When it comes to building a self storage facility, many investors focus on location, security features, and unit sizes, often overlooking a critical element that can make or break the success of the investment—the roof. The roof may not be the most glamorous aspect of a storage facility, but it is undoubtedly one of the most crucial.
As self storage buildings grow older, maintaining the roof becomes increasingly crucial and time intensive. A regular inspection and maintenance routine is key to extending the life of the roof and avoiding hefty bills for repairs and property hassles. That’s why using the steel building experts at Forge for your commercial roofing needs ensures that your investment is protected while also adding value to your self storage facility whether it be new construction, an expansion, or renovation of your existing units.
At Forge, we always recommend standing seam roof panels to our customers. This type of roofing has concealed fasteners that eliminate the risk of many leaks, rust, and loosening screws. They also serve two other very important functions – reducing material and labor costs and increasing the sustainability of the self storage facility. In this blog, we will explore the importance of investing in a quality metal roof when developing or upgrading a self storage facility and the long-term benefits it can bring.
A self storage facility’s primary purpose is to safeguard the belongings of its tenants. An investment in a high-quality, durable metal roof ensures that the stored items remain safe and protected from the elements. Whether it’s scorching sun, heavy rainfall, or snowstorms, a strong, commercial metal roof acts as the first line of defense against weather-related damage. Leaks and water ingress can wreak havoc on stored items, leading to potential financial losses and damage to the facility’s reputation. Regardless of the climate of your self storage facility, a commercial metal roof from Forge Building Company is sure to keep your facility safe and your tenants happy.
To learn more, see Doors, Roofing and Best Climate Control for Your Geographic Location and Ensuring Form, Function and Long Life: How to Properly Care for Your Self Storage Unit Doors and Roof.
Aside from new construction, as self storage buildings age, roof maintenance and repair become more important and time-consuming. An inspection and maintenance program are an important part of sustaining roof life as well as keeping costly repairs and property claims in check.
With proper inspection and maintenance, a metal roof can last for decades. The goals of a good inspection and maintenance program are to proactively locate and repair possible leaks while extending the life of the metal panels. This inspection and care will help you keep your roof in the best possible condition. The most effective examination for metal-roof systems includes four specific areas: the perimeter, the ridge, fasteners, and debris.
For more details on when it’s time to replace your metal roof, see “Forge Building Company – Metal Building Re-Roofing with Standing Seam Metal Roof Panels.”
While upfront costs for a premium metal roofing system may seem higher, it’s essential to view it as a wise long-term investment. The quality roofing materials and professional installation from Forge can result in a roof with an extended lifespan, reducing the need for frequent repairs or replacements. This, in turn, leads to significant cost savings over time, sparing facility owners from the financial burden of constant maintenance and unexpected roofing issues.
One of the best investments for your self storage facility is the installation of standing seam metal roof panels. These metal panels, installed by the experts at Forge, are built to resist corrosion and leaks and require less maintenance in the long run, which ultimately saves you more money.
To learn more about standing seam metal roof panels and watch the entire process in action, see Standing Seam Panel Roof Installation.
With 20+ years of experience, Forge Building Company, you can rest assure you that you are getting the highest quality materials for your investment that will last you for years to come.
Standing seam metal roofs are made of recycled and recyclable materials like aluminum. When the time comes to replace them, they can be reused for other projects. This eliminates the need for landfills.
In addition to being sustainable, standing seam roof panels reflect solar radiant heat coming from the sun, reducing cooling costs for your facility.
A secure roof not only protects against weather-related damage but also plays a pivotal role in maintaining a secure storage environment. An intact, well-maintained roof protects against unauthorized access, discouraging potential break-ins and vandalism. Tenants are more likely to trust a facility with a sturdy roof, knowing their belongings are safe from both natural and human threats. This, in turn, fosters a positive reputation for the facility, attracting more tenants and ensuring customer loyalty.
Investing in a high-quality roof also ensures compliance with local building codes and regulations. Regulatory bodies often mandate specific roofing standards to guarantee the safety and well-being of tenants and the surrounding community. Failure to meet these standards can lead to fines, legal troubles, and even the closure of the facility. By investing in a quality metal roof, facility owners can avoid legal complications and demonstrate their commitment to meeting or exceeding industry standards.
In the competitive landscape of self storage facilities, every detail matters, and the roof is no exception. Investing in a quality standing seam metal roof not only protects stored items but also contributes to the overall success and longevity of the facility. With enhanced durability, incredible resiliency to endure extreme weather conditions without rusting, coming loose, or allowing leaks, reduced long-term costs, increased security, and compliance with regulations, a well-built roof proves to be a critical component for any investor looking to establish a reputable and profitable self storage business. So, before you break ground on your next project, remember to look up and secure the future success of your facility by investing in a reliable and resilient roof.
