Send me the project, not a question about price

By Johnny, export engineer at Hebei Hongji Shunda Steel Structure Engineering Co., Ltd.

What to send

Five lines are enough to start. Anything you do not know, write “unknown” — that is more useful than a guess.

• Country and site location. Wind, corrosion and access all follow from it.
• What the building is for. A warehouse, a workshop, a cold store, a processing shed, a store under a crane. The use decides more than the size does.
• Plan size. Width and length, and whether columns inside are acceptable.
• Height and what has to fit. Clear height under the rafter, plus the truck, the machine or the stack that set it.
• Anything that moves inside. An overhead crane and its capacity, a hoist, a vehicle path, a conveyor passing through.

If you already have a drawing, a layout or a photograph of the site, send it. A hand sketch with dimensions is better than a rendered image with none.

How to reach me

What happens after you send it

• I read the description and reply with the two or three things that will decide cost, or with the questions that are still open.
• If the project is straightforward, I will say so — sometimes the right answer is to buy locally and I will tell you that.
• If it goes further, the next step is a drawing and a quotation from the factory. Neither is produced from a five-line brief alone, so expect a few questions first.

I write in English. If your working language is Portuguese or Spanish, write in it and I will answer in English with the numbers laid out so they can be forwarded.