Once you’ve chosen where to set up a steel building, it’s time to prepare your site.
If you’re planning on putting your metal building or carport on an existing concrete slab, you usually won’t have to deal with this provided the slab is thick enough around the edges. If so, about all the preparation you’ll need is a bit of sweeping, or perhaps hosing away any dirt or dust.
If what you’ve got is bare ground, preparations are just a bit more involved. But not much.
Prepared Ground
Preparing an area of ground for a building is fairly simple – all you’re trying to do is create a smooth, level, firm surface.
First, you’ll need to remove any vegetation, rocks and debris.
Next, make sure the ground is level. For this you can use anything from a long 2×4 and your eye or you can use a laser level and “shoot” it in. Note: Never be this casual with your forms—those are to be level and plumb.
Once you have the ground reasonably level, it may need to be compacted to create a firm surface. In some cases natural compaction will suffice.
Concrete Footings
For information on concrete footings and foundation, please click here.
