What each frame does best
Most projects land clearly on one. The ones that don’t are why we talk before quoting anything.
Tubular SteelBest forShops, garages, barns and storage under 60 ft wideIt’s hard to beat on price in that range, and insulating it doesn’t change the answer.How it’s built →
Cold-Formed SteelBest forBuildings 30–50 ft wide that will be permitted or seen from the roadA closed eave, fascia, gutters and downspouts come standard.How it’s built →
Steel TrussBest forBarndominiums, finished living space and real architectural detailThe framing lands on two-foot centers, so drywall screws straight to the frame. There’s no second wall to build.How it’s built →
Red IronBest forWide, tall, open buildings or ones carrying real loadIt handles long spans, tall eaves and heavy loads. Past 80 ft of clear span, it’s the only sensible answer.How it’s built →
How they compare
| Compare | Tubular Steel | Cold-Formed Steel | Steel Truss | Red Iron |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Shops, garages, barns, ag buildings and covers | Permitted commercial work and buildings seen from the road | Barndominiums and buildings you’ll finish inside | Warehouses, hangars, churches, big open floors |
| Sweet-spot width | Under 60 ft | 30–50 ft | Detailed buildings up to 80 ft | Past 80 ft, and often well before |
| Drywall on the frame | ✕Needs a wood wall inside | ✕Needs a wood wall inside | ✓Yes, framing on 2-ft centers | ✕Needs a wood wall inside |
| Eave & exterior | Boxed eave | Closed eave, fascia, gutters and downspouts standard | Porches, soffit overhangs and gabled entries without a fight | Ask your advisor |
| Hanging loads | Not recommended past ~60 ft with fans, sprinklers or HVAC hung from it | Heavy loads push the design to red iron | Ask your advisor | Designed around cranes, sprinklers and mechanical units from day one |
| Engineering | For your address. Site-specific drawings run ~$2.00/sq ft where required | For your address. Site-specific ~$0.75/sq ft; re-sizes live as we design | For your address | Engineered for the specific building, span and loads |
| Relative cost | Lowest installed price in every use under 60 ft | Mid-range; saves on foundation vs. red iron (no caged piers) | Highest on a plain box; close to cold-formed on a barndominium, with no second wall | Never the cheapest; earns its cost on span, height and load |
| Timeline & install | Ask your advisor | Design changes re-priced in an afternoon, not a week. Goes up with a telehandler, not a crane | Bolt-together sections; no heavy lift equipment | Longer lead time than lighter systems |
Swipe to compare them all →
Every system arrives engineered for the wind, snow and seismic conditions at your address. What differs is the span each covers efficiently, the eave, and what you can attach to it.
Four questions we ask
Answer these and the system usually picks itself.
How wide is it?
Clear span narrows it fast. Under 60 ft, cost usually decides. Past 80 ft, there’s one answer.
Will it be drywalled?
Insulating is fine on any frame. Drywall and living in it change what the frame has to do.
Does it have real detail?
Porches, gabled entries, overhangs and lofts favor some frames over others.
What does your county want?
Whether it accepts generic engineering can swing the cost by thousands.
When two of them would work
Here’s how we break the tie.
The frame is one line next to concrete, erection, engineering and anything fixed later. The cheapest frame is often not the cheapest building.
Where site-specific drawings are required, they run about $2.00/sq ft on tubular and $0.75 on cold-formed. That’s the gap on a 40×60.
A shell you frame again in wood costs more in the end than one framed at residential spacing, even if that one quoted higher.
Common questions about choosing a frame
How does width affect the choice, and the price?
Clear span is the single biggest driver. Under sixty feet, most of the field is open and cost usually decides. Past sixty, the options thin out. Past eighty, there’s really one answer: red iron.
Width doesn’t add cost in a straight line, either. There are points where it steps up.
Why would I end up framing the walls twice?
Buy a shell framed for a shop, then decide to finish it, and you’ll frame the exterior walls again in wood to hold insulation and drywall. That costs money and floor area along every exterior wall.
Tubular, cold-formed and red iron girts are bypass mounted, so a drywalled interior needs that wood wall. Steel truss lands at residential spacing from the start and doesn’t.
What counts as “real detail”?
It means a gabled entry, a covered porch, soffit overhangs, or a loft or mezzanine. That’s where some framing starts fighting you and other framing handles it without a second thought.
If you’ve drawn something that looks like a house instead of a box, this matters more than the width does.
How much can my county change the cost?
Whether your county accepts generic engineering can swing the cost by thousands, and it varies inside a single metro. Cass County in the Kansas City metro requires site-specific engineering on every tubular project. Forty-five minutes north, Clay County doesn’t.
We look this up for your actual address before recommending anything. The local detail is written out by town for the places we work most.
What if two systems would both work?
Plenty of projects sit between two answers. It might be a 50×80 shop that could get finished someday, or a barndominium at a width where a simpler frame would carry it. Those are real decisions, and we work them through with you using total project cost, engineering and finish plans.
Which projects start with a phone call?
Institutional and life-safety occupancies, and multi-story residential with stacked dwelling units, carry code obligations no configurator should be asked to interpret. Those get worked through with a senior advisor before any design work starts.
Can you handle hangar doors and big openings?
Yes. Hangar doors, equipment bays and drive-through openings are ordinary work, and both steel truss and red iron frames are built around big doors. Send us the door specs and we’ll recommend the frame that fits. A wide opening changes the framing plan, and it doesn’t complicate the project.
Or build it on screen first
This is the tubular designer. It’s best for a straightforward building up to 60 ft wide.
Open the tubular designerIt handles lean-tos, mezzanines, bays and custom openings. Use it for a barndominium or a commercial building.
Open the building designerNeither commits you to a frame. Save a design and a building advisor checks which system suits it and what your jurisdiction requires, then comes back with a real number.
4.7 stars from 154 Google reviews
Start with a conversation
Let’s find the right frame for your project.
Span, use and location are usually enough for us to name the right system and explain why.
- Tell us what and whereSend us the size, how you’ll use the building and the address.
- We check the siteWe confirm who permits the address and which code and loads apply.
- You get a clear recommendationWe recommend the frame that fits and price it against the alternatives.
Or call
417-218-8348