An installed structural steel price, often called "furnished, fabricated and erected", covers the steel, the shop work to turn it into finished members, the drawings, delivery and the crew and equipment to put it up on site. It is priced from your drawings and your site; a cost per tonne only comes afterwards, by dividing the total by the tonnage. That's why a per-tonne installed figure from another project tells you little about yours. What does matter is knowing exactly what an installed quote includes, what it leaves to others, and which site factors drive the erection part.
For a breakdown of the material and fabrication side, see our guide to structural steel price per tonne in Canada. This article focuses on the "installed" part. For pricing on your project, send us your drawings.
Supply only vs supply and install
There are three common ways to buy structural steel:
| Scope | What you get | What stays with you or your GC |
|---|---|---|
| Supply only (cut to length) | Raw steel cut to your lengths | Fabrication, connections, drawings, erection |
| Supply and fabricate | Finished members with holes, plates and connections, delivered | Erection, crane, site coordination |
| Supply, fabricate and erect (installed) | Finished members delivered and erected | Items excluded in the quote |
Why owners choose installed pricing:
- One party is responsible for fit. If a connection doesn't line up, the fabricator and the erector are the same company, so it gets fixed rather than argued about.
- Delivery matches erection. Steel arrives in the order the crew needs it, which reduces double handling and site storage.
- Fewer scope gaps. A single contract has fewer boundaries where items can fall through.
Why some buy supply only or supply and fabricate: a general contractor with its own erection crew, a homeowner whose contractor is installing a single beam, or a project where the crane is already on site for other trades. That can work well, as long as someone clearly owns erection and the items that sit between the two scopes. Our article on steel fabrication vs erection explains who does what.
What the erection part of an installed price covers
The erection share of an installed price is mostly labour and equipment time. A complete quote typically accounts for:
- Mobilization. Getting the crew, equipment and materials to site and set up, and taking them away again. This is a fixed cost whatever the tonnage.
- Crane and rigging. The crane size depends on the heaviest pick and how far it has to reach, not just the total weight. Smaller jobs may use a boom truck, telehandler or lifts instead.
- The erection crew. Ironworkers to rig, land, plumb and connect each piece.
- Temporary bracing and stability. Keeping the frame stable until the permanent bracing, deck or walls are in.
- Plumbing and alignment. Getting columns plumb and beams level within tolerance before final connections.
- Bolting and field welding. Tightening bolts (including any pretensioned connections) and field welds where the design requires them. Field welding on structural steel needs a company certified to CSA W47.1.
- Touch-up. Repairing primer or coatings damaged during handling and erection, if the finish is in scope.
- Safety. Fall protection, rigging plans and supervision. Steel erection in Ontario is governed by the construction regulation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (O. Reg. 213/91), which includes specific rules for rigging structural steel.
The cost drivers inside erection, and how erectors price their time, are covered in more detail in steel erection cost per tonne.
Site factors that change installed cost
Two jobs with identical steel can have very different installed costs. The biggest influences:
Piece count, not tonnage. Every piece has to be rigged, lifted, landed and connected. A tonne of light members (purlins, girts, bracing, small beams) means many more picks and connections than a tonne of heavy beams, so each tonne carries more erection labour.
Access and crane position. Where can the crane set up? Is the ground firm enough for outriggers? Are there overhead power lines, neighbouring buildings or trees in the swing path? Does the crane have to work from the street? In most GTA municipalities, occupying a road or sidewalk needs a permit and traffic control, which add cost and lead time.
Height and reach. Higher and farther picks need bigger cranes or more lifts, and work at height is slower.
Site readiness. Erection goes quickly when footings are cured, anchor rods are in the right place and surveyed, and the site is clear. It stalls when anchor rods are off, elevations are wrong, or other trades are in the way. Waiting time and return trips are real costs.
Sequence and phasing. One continuous erection is cheaper than several remobilizations to suit a phased schedule. Phasing is sometimes unavoidable, but it should be in the quote.
Weather and season. Steel goes up year-round in Ontario, but snow clearing, shorter days and wind holds on crane work affect productivity. Winter heat and hoarding, if needed, are separate items.
