“How much per square metre?” is the first question almost every Thai client asks. The honest answer is that the price of a steel building is driven mainly by the weight of steel it needs – and that weight depends on a handful of design decisions you can influence early.
1. Span and bay spacing
Wider clear spans need deeper rafters and heavier columns. If your process allows a row of interior columns, a multi-span frame can save a significant share of the steel. Bay spacing (the distance between frames) is a balance: wider bays mean fewer frames but deeper purlins. We optimise both for every project.
2. Eave height
Each extra metre of height adds column steel and wind load on the walls. Choose the height your racking, cranes or machinery actually need – not a round number.
3. Loads: wind, roof and solar
Thai wind speeds vary by province under the DPT standard (มยผ. 1311-50), and coastal or open sites attract higher loads. Solar panels, ceilings and services add dead load. Declaring them at the start costs far less than strengthening later.
4. Cranes and mezzanines
Overhead cranes add runway beams, brackets and heavier frames; mezzanines add beams, columns and decking. They are worth it when needed – but every tonne of capacity should be justified.
5. Fire protection
For buildings that need fire-rated steel, intumescent paint can cost as much as the steel it protects. Designing members with a low section factor and choosing the right product is the biggest lever on total cost – see our fire-protection solution.
6. Delivery terms
A CIF price stops at the Thai port; a DDP price includes clearance, duties, VAT and trucking to site. Compare like with like.
A useful rule of thumb
Simple pre-engineered warehouses without cranes often use around 25–45 kg of steel per m² of floor area. Purlins and girts are a meaningful part of that – another reason to design them carefully.
Send us a sketch with length, width, eave height and province and we will return the steel weight and a CIF or DDP price within 48 hours.
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