What does structural steel cost?

“Steel costs $5,000 per ton.”

Are you sure about that? 👇🏼

Here are a few variables impacting steel cost in a building:

Engineering judgment
Piece count
HSS vs. WF
Metal deck type & gauge
Beams vs. Joists
Beam spacing
Exterior canopies
Bent plate vs. pour stop
Façade and associated details
Exterior vs. inset balconies
Slab steps
Column grid
Column transfers
Cantilevers
Connection design
Allowable beam depth
Braced frame vs. moment frame
Non-steel lateral system
Roof terraces and elevated courtyards
Galvanized dunnage frames
Mechanical screen walls
Story heights
Building height
Below-grade levels
Deflection criteria
Floor performance criteria
Sloped site
Floor live load
Geographic region
Winter conditions
Site location
Site logistics
Seismic design category
Wind loads
Risk category
Laydown area
Union vs. open shop
Crane included or not?

Oh yeah, and don’t forget:
Subcontractor availability. (Supply-demand)
If the subcontractor won or lost the last few projects.
If another project delayed 12 months.
Estimating errors and contingencies.
Subcontractor/GC relationships.

Reality is, construction pricing is an imperfect science. Four subcontractors will submit different prices for the same building. The devil is in the details. Not all “tonnage” is created equal.

At H+O, integrate cost analysis with structural engineering to unlock cost-saving opportunities.

We’ve helped customers just like you identify $500k, $800k and even more than $1MM of savings on their projects….

Have a project in design, and curious if there are cost saving opportunities? Check out our RISK-FREE third-party peer review to reduce structures costs. You owe $0 unless you save $100k or more.