Metal Building BOQ Template Guide: Pre-Engineered vs. Conventional Steel
Pre-engineered metal buildings price very differently from conventional structural steel — often as a single supplied system rather than itemized member-by-member. Here's how to structure the BOQ correctly either way.
PEB vs. Conventional Structural Steel
A pre-engineered metal building (PEB) is an engineered, factory-optimized system — typically a rigid-frame clear-span structure with tapered built-up sections, purlins, girts, and metal panel envelope — designed and supplied as a coordinated package by a single manufacturer to the project's specific loading criteria. Conventional structural steel, by contrast, is member-by-member designed and fabricated to project-specific structural drawings, without the standardized, catalog-driven efficiency a PEB manufacturer brings to a warehouse, shop building, or simple industrial structure.
This distinction matters enormously for how you build the BOQ: a PEB is often priced as a single supplied-and-erected system with a handful of major line items, while conventional steel is priced member-group by member-group across the full 8-section structure described throughout this site.
The choice between the two approaches usually isn't really a choice at all once a building's use is defined — a simple, clear-span warehouse or shop building is squarely what PEB manufacturers optimize for, while a building with irregular geometry, heavy point loads, or multi-story framing quickly moves outside what a standard PEB catalog system can efficiently accommodate. Recognizing early which category a project falls into saves considerable time that would otherwise be spent getting PEB quotes for a building that was never going to be a good PEB candidate in the first place.
How a PEB BOQ Is Typically Structured
A metal building BOQ commonly condenses into fewer, larger line items than a conventional steel BOQ — a natural consequence of the manufacturer bundling design, fabrication, and often erection into a single coordinated package rather than a project team assembling each scope independently:
| Line Item | Typical Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Frame Supply (Rigid Frames) | Lump Sum or per SF of building footprint | Manufacturer-engineered, often quoted as a package price |
| Secondary Framing (Purlins, Girts) | Included in primary frame package or per SF | Usually bundled with primary frame in a PEB quote |
| Roof & Wall Panel System | per SF of roof/wall area | Panel gauge and insulation level materially affect cost |
| Erection | Lump Sum or per SF | Often quoted by the PEB manufacturer's approved erector |
| Foundation & Anchor Bolts | Separate — typically NOT included in PEB package | A common and costly exclusion gap if not flagged clearly |
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Standard PEB manufacturer quotes typically include the engineered primary frame, secondary framing (purlins and girts), roof and wall panels, standard trim and flashing, and base connection design (though not the foundation itself). Engineering and stamped drawings for the building system are usually included, since the manufacturer's engineer designs to the specified loading criteria as part of the supply package — a meaningful difference from conventional steel, where the project's structural engineer of record typically designs the frame independently of the fabricator.
This bundled engineering is one of the genuine efficiency advantages of the PEB approach — the manufacturer has already optimized their standard framing modules against thousands of prior projects, meaning the engineering effort behind a standard PEB quote is largely reusable rather than performed from scratch for each new building. That said, this efficiency depends on the project's actual requirements fitting within the manufacturer's standard catalog — unusual clear spans, non-standard bay spacing, or heavy collateral loads (sprinkler systems, ceiling-hung equipment) can push a project outside standard modules and erode some of that catalog efficiency.
Common Exclusions to Watch For
Foundation & Anchor Bolts
Almost universally excluded from a PEB supply quote — foundation design and construction is a separate scope, priced and contracted independently.
Erection Labor
Sometimes included, sometimes quoted separately depending on the manufacturer's approved-erector network — confirm explicitly before comparing quotes.
Insulation & Liner Panels
Base package roof/wall panels rarely include insulation by default; specify insulation R-value and liner panel requirements explicitly if energy code compliance requires them.
Florida Product Approval Documentation
Panel and fastening systems need current Florida Product Approval (or Miami-Dade NOA in HVHZ counties) — confirm the specific system quoted actually carries current approval for your project's wind zone.
