Go Tall or Go Home!-

[Cole Bigbee]

Last week we touched on metal building terminology and we’re going to build off of that and go on to inspecting a warehouse or industrial property and certain things to look for.

One of the first things we look at when inspecting a potential industrial/warehouse building for purchase is the building height. Height is the most important because it would not be feasible to raise the height of a building if it was too short. Width and length can easily be added if you have the room on the property but the height is a different animal. Height is important because you want to be able to cast the widest net when fishing in the potential tenant pool!

On smaller warehouse projects the minimum eave height I’m looking for is 16’, so I can install 14’ tall overhead doors. A 14’ tall overhead door will allow anything that can be hauled or driven on roadways to go under the door and the 16’ is needed to allow for enough door clearance. When you start getting into the 25,000 – 100,000 sqft buildings, the minimum I am looking for is 20’ but would prefer to be between 25’-30’. On most of these size buildings, the additional height will allow for specialized machinery, along with enough room for several tiers of pallet rack storage space.

It’s important to always take a tape measure when inspecting buildings and get the height measurement for yourself. I can’t tell you how many times the ad for the property I was viewing had the wrong height listed on the paperwork.

This concludes my weekly post. Be sure to check back next week and feel free to reach out to me with any questions you have.