RFQ Checklist for comparable steel building quotes

FrameSource Sourcing RFQ checklist for alternative buildings

FrameSource Sourcing uses this list so two factories answer the same building. A fictional planning row can show a 120 ft length, 80 ft width, 80 ft clear span, 22 ft eave height, 30 ft bay spacing along the length and quantity 1. These labels illustrate a request, not an engineered system. Load criteria and insulation performance must come from the project team and the supplier documents, rather than being copied from an unrelated example. The page is not a sustainability program, and the desk is not betco or a dealer for that name. Leave a cell blank when the project has not decided it. A blank is more useful than a guessed load.

Send the completed cells

Order of the checklist

Use

Warehouse, workshop, hangar, camp or another named program.

Size

Footprint, clear span, eave height, bay spacing, module dimensions.

Loads

Wind speed, exposure, ground snow load, seismic design category.

Scope

Shell, delivered, installed or turnkey, written as separate boundaries.

Files

Calculations and weld documents requested for the quoted system.

Cells that keep quotes comparable

Geometry
Plan size	Length and width with the unit. Do not mix feet and metres in one cell.
Height	Eave height and any interior clear height the process needs.
Frame rhythm	Bay spacing and whether a clear span is required or columns are allowed.
Site criteria
Place	Project location, destination for freight, and the authority having jurisdiction.
Lateral and gravity	Design wind speed, wind exposure category, ground snow load, seismic design category.
Route	Transport envelope, gate width, and who provides the crane lift plan.
Envelope and commercial
Skin	Roof and wall description, insulated metal panel if wanted, insulation target as R-value or U-value.
Openings	Door sizes. A hangar door is specified, not described as a large opening.
Count and money	Quantity. Optional budget with currency and per-unit or whole-order basis.

Geometry

Plan size

Length and width with the unit. Do not mix feet and metres in one cell.

Height

Eave height and any interior clear height the process needs.

Frame rhythm

Bay spacing and whether a clear span is required or columns are allowed.

Site criteria

Place

Project location, destination for freight, and the authority having jurisdiction.

Lateral and gravity

Design wind speed, wind exposure category, ground snow load, seismic design category.

Route

Transport envelope, gate width, and who provides the crane lift plan.

Envelope and commercial

Skin

Roof and wall description, insulated metal panel if wanted, insulation target as R-value or U-value.

Openings

Door sizes. A hangar door is specified, not described as a large opening.

Count and money

Quantity. Optional budget with currency and per-unit or whole-order basis.

A standardized bay helps when the project truly fits it. A custom rigid frame is the other path when the span, the crane or the snow load falls outside that bay. Write which path you want priced. Volumetric modules and panelized packages can both be requested, but they should not be forced into one total.

Fire-resistance rating, when the wall is near a property line, is a project requirement to confirm. Thermal transmittance belongs with the climate and the code edition, not with a marketing label. Foundation interface loads, if the factory provides them, still need the local designer to accept the piers or the slab.

Before an alternative is accepted

Which choices are still open?

Any blank load, any unstated erection responsibility, and any door that is described as large without a width and height. Also open: whether secondary members are cold-formed steel, and whether the primary frame is hot-rolled steel. Close those with the quoting factory in writing.

What has to be verified on the reply?

The manufacturer name, the system name, the load criteria printed on the calculation, and the exclusions. A reference to ASCE 7, AISC 360 or AWS D1.1 must match the edition and the work being bought. FrameSource Sourcing does not treat a general citation as a project approval.

How should a budget be written?

As an optional target: amount or range, currency, and whether it is per building or for the whole order. Supplier preference may say premium, mid-range, budget-friendly or undecided. That preference is not a rating of a factory, and it does not require a quotation you already hold.

Labels for the building family are listed under Options.