A good building will outlive you if you give it about twenty minutes a year. Here is the whole schedule, by season, for Randolph County weather.
Spring: the wasp and water check
Walk around the outside. Knock down wasp nests under the eaves while they are the size of a quarter. Check that the gable or ridge vents are clear and screened. Look at the base of the walls all the way around for water staining or swelling, which tells you runoff is hitting the siding, and fix the grade or the drip line if you see it.
Inside, check the underside of the roof deck for water marks. Marks without a leak in the roof mean condensation, and the fix is more ventilation or spray foam insulation, not a patch.
Summer: doors, hardware and paint
Check that the doors still close and latch cleanly. A door that has started to bind is almost always telling you the building has moved, not that the door is bad. Go check the pad with a level before you plane anything.
Oil the hinges and the latch. Look at the trim and the door edges for paint failure and touch them up. Trim is what you repaint; if you keep the trim sealed the body lasts far longer.
Fall: the mouse and gutter job
Mice move in when the weather turns, so do this before October. Move every bag of grass seed, fertilizer, bird seed and pet food into sealed metal or hard plastic bins. Check the door sweep and the corner where the skirt meets the floor for gaps. Mow the grass back a couple feet all the way around so there is no cover leading up to the building.
Clear leaves off the roof and out of any valley. Leaf litter holds moisture against shingles and that is where roofs start to go.
Winter: trees and load
Look up. Any limb over the roof is the thing most likely to damage your building in a Randolph County ice storm. Trim before the ice, not after. If you get heavy wet snow, clear it off a flat-ish roof section rather than hoping.
If weather does get the building, our 10 year guarantee covers acts of nature such as storm damage and settling as well as our craftsmanship, repaired or replaced. Take photos before you clean anything up.
Every few years: check the pad
Put a long level on the floor in both directions. If it has moved, top up and re-level the gravel pad before the doors, the roof line and the siding start telling you about it. Water is almost always the cause, so figure out where it is coming from at the same time.
What you do not have to maintain
Some of this is handled by the materials. LP SmartSide siding carries a 50 year warranty and is engineered against the swelling and delamination that kills cheap panel siding at the bottom edge. AdvanTech flooring carries a lifetime warranty and does not soften and cup the way standard OSB does. And if either ever needs a claim, we handle it for you rather than handing you a manufacturer phone number.
If it is time for a new one
We build 6×8 to 16×60, starting at $1,900 for a C+ Utility 6×8 and $2,762 for a Cardinal Utility 8×8. Rent-to-own has no credit check, 24 to 60 months, from $75.44 a month, first two months down, no early payoff fee. We do not take trade-ins or buy back used buildings, so plan disposal of the old one before delivery day.
Get Started on Your Steeleville Building
You do not have to drive to a lot to get moving. Use our 3D Shed Builder to pick your size, siding, colors, doors, windows and add-ons and see the building take shape on screen. When it looks right, send it to us and we will confirm pricing and a delivery date for Steeleville.
Prefer to talk it through? Call our main office at 618-518-5578. We will walk you through building styles, custom options and rent-to-own and financing, and answer anything on our FAQ page. You can also see what we serve nearby on our location page.
