A typical project to follow

Take a steel warehouse of 1,200 square metres in a Syrian industrial city: 24 metres wide, 50 metres long, 8 metres to the eaves, a pitched roof, insulated sandwich-panel cladding and two sliding doors. The plot is level and permitted, and the owner is ready with the first payment. This represents most of the warehouses and hangars we build, so let us follow it week by week.

The schedule below is not an absolute promise; weather, steel supply and the owner's readiness all play a part. But it is a realistic programme we hold to when conditions are met, and at each stage we note what the owner must provide so the work does not stall.

Week 1: survey and requirements

Our engineer visits the site, surveys it, and checks soil conditions, road level and truck access. We sit with the owner to fix the use: what will be stored, whether an overhead crane is needed, rack heights, and where doors and offices go. This meeting sets the loads and prevents late changes that cost time and money.

From the owner: copies of the permit and title deed, and a final decision on use and door positions.

Weeks 2 and 3: structural design and drawings

The design engineer runs the structural calculation for wind, snow and seismic loads, selecting S355 sections for columns and rafters and S275 for purlins. Fabrication drawings are issued with total tonnage, along with foundation drawings, base plates and anchor-bolt layouts. For this warehouse the frame comes to about 38 tonnes.

From the owner: drawing approval within a few days; every day of delay here moves the handover date.

Weeks 4 and 5: foundations on site, fabrication in the workshop

This is where steel shows its main advantage: two parallel tracks. On site, footings are excavated and poured in reinforced concrete, with anchor bolts set in precise templates, because a centimetre of error becomes a problem at erection. In the workshop, plates and sections are cut, columns and rafters assembled and welded in controlled positions, and the welds inspected.

From the owner: water and power on site, and a suitable truck entrance.

Weeks 6 and 7: fabrication complete, coating

Secondary members are finished: purlins, wind bracing and door framing. Every piece is blast cleaned, coated with a zinc-rich primer and a topcoat, and left to cure. Each member is numbered according to the erection drawing, and grade 8.8 structural bolts are counted and packed. Meanwhile the foundation concrete reaches strength.

Week 8: delivery and start of erection

Trucks arrive in erection order, not random loading order. The first columns stand on day one and are tied to their rafters to form the first two frames, with wind bracing fixed immediately so the structure is stable. One crane and a crew of six to eight is enough for a warehouse this size.

Week 9: frame and purlins complete

Remaining frames go up at one to two per day, followed by roof and wall purlins. By the end of the week the steel frame is complete, all bolts are re-torqued to specification and column plumb is verified.

Weeks 10 and 11: cladding and doors

Sandwich panels go on the roof first, then the walls, with gutters, corner flashings and skylight sheets. Sliding doors are hung on their tracks and adjusted. This stage is sensitive to wind and may pause a day or two in stormy weather for crew safety.

Week 12: inspection and handover

A final check covers bolt tightness, coating condition with touch-up of erection scratches, a water test on gutters, and door operation. The owner receives the project file: final drawings, mill certificates and the coating specification for future maintenance. The handover report is signed and storage can begin.

What actually stretches the schedule

  • Late drawing approval: each week lost here is a week lost at handover.
  • Changing the brief after fabrication starts: adding a crane or a door after steel is cut means redesign and refabrication.
  • The floor slab: if outside our contract, it must be coordinated so it does not block erection.
  • Winter: rain stops foundation pours and roofing, so we add margin between December and February.

In short

Twelve weeks is not a marketing figure but the result of planning: a design fixed early, fabrication running alongside foundations, and disciplined erection. When the owner is ready with decisions, the warehouse is ready on time.