Tool
A clear span frame at 120 ft and a 24 ft eave carries roughly 5.48 – 7.64 lb/sf of framing steel, which prices the building package near $17.79 – $22.74/sf. Change the inputs and watch which one is actually driving your number.
Framing steel
5.48 – 7.64 lb/sf
Primary and secondary
Total steel
66 – 92 tons
Over 24,000 sf
Package
$17.79 – $22.74/sf
$427K – $546K
Installed
$27.58 – $43.20/sf
$662K – $1.04M
Outside the usual range. This case prices outside the $14–22/sf band commonly quoted for metal building packages. The published band describes ordinary spans and loads; a long span, a tall eave, heavy snow, or a crane will legitimately leave it.
Outside the model's envelope. This load case is far enough from the baseline that the estimator is extrapolating rather than interpolating, and the combined effect of a tall eave, heavy snow, high wind, and a crane all at once is the weakest part of the model. Treat these numbers as directional only — a case like this needs a manufacturer's engineering, not an estimator. What the model can and cannot do.
Each figure below is that input's effect relative to the baseline case, holding everything else fixed. The span sets the starting point; these move it.
| Input | Effect | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Eave height 24 ft | +7.2% | A longer column raises the moment at the haunch, so the whole frame grows with the eave. |
| Bay spacing 25 ft | +0.0% | Wider bays mean fewer frames but deeper purlins and girts carrying more roof each. |
| Ground snow 23 psf | -4.8% | Gravity load straight into the rafters. On a wide building this is usually the governing case. |
| Wind 105 mph | -4.5% | Drives uplift and lateral demand, so it shows up in bracing and connections more than in the rafter. |
| Combined | -2.1% | Applied to the baseline weight for this span. |
Cost moves less than weight: steel is roughly 55% of the package, with panels, trim, fasteners, and freight making up the rest.
At this span: Deep haunches and heavier anchor-bolt patterns. Foundation cost stops being a rounding error.
Planning-stage estimate calibrated to published industry ranges. Not a substitute for a stamped design by a licensed engineer.
Next step
A dealer quoting from your actual geometry and load case beats any estimator, including this one. Three of them, each carrying engineer-stamped drawings for your state, cost you nothing to ask.
Get engineered quotes for a 120 × 200 × 24 ft building
Heads up: under 60 ft wide you are below the tier most commercial dealers chase. The main quote form reaches the dealers who price buildings that size every day, and it will get you more responses than this one.
The baseline the calculator starts from: a clear span rigid frame at a 20 ft eave, 25 ft bays, 20 psf ground snow, 115 mph wind, and no crane.
| Span | Steel | Package | Installed | What changes here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 ft | 2.20–3.20 | $14–17 | $22–32 | Light frames. Span is rarely the cost driver at this width - eave height and snow load matter more. |
| 50 ft | 2.60–3.60 | $14–18 | $22–34 | Still comfortably inside standard shipping and erection practice. |
| 60 ft | 3.00–4.20 | $15–18 | $23–34 | The practical floor for commercial work. Below this width, small-building suppliers price better. |
| 80 ft | 3.80–5.20 | $16–20 | $25–38 | The crossover band. Clear span and modular start to diverge in cost here - price both. |
| 100 ft | 4.60–6.40 | $17–21 | $26–40 | Haunch depth begins to govern interior clearance. Check usable height, not just the eave. |
| 120 ft | 5.60–7.80 | $18–23 | $28–44 | Deep haunches and heavier anchor-bolt patterns. Foundation cost stops being a rounding error. |
| 150 ft | 7.00–9.80 | $20–26 | $31–49 | The practical ceiling for a standard single-span rigid frame. Past this you are buying custom engineering. |
| 200 ft | 9.50–13.50 | $24–32 | $37–61 | Custom engineering, shipping splices, and heavier erection equipment. Modular usually wins on cost alone. |
| 250 ft | 12.50–17.50 | $28–38 | $43–72 | Specialist territory. Justified by use, not economics - hangars, arenas, column-free process floors. |
| 300 ft | 16.00–23.00 | $33–46 | $51–87 | The upper limit most manufacturers offer. Expect a bespoke frame design and a long lead time. |
Steel in lb/sf; package and installed in $/sf of floor area. Installed includes foundation and erection and excludes interior buildout, insulation beyond a standard package, and site work. Planning-stage estimate calibrated to published industry ranges. Not a substitute for a stamped design by a licensed engineer.
Double the span of a rigid frame and you do not double the steel — you roughly triple it. The bending moment at midspan grows with the square of the span, so a deeper section is needed; the deeper section is heavier, which increases the load it has to carry; and the taller haunch needs more material at the knee. Each effect compounds the last.
This is the entire reason the industry has frame types at all. A modular frame does not use cleverer steel than a clear span frame. It just refuses to let any single member span the full width, which steps back down the curve.
It is also why the cheapest lever on a wide building is almost never the steel spec. It is deciding that a column can stand somewhere. See the frame type selector for what that is worth at your width.