From Alaska to Florida, more than 50,000 self-storage facilities are scattered around the country. That’s about the same number of McDonald’s, Starbucks and Subway locations across the U.S. combined. These facilities are the foundation of the U.S. self-storage industry1, which was projected to generate $37 billion in revenue in 2019. The typical profit margin of a self storage business in the U.S. is 11%.2 That’s well above the profit margins for many other types of small businesses. Given those numbers, starting a self storage business, and keeping your self storage development on track is key. There’s a lot to do and many decisions to make.
Given today’s economy, it is key to act in a timely fashion. Developers and self storage business owners sometimes get stuck in the decision-making process, unable to move forward. No doubt, pursuing a self storage project can be overwhelming since there’s a lot to do and many choices to be made.
By being disciplined and taking one step at a time, you can make smart decisions. Here’s a ten-step plan to keep things moving forward in the right direction.
Before scouting locations for a self storage facility — no matter whether you’re looking at buying an existing facility or building a new one — you’ll need to look at the costs involved. The numbers will vary widely based on factors such as location, acquisition costs, land costs and construction costs. Things you will need to consider include:
Look at the cost of operation. A report released in early 2018 by commercial real estate company CBRE shows real estate taxes accounted for 28 percent of all self storage operating expenses, with on-site and off-site management costs eating up another 38 percent of operating expenses.
Develop a business plan. This can help propel the business toward success, letting you realize your goals and manage issues that might arise. In addition, most lenders will want to see a business plan before extending a loan.
Determine your scale of investment. You might be able to put up a single-story, 40,000-square-foot self storage development in a small town for $1 million or less, whereas a two-story, 80,000-square-foot facility in a more urban setting could set you back $6 million.
You can expect to spend anywhere from $25 to $75 per square foot on new construction. However, the location of the facility — including the cost of the land — will dictate the price tag for construction.
If you’re developing a self storage facility, consider:
Join networking groups and your local self storage association to help you learn from their experiences and gain referrals. Get to know professionals in the legal, real estate, financial, construction, and design industries that are experts in the self storage industry.
Drive around in the areas that interest you. Look for high-density residential areas and known upcoming residential developments (single- or multi-family).
Contact a commercial broker and/or your municipality. The city may be selling multiple parcels it owns. Based on its size, think critically about what type of facility could be built on the parcel.
Estimate whether it's good for self-storage. Call the municipality to find out how the land is zoned and any relevant regulations regarding industry development. If the property is already zoned for self storage, that removes a huge barrier. But if the property needs to be rezoned, you could spend months or years seeking approval for a zoning change.
Additionally, the issue of entitlement involves obtaining approval from government entities for your development plans. As with rezoning, an entitlement case could elapse valuable time.
Purchase the land with a 120-day due diligence period. The contract should state that your deposit is refundable during this period if you decide to forego the purchase. If you choose to buy the land, your deposit becomes non-refundable at 60 days. Also, give yourself 180 days to close.3
Complete a market feasibility study. This exercise will help you target the demographics of the customer base within a one- to five-mile radius of the facility. A three- to five-mile area is the typical size of a market for a self storage facility.
You’ll want to validate the median income in the market area (self storage renters tend to be in the middle-income and upper-middle-income brackets), along with the median age (self storage tenants are normally in their early 20s to mid-50s).
In addition, you’ll want to review the following aspects of your proposed market area4:
Other components of the feasibility study normally will include an overview of the self storage industry; long-range projections for rental rates, income, expenses, and property value; and details about the storage project’s zoning. This will help you determine whether the investment's land acquisition and building costs are sound.
This is also the time to look for any obstacles, such as easements, building restrictions, zoning and entitlement hurdles, water retention requirements, and wildlife, tree, or waterway conservation restrictions.
The study should also help determine your unit mix, what phases to build, and the amenities you should offer to achieve your desired return. It provides your operational budget, lease-up period, financial projections, and marketing plan and feeds into the basis of your business plan.
Determining how to finance an acquisition or a new development is your next step. Do you need to take out a loan? A number of options are available, such as acquisition loans, construction loans, and SBA loans. Many of these loans cover terms of 10 to 25 years. Work with a lending professional who’s well-versed in the self storage industry to point you in the right direction.
To qualify for a self storage loan, here are four things you’ll likely need:
Make sure you have enough liquid capital not only to buy or build a facility but also to operate the facility.
You may also want to consider strategically partnering with other investors to buy or build a facility. This can be done through:
If going the loan route, contacting multiple self-storage lenders and negotiating the best terms is best.
Be ready to send each lender or investor all the documents they need to make a quick decision. Your packet should include everything from your feasibility study as well as the items mentioned above, along with your business plan, tax returns, and personal financial statement.
If you ultimately choose a Small Business Administration loan, allow 90 days to close. If you’re going with conventional financing, allow 60 days.