Residential and renovation work. Installing a beam inside an existing house is a different job: temporary shoring, removing a wall, getting the beam through a window or door, and setting it on posts and footings by hand or with small equipment. The installed cost there depends on the access and shoring far more than on the steel weight. See the cost to install a steel beam in a basement in Ontario.
Items that fall between the trades
Most installed-price disputes come from items that sit at the edge of the steel scope. Every quote should say whether these are included:
| Item | Often handled by | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Anchor rods: supply | Steel contractor | Are rods and templates supplied with the steel? |
| Anchor rods: setting in concrete | Concrete contractor | Who sets them, and who surveys them before erection? |
| Grout under base plates | Varies | Is grouting in or out? |
| Steel deck and shear studs | Separate deck trade, or steel contractor | Is deck part of this price? |
| Miscellaneous metals (stairs, rails, lintels) | Often a separate package | Are they included? |
| Shop primer and touch-up | Steel contractor | Primer included? Touch-up after erection? |
| Finish painting, fireproofing | Painting or fireproofing trade | Assumed by others? |
| Inspection and testing | Owner's testing agency | Who pays for third-party inspection? |
| Street-use permits, traffic control | Varies | Included in the crane cost? |
| Hoarding, winter heat, snow clearing | General contractor | Assumed by others? |
| Connection design | Fabricator's engineer, or engineer of record | Who designs connections? |
If an item isn't listed in either the inclusions or the exclusions, ask. Unwritten assumptions are where change orders come from.
Why per-tonne installed figures mislead
It's tempting to take a per-tonne installed figure from another job and multiply it by your tonnage. It rarely works, because:
- Fixed costs don't scale. Mobilization, crane setup, drawings and supervision cost about the same for a small job as a medium one. On a few tonnes, they dominate.
- Mix of members matters. Heavy columns and girders and light purlins and bracing have very different labour per tonne.
- The tonnage itself varies. Different estimators may or may not count connection material, plates and miscellaneous steel.
- Scope varies. One figure may include deck, misc metals and finishes; another may be bare frame only.
The reliable approach is a priced take-off from your drawings, with the erection cost built from your site's actual conditions. If you need a budget earlier in design, give the estimator what you have and accept that it's a range until the drawings are complete. Our article on structural steel cost per square foot looks at early budgeting for buildings.
How to compare installed steel quotes
- Same drawings, same revision. Make sure every bidder priced the same set.
- Tonnage carried. Ask each bidder for their tonnage. A big gap often explains a big price gap.
- Inclusions and exclusions. Use the table above and get answers in writing.
- Crane and equipment. Included, with what assumptions about access and setup location?
- Schedule and phasing. How many mobilizations are priced?
- Certification. Is the company CWB certified for the shop and field welding the job requires?
- Validity and escalation. How long is the price held, and is material escalation included?
Get an installed steel price
Procut supplies, fabricates and installs structural steel, from basement beams and posts on residential builds to larger commercial projects. We prepare take-offs and quotes free of charge, produce shop drawings in-house, weld in a CWB certified shop, deliver across the GTA and Ontario, and keep production and site mobilization going year-round.
Send your structural drawings for a free supply-and-install quote, or see our services for what we handle from estimate to erection.
Frequently asked questions
What does furnished, fabricated and erected mean?
It describes a structural steel scope where one contractor supplies the steel (furnished), turns it into finished members in a shop (fabricated) and installs it on site (erected). It is the most complete steel package, but exactly what is included still has to be written into the quote.
Is it cheaper to buy steel supply-only and hire a separate erector?
Sometimes the separate prices add up to less, but the gaps and coordination risk move to you or your general contractor. Fit-up problems, delays between delivery and erection, and disputes over who fixes what are common reasons owners prefer a single supply-and-install contract.
Why is the installed cost per tonne higher on small jobs?
Mobilization, crane setup, drawings and site supervision cost roughly the same whether a job is a few tonnes or many. On a small job those fixed costs are spread over very few tonnes, so the per-tonne figure rises sharply.
What is usually not included in an installed steel price?
It varies, so check the exclusions. Items often listed as by others include setting anchor rods, grouting base plates, site survey, steel deck, fireproofing, finish painting, third-party inspection and testing, permits for street use, and winter heat or hoarding.
