Turnkey Engineered Steel Buildings, From Blueprint to Standing Structure
Engineering, foundation, and erection handled as one project — built for decades, backed in writing.
Building prices alone are published by size, starting at $10,500 at 20x24 — see sizes & prices. Foundation and erection are quoted against your specific site and scope, not folded into those floors.
50-Year Paint Warranty, 50-Year Rust Perforation Warranty, 60-Year Structural Warranty, and Lifetime Warranty on Hardware — all transferable to the next property owner.
Get Your Customized Quote
- No obligation — we’ll send the price, not a salesperson to your door.
- Engineered drawings stamped for your state.
- 60-Year Limited Structural, 50-Year Limited Paint, 50-Year Limited Rust Perforation, and Lifetime Limited Hardware warranties.
- Delivered nationwide, all 50 states.
50-Year Limited Rust Warranty • 50-Year Limited Paint Warranty • 60yr Limited Structural Warranty • Lifetime Limited Hardware Warranty
What Turnkey Means
A turnkey project is a streamlined three-phase process that takes your steel building from blueprint to standing structure. This page covers what happens when Northcraft manages all three phases as one job. If you already know you only want one piece of it — the engineered building alone, or just erection on a foundation you’re handling separately — see our Services page for how each is scoped and priced individually.
STEP 1
Engineering & Fabrication
Every component is CAD-engineered to your specs and factory-fabricated to exact tolerances before it ships.
- • Drawings are stamped for the specific state and county your building goes up in — the same drawings your local permit office will ask for, so submitting for permit can start as soon as they're issued rather than waiting for the building to arrive.
- • Door, window, and any dock or mezzanine openings get locked in here. Decide those before this stage closes, not after — reopening engineering once fabrication starts costs real time.
- • Typically 45-60 days from order to delivery, depending on engineering review and current production volume — the same window every dimensional page on this site quotes, because it's the same production line.
STEP 2
Concrete Foundation
A poured concrete foundation is prepared on your site to the engineered plan, ready to receive the steel frame.
- • The pour follows the engineered plan for your specific building and loads, not a generic slab — reinforcement and thickness are sized to what the steel above it will actually carry.
- • Concrete generally needs about a week before it can safely bear erection equipment and steel, and longer to fully cure. Scheduling the pour early enough to clear that window before your steel arrives keeps foundation from becoming the bottleneck.
- • Site access for concrete trucks and any utility locates are worth confirming before the pour is scheduled, not the morning of.
STEP 3
Steel Erection
Pre-cut, pre-drilled components bolt together quickly — no welding in the field, no guesswork on the ground.
- • Erection is scheduled once the foundation has cured and the freight package has arrived — the same site-access and staging-room considerations covered on each size page apply here, magnified by having a crew and possibly a crane on site at the same time as delivery trucks.
- • Smaller buildings can sometimes be self-erected or handled by a small local crew; larger and I-beam buildings require professional, crane-assisted erection as standard practice — ask your estimator which category your project falls into.
- • No field welding — pre-cut, pre-drilled components bolt together, which is what keeps this phase fast once the first two are actually done in the right order.
What You Handle vs. What Northcraft Coordinates
“Turnkey” means Northcraft manages engineering, fabrication, foundation, and erection as one project instead of three separate ones — it doesn’t mean there’s nothing left for you to do. Here’s the honest split.
Northcraft coordinates
- • Stamped engineering drawings for your delivery state
- • Factory fabrication of every structural and panel component
- • Freight to your site
- • The concrete foundation pour, built to the engineered plan
- • Professional steel erection
You (or your contractor) handle
- • Pulling the building permit — we supply the stamped drawings it requires
- • Site access and any utility locates, for both the concrete and steel phases
- • Doors and windows, if your project needs them
- • Insulation, if your project needs them
- • Deciding early if you already have a foundation contractor lined up, or need one
What to Have Ready Before Drawings Start
You don’t need final dimensions to start a real conversation — but a few answers up front keep the project moving instead of stalling mid-engineering:
- • Your site address or zip code, so we can confirm the real snow, wind, and seismic code for that location
- • Your general use case, and anything you plan to hang from the frame now or later — a crane, a mezzanine, a finished ceiling with ductwork above it
- • Rough door, window, and any dock or loading-area locations
- • Whether you already have a foundation contractor lined up — it changes how the foundation and erection phases get scheduled against each other
- • Your realistic timeline, including any permit lead time your jurisdiction is known for
Backed By Real Warranties
YEAR LIMITED RUST WARRANTY
YEAR LIMITED PAINT WARRANTY
YEAR LIMITED STRUCTURAL WARRANTY
LIMITED HARDWARE WARRANTY
* Warranty coverage is subject to applicable warranty terms, conditions, limitations, and exclusions. Complete warranty details are provided during the purchase process and included within the applicable purchase documentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to buy the full turnkey package, or can I choose just one piece?
Just the engineered building, or the building plus one or both of foundation and erection — whichever fits your situation. Many buyers already have a contractor lined up for the foundation and only need the building and erection; others want the full three-phase project handled as one job. Tell your estimator what you already have covered.
What actually determines how long a turnkey project takes, start to finish?
Four things stack up: engineering and fabrication (typically 45-60 days), your local permit timeline (which varies widely by jurisdiction and is worth starting as soon as drawings are issued), the concrete cure window before erection can begin, and erection scheduling itself — which for larger buildings means coordinating a crane. None of these are Northcraft's alone to control; permit timing especially depends on your local building department.
Who pulls the permit on a turnkey project?
You or your contractor, not Northcraft. We provide the stamped engineering drawings your permit application needs, but submitting and managing the permit itself is the customer's or their contractor's responsibility, the same as it is on a building-only order.
Does the foundation have to be completely finished before my building arrives?
It needs to have cured enough to safely bear erection equipment and the steel itself, generally about a week past the pour at minimum, with longer needed to fully cure. Scheduling the pour early enough to clear that window before freight arrives is exactly the kind of sequencing a turnkey project is meant to handle for you.
Can Northcraft erect on a foundation I've already had poured myself?
Yes, as long as it's built to the engineered plan your specific building requires. Tell your estimator up front that the foundation is already in place, or already being handled by someone else, so the drawings and the erection crew's schedule both account for it correctly.
Does turnkey cost more than buying the building alone?
Yes — real foundation work and real erection labor cost real money, and neither is folded into the published per-size floors (see the sizes and prices page for what the building alone starts at).
Is turnkey available on every size Northcraft sells, from the smallest to the largest?
Yes, though the erection phase looks different by size. Smaller C-channel buildings are sometimes realistic for a self-erect or small local crew; larger buildings and every I-beam size require professional, crane-assisted erection as standard practice. Ask your estimator which category your specific size falls into before you plan your own crew.
Build Your Steel Building Right.
Buy once. Build it right. Get a turnkey quote for your custom-engineered steel building — no obligation.
Call: (888) 460-9294 | Email: Estimating@Northcraftsteel.com
Get Your Customized Quote