team was quick and efficient and provided all necessary tools and equipment, meaning he didn’t have to purchase or rent any tools or equipment and drive the costs up.
“Everything went smoothly. If there was an issue, (they) fixed it immediately…They worked sun up to sun down. They might’ve had to go break off to go to another job and then come back to the shop at five o’clock and work until like 8:30. Those dudes just worked,” Chad told GWB.
Though hiring a General Contractor is generally required for a commercial building in most locations, Chad says that he still would have opted to have a GC on the project, even if it hadn’t been required. He said that the level of detail and organization that comes with an experienced GC for everything from groundbreaking and planning to plumbing and electrical is well worth the investment. He says that it made the whole process smoother overall and took a lot off of his mind. When running a business, any time you can save throughout the building process can be extremely valuable and allow you to focus on your business.
“There is so much detail that goes into it. Organization of subcontractors coming in, the timing of everything, really understanding the details of the plan, especially like the plumbing plans and electrical plans…I know the basics with it, but I don’t know everything. So bringing in a professional who can handle all aspects of that is hugely important,” said Chad.
“You guys supplied what you I need to apply, and then I worked with the GC to get it dialed in and pull permits,” Chad said.
Chad said he struggled a bit with getting all the necessary permits until the mayor of his town put together a comprehensive list of everything he needed to get it all situated and start building. Largely, his struggles came because of restrictions during COVID that allotted one Zoom meeting every two weeks to submit the necessary paperwork and discuss the plans.
Ultimately, the lesson here is that reaching out to your city’s building authority and asking for a list of everything you’ll need prior to building is a great place to start.
Great Western Building Kit | $80,000 |
Permits and Utility Hookups | Estimated: $20,000-25,000 |
Dirt Work | $16,760 |
Foundation/Concrete | $32,762 |
Erection Crew | $22,000 |
Chad offered advice for folks looking to create a similar commercial building for their business.
“If you are a business that is growing at a fast pace, think about the size of your building, comparing where you are now and where you’re going to be in two or three years. It might be worth it to just suck up the additional cost and go a little bit bigger looking toward the future right off the bat,” said Chad.
He also revealed that this particular building was not built on the primary land space on his lot because he hopes to build a larger building in the future. In addition, he recommends taking extensive time to really consider what you want in the building and get as detailed as possible, citing his office space’s lack of a broom closet as an example of something extremely easy to overlook.
“Think at least past the tip of your nose with this,” said Chad. “Take a step back and think about what you really want from your building.”
Overall, Chad told us he is happy with his Great Western Building’s experience and building. His insight into considering as much as possible when planning your building’s details is highly beneficial for those looking to erect a commercial building like his.
If you want to learn more about a building kit from Great Western for your commercial or personal needs, contact our team directly with your location, budget, and needs. Each one of our buildings is designed specifically for our customers and their unique needs, as well as their location, to ensure they’re getting a durable building that lasts a lifetime. In addition, you can use our 3D building designer to customize and visualize a preliminary design that can then be submitted to our team for a free quote.
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