At this stage, there are things you must do to prepare for building – obtain various reports and geographical surveys, such as a phase-one environmental site report, a soil-borings report, an engineer’s preliminary report, and an endangered-species report. Developing a self storage facility requires expertise so organizing your design team is crucial. The team at Forge can lead you through this process.5
A development team should include experienced legal, real estate, financial, construction and design professionals. Few people who are new to the self storage industry can solely develop a new facility.
The design process starts with a survey of the land. The architect creates a plot plan indicating the locations of buildings in relation to the land. In this initial design, the architect considers all the information the civil engineer has provided about site restrictions and the availability of utilities.
The next step is to design the floor plans followed by the elevations, or what the building will look like. Cross sections and details are added to indicate floor levels and details of footings, foundation, walls, floors, ceilings, and roof construction.
The structural engineer then assures the materials and how they are assembled are strong enough to withstand their weight, the weight of any use it may be put to, and all internal and external forces—known as vertical loads and lateral stresses—applied to the building.
A load is any force exerted upon a structure such as snow, wind, or earthquakes or the weight of the building itself. Live loads are produced by people, furnishings, equipment, and materials inside the building. Stresses are internal forces of a material constructed to resist external forces.
The civil engineering plan provides information about the excavation and grading needs the subcontractor will require to prepare the soil for foundations, ensure stormwater drains from the site, determine contours and elevations, and provide an earthwork estimate. That data will also help them provide an accurate bid for crew size, equipment, and timeline, and it’s needed by the retaining wall subcontractor and building manufacturer.
Forge Building Company has created its building design that allows for efficient use of materials and allows for crews to build quickly.
Once the team has been assembled, the general contractor is responsible for making sure that everyone is building the project in accordance with the design. General contractors may provide labor and materials themselves, use subcontractors and vendors, or a combination of the above. Subcontractors provide their own shop drawings and may be in charge of trade-specific permits and inspections.
The general contractor weaves everyone’s efforts into the completed product. Because of the volatility of material markets, most contractors won’t lock in pricing for materials and there could be price increases when material orders are processed. It is a good idea to ensure you include a Price Increase Contingency amount in your budget.
When you reach this step, the team at Forge is ready to assist. We will ensure your self storage project is built on schedule and on budget and will take pictures along the way.
With a project start date determined, your general contractor will give you expert feedback on construction activity and sequence of work to accomplish your goals best. Along this path, milestones will be identified such as:6
As the schedule is designed, the general contractor typically gets requirements from the major subcontractors to help determine realistic timelines. This information can also help identify long lead times for materials so they can be addressed early in the purchasing process and reviewed for the projected construction cash flow.
This is also a great time to set up your property-management systems and marketing initiatives to be ready to open as soon as you receive your Certificate of Occupancy. For technology considerations, see our blog “Technology – What You Need for Your Self Storage Business.”
Now is the time to leverage your marketing to lease the facility storage units. Your website is one of the biggest assets for a positive customer experience. It should be easy to find and use.
Content for your web presence is the single most important thing for search engine optimization and for prospects and customers to be able to find your business quickly. This includes your blog posts, social media, landing pages, FAQ pages, videos, and everything else related to your business.
Other helpful technology that will improve the customer experience includes any automation you use, security and access tools, digital signage, and property-management software that facilitates online rentals and autopay. Customers expect technology that’s easy to use, available around the clock, nice to look at, and engaging.
For more tips on creating the best customer experience, see our blog “Creating the Best Customer Experience for Your Self Storage Business.”
Once your self storage development is built, open, and renting, the most important aspects of hitting or exceeding your projections and maintaining high performance are answering your phone, monitoring rates regularly, keeping customers happy, and monitoring your marketing and online presence. In addition, it is key to think about giving back to your community, rewarding your employees, and starting to look for land for your next facility!
One of the best ways to create the ultimate customer experience is to walk through the process of renting a unit, visiting the site, and accessing the unit. Was anything surprising? Confusing? Alarming? Go about this drill as if you’re someone who knows nothing about the industry and see how easy it is to navigate the process of looking for, renting, and using self-storage.
The relationship you build with customers through these strategies and how you fulfill their needs is ultimately what will make their experience pleasant and help with retention and referrals in the future.
