We consistently emphasize to our clients the importance of correct anchor bolt positioning during the foundation construction stage for all types of steel buildings. Therefore, we provide foundation drawings for every steel building project to clearly indicate the exact location of each anchor bolt. When foundations are constructed according to these drawings, the steel structure can be installed smoothly and accurately.

Recently, one of our clients in the Philippines purchased a 912 m² steel structure warehouse. During foundation construction, however, an error occurred. The warehouse design did not use uniform center-to-center column spacing, but the client constructed all column foundations based on equal center-to-center distances. If installed as built, the two end beams would be shorter than required, and the roof purlins, wall purlins, and tie rods would also not match the designed dimensions.

Our Proposed solutions

To address this issue, we provided the client with several possible solutions:

• Rebuild the foundation and reset new anchor bolts for the columns on both sides
• Relocate the two side columns and use chemical anchors instead of embedded anchor bolts
• Increase the column brackets or extend the beams; this option would also require extending the tie rods. The existing roof and wall purlins could potentially still be used, but the connection holes would not align, requiring on-site welding at both sides