ForgeSource Sourcing Specification Checks for Building Alternatives
Use this roadmap when the reference search is pac van and the open choices are still technical. The page lists what to verify before an alternative is accepted. It is not a sustainability pledge and it is not a factory certificate.
Send Project Requirements- Use
- Dimensions
- Loads
- Jurisdiction
- Quantity
- Destination
Open choices, grouped
| Occupancy | Office, storage, welfare, classroom, or a mixed camp, with headcount |
| Module dimensions | External and clear sizes, including folded and open sizes when the unit folds |
| Frame type | Note whether replies offer a rigid frame, cold-formed steel, or a container chassis |
| Bay and span | Bay spacing and clear span only when the buyer is comparing steel building systems |
| Gravity | Design live load and design dead load, including the floor the storage use actually needs |
| Wind | Wind speed and wind exposure category from the project, not from a sample city |
| Snow | Ground snow load in psf when the jurisdiction uses that input |
| Seismic | Seismic design category, or an explicit statement that it is not yet known |
| Shell | Primary structure and enclosure only. Foundation, utilities, and set are out unless added. |
| Delivered | Adds freight to the named destination. Unloading and crane can still be out. |
| Installed | Adds set, stitch, and the crane lift plan. Local permits can remain with the buyer. |
| Turnkey | Wider coordination, still with a written exclusion list for utilities and site work. |
| Drawings | General arrangement and connection sheets for the system in the quotation |
| Materials | Grade, coating, insulated metal panel type, and thermal transmittance if offered |
| Codes cited | Ask which file addresses IBC, IRC, ASCE 7, AISC 360, or AWS D1.1 for this site |
| Not this desk | HUD Code and state modular labels are recorded only when the project path uses them |
Lists to request, not files this site stores
ForgeSource Sourcing does not host supplier manuals. Use the groups below as a request list inside the brief.
Geometry pack
- Plan, elevation, and section for the quoted module or frame
- Transport envelope and lifting points
- Foundation interface sketch showing what the buyer must provide
Load and envelope pack
- Design criteria echoed back in the supplier cover note
- Purlin and girt spacing if secondary framing is included
- Fire-resistance rating only if the supplier is offering one
Commercial pack
- Included, excluded, and optional lines on one sheet
- Currency, Incoterms or domestic delivery point, and timing assumptions
- Change-control note for substitutions after award
Checks before an alternative is accepted
Specification still open
Volumetric modules or panelized construction?
Choose volumetric when the route and crane can take a finished box and the buyer wants more work off site. Choose panelized when packing density matters more and the site can accept a longer assembly window. Write the reason in the file.
Standard layout or project-specific engineering?
Stay with a standardized unit only when published dimensions, eave height, and options match the site. Move to custom engineering when span, load, or a local energy rule will not fit.
Acceptance test
What is compared besides the number?
Compare scope label, quantity basis, destination, and the deviation list. A shell number and a turnkey number stay in different columns even if both are printed in USD.
Who signs off the alternative?
The buyer, with the structural engineer and code reviewer they appoint. The sourcing desk can show where the replies differ. It does not stamp the design.
Request a scope check, then the quotations
Send the open items with the known items. Factories can price a clearly bounded alternative. They cannot price a brand name alone.
Request Factory Quotes Compare Alternative Options