Ten checks before you sign a metal building contract

Search the license before the first phone call

In North Carolina, a project of $40,000 or more needs a licensed general contractor. Look up the exact legal name from the quote on the licensing board’s site. If nothing comes up, ask the salesperson for the number and look that up too.

A slab and a 40×60 building will clear $40,000 almost anywhere in the state in 2026. Mine was $98,750.

Treat “you pull the permit” as a question, not a formality

When you sign an owner-builder affidavit you are swearing that you are running the job. Call your county permit office, describe the deal exactly as it was offered to you, and ask whether that is how they expect it to be permitted.

Do not pay 39% down on a contract whose own terms say 10%

My terms describe a minimum deposit of 10%. My deposit was $19,700, which the order form calculates as 38.97% of the building. It was non-refundable the moment it left my account. Negotiate the deposit down, and get the number of weeks until engineered plans arrive in writing.

Avoid wire-only if you can. If you cannot, slow everything down

A wire cannot be disputed or reversed. A credit card can. If the seller only takes wires, make every payment contingent on something you can see and verify: stamped plans in your hand, a passed inspection, material on your lot.

Tie payments to passed inspections, not to “scheduling” or “arrival”

My schedule had 91% of the money due before the building was complete. Ask for the concrete balance to be due after the slab inspection passes and the pour is finished. Ask for a real retainage, 10% or more, held until final inspection.

Get a start date, a finish date and a consequence

My packet has no dates in it at all. Write in a start window, a completion date, and what happens if it is missed: a daily credit, or the right to cancel and recover unearned money.

Match the footing on the plans to the footing on the concrete contract

My concrete contract says “1x1 footers.” The engineered plans L&G gave me call for 14 inches. The crew dug 12, the inspection failed, and I paid extra for the fix, because the contract says that if the inspector wants deeper footings, the customer pays. Make the concrete contract reference the engineered plans by date and sheet number, so the price you sign covers the footing the engineer drew.

Be there with a tape measure before the pour

I paid for six inches. When I was told the pad was ready, my tape read about 4½ at the string line. Measure form height and subgrade in several places before the truck arrives, photograph the tape, and send the photos to the office in writing the same hour. Ask the inspector what they check and what they do not. A slab inspection is not a thickness guarantee.

Read every $0 line as “your problem”

My order lists a 7k telehandler as customer-provided at $0. That put a $2,000 rental on me, and when the crew came five days late and did not finish, I was told to supply a different machine. Get the lift size, the number of days and who pays for crew delays written into the contract itself. I only had it in texts. Ask what each $0 line will really cost and who pays if the schedule slips.

Ask about the concrete warranty before you see the signature page

L&G’s packet includes a page stating it offers no warranty on concrete, and its building workmanship warranty is 90 days. Some concrete contractors will warranty their work for a year. If the answer is “none,” you should know that while you can still walk away, and you should price an independent concrete contractor for comparison.