Comparing Multiple PEB Manufacturer Quotes
Comparing PEB quotes across manufacturers is genuinely harder than comparing conventional steel bids against an identical itemized BOQ, precisely because each manufacturer's proprietary framing system, standard bay spacing modules, and default inclusions differ. Before comparing bottom-line numbers, normalize the comparison across the same loading criteria (wind, snow, collateral load), the same clear span and eave height, and an explicit, line-by-line confirmation of what's included versus excluded — particularly foundation design, erection labor, and insulation package.
It's worth requesting a written scope-of-supply document from each manufacturer alongside their price quote, rather than relying on a summary price sheet alone. This document should itemize exactly what's included in the quoted number, in enough detail that you can build the same kind of comparison matrix described elsewhere on this site for conventional steel bids — row by row, manufacturer by manufacturer, rather than comparing opaque bottom-line totals that may represent meaningfully different scopes.
Florida Wind Considerations for Metal Buildings
Metal buildings are highly sensitive to wind uplift design because of their light weight and large roof surface area — exactly the load case that governs much of Florida's structural steel design. Confirm the manufacturer's engineering explicitly addresses the project's Ultimate Design Wind Speed (Vult), Exposure Category, and (where applicable) HVHZ Miami-Dade NOA requirements rather than a generic national wind speed assumption; a PEB quoted to a lower wind speed than the site actually requires is a serious, costly gap to discover after order.
State Your Wind Basis Clearly
Whatever system you're pricing, our template's Cover Sheet shows exactly how to document the wind design basis (Vult, Risk Category, Exposure) so bidders can't quote to the wrong criteria.
Get the BOQ Template – $49 →When You Need Both Approaches
Some projects combine a PEB main structure with conventional steel elements — a mezzanine, crane runway, or architectural canopy that falls outside the PEB manufacturer's standard system. In these cases, structure your BOQ with the PEB package as one set of line items and the conventional steel scope broken out in the full 8-section structure, so each portion of the project gets priced appropriately for how it's actually being designed and fabricated, rather than forcing one document format onto two genuinely different procurement approaches.
Coordination between the PEB manufacturer's engineer and the conventional steel scope's engineer of record deserves explicit attention on hybrid projects, since the two systems need compatible connection details where they meet — a mezzanine framing into a PEB primary frame, for instance, needs a connection detail both parties' engineering teams have reviewed and approved, not an assumed compatibility that surfaces as a field conflict during erection. Flagging this coordination need at the outset of design, rather than discovering it once both scopes are already contracted separately, avoids a real and avoidable source of project friction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Often for simple, clear-span structures like warehouses and shop buildings, due to manufacturing efficiency — but conventional steel can be more cost-effective or simply necessary for irregular geometries, heavy loads, or multi-story buildings a standard PEB system isn't designed for.
If the building meets Florida's statutory threshold building criteria (height, occupancy, or use), yes — the special inspection requirement under F.S. §553.79 applies regardless of whether the structure is PEB or conventional steel.
Yes, but comparison requires care — different manufacturers' standard framing modules and design assumptions vary, so confirm loading criteria, wind design basis, and inclusions are truly equivalent before comparing quotes purely by bottom-line price.
Typically the manufacturer's own engineering team designs the entire primary and secondary frame system, including connections, as part of the supply package — distinct from conventional steel where the project's engineer of record and the fabricator's delegated connection design work together.
Yes — a summary price sheet alone rarely provides enough detail to confirm true apples-to-apples comparison; a written scope document lets you build the same kind of line-by-line comparison used for conventional steel bids.
Yes — the connection details where the two systems meet need review and approval from both engineering teams, a coordination step worth flagging explicitly at the start of design rather than discovering as a field conflict.
Warranty terms vary meaningfully by manufacturer, so it's worth comparing this explicitly alongside price and scope rather than assuming all PEB suppliers offer equivalent coverage.
Often yes, within limits — most manufacturers can accommodate moderate customization, but heavily unusual geometry or loading may push cost and schedule closer to what a conventional custom-designed structure would require.
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