Works Cited
1 SpareFoot. (2021, January 27). Retrieved from SpareFoot StorageBeat: https://www.sparefoot.com/self-storage/news/1432-self-storage-industry-statistics/
2 Egan, J. (2021, September 13). Storable. Retrieved from Storable: https://www.storable.com/resources/learn/is-a-self-storage-business-profitable/
3 D’Agostino, K. (2021, October 5). InsideSelfStorage.com. Retrieved from Inside Self-Storage: https://www.insideselfstorage.com/development/9-step-plan-keep-your-next-self-storage-development-track
4 Egan, J. (2021, July 26). Storable. Retrieved from Storable: https://www.storable.com/resources/learn/starting-a-self-storage-business/
5 Inside Self Storage. (2008, September 15). Retrieved from InsideSelfStorage.com: https://www.insideselfstorage.com/construction/building-self-storage-creating-harmonious-design-team
6 Rogers, R. (2016, October 6). Inside Self Storage. Retrieved from InsideSelfStorage.com: https://www.insideselfstorage.com/construction/creating-and-managing-self-storage-construction-timeline
Building a self-storage facility that looks great is important, but to keep customers happy and business booming, you also need to ensure your facility is maintained…especially your unit doors and roof.
One of the most distinguishing factors of a self-storage facility are the roll-up doors, so it’s important that they be well-maintained! Not only do they contribute to curb appeal, but they are a large part of the tenant experience and can be a safety hazard if left untended.
Doors should be inspected before a tenant moves in, and again after they’ve moved out. Inspection of a roll-up door doesn’t just mean ensuring it looks good but also means it is functioning properly. Here are some guidelines for ensuring your doors look good and function properly.
Even when your self-storage units are occupied, there are aspects of your doors that should be inspected regularly. (O'Hearn, 2022) For example, examine the curtain for damage and check the latch for tampering. If the unit has a header draft stop or jamb brush seal, determine if they have excessive wear and replace them if necessary.
Once a unit becomes vacant, there are other items you should inspect before renting it to the next customer.
The most common adjustment to your self-storage doors as they age will be to spring tension. When properly tensioned, the door will open easily. Once it’s about two-thirds open, it should roll up the rest of the way on its own. The springs need more tension if they close too rapidly or require significant force to open. Most doors have a ratcheting mechanism that allows you to make necessary adjustments.
If you’re in an area that requires wind-locked doors, inspect the brackets and confirm they’re secured to the door. If they are not secure, drill out the old rivets and put in new ones. Some door guides come with a wind-lock insert; ensure they’re also secured now.
Protecting your tenant’s property is the main focus of a self-storage facility. That protection includes the structure of the building, and a big part of that structure is the metal roof. It doesn’t matter if you have a traditional, single-story facility or a multi story facility – your metal roof matters.
As self-storage buildings age, roof maintenance and repair become more important and time-consuming. An inspection and maintenance program are an important part of sustaining roof life as well as keeping costly repairs and property claims in check.
With proper inspection and maintenance, a metal roof can last for decades. A good program aims to proactively locate and repair possible leaks while extending the life of the metal panels.
This inspection and care will help you keep your roof in the best possible condition. The most effective examination for metal-roof systems includes four specific areas: the perimeter, the ridge, fasteners, and debris.
To learn more, see Forge Building Company - Metal Building Re-Roofing with Standing Seam Metal Roof Panels
Perimeter inspections are simple and quick. (Ness, 2015)
The ridge is another area for potential leaks.
Effective fastener inspection requires walking each fastener row, one at a time. Fasteners are the single biggest maintenance concern on the older (built in the last 10-20 years) R-panel roof systems. R-Panel roofing has exposed fasteners every few feet. This becomes an issue when the metal roof expands and contracts with hot and cold weather, as the fasteners can become loose. This is where leaks can begin. Not only do loose fasteners allow water into the units, but they can also cause rust and mold. In these screw down roof types, sometimes the seals or seams are not sealed correctly, which can also lead to rust and leakage at your facility. The options are to remove and replace the fastener with a new one or apply non-silicone sealant to the top of the fastener, making certain to completely encapsulate the head.
Standing Seam metal roofing has now replaced R-Panel as an industry standard roof for a few reasons. To start, Standing Seam roofs are 24 gauge, whereas most R-Panels are 26-29 gauge. This means that Standing Seam roof panels are made of thicker metal and are therefore stronger than other panel types. Standing Seam roofs are more resistant to leaks, and this is mostly due to the way that they are designed and installed. This means no water damage to a tenant’s property, which is always a plus.
Debris on the roof can clog gutters as well as damage metal panels. Certain metal items can strip the Galvalume coating from the panels and dramatically shorten their life. Wire hangers and batteries are two of the biggest culprits, and the end result can be a large area of rust. The longer the metal item is on the roof, the greater the damage will be.
In the self-storage industry, limited access to units makes leak identification a difficult task. Vacant units should be inspected by the manager immediately following a significant rain. This gives the manager the opportunity to find unreported leaks and can help alleviate problems from tenants in the future. When a leak is identified, it is always advisable to make or arrange repairs as soon as possible.
We all know the customer experience is the backbone of any successful business. At Forge Building Company, we partner with developers that provide the best doors and roofs in the industry. We have over 15 years of experience in this space and will provide all the necessary information needed to help maintain and grow your business.
Let’s begin the discussion on how we can help. Click Contact Us to connect!
