As they old adage goes, “if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.”
As of 2021, Freedom Steel has closed their doors, disabled their phones, removed their website, and refused to answer emails. They have taken their customers deposits and not delivered – the same thing they have done before.
Recently while browsing social media, the following ad popped up, targeted at Bahamians.
Freedom Steel is advertising pricing on their buildings as the deal of a lifetime!
Their building codes are advertised as IBC 2015, 115mph winds, and 10 ground snow load.
Most importantly, these codes don’t meet anywhere near the requirements of the Bahamas Building Code. Yes, they can likely design to our higher standards however the cost will increase significantly.
Let’s look at the basic building design they’ve proposed. They’re going to build to the bare minimum – all of these items would be considered “upgrades” and after you sign and give a deposit you’d be presented with some pricey options:
- 24ga roof and wall panels
- Solar white roof panels
- galvanized secondary purlins & girts
- gutters and downspouts
- insulation
- overhead doors, entry doors, windows, vents
- skylight panels
- delivery to the jobsite or freight forwarder
- export packaging
Just for comparison’s sake, let’s look at the cost of a TMC/Star Building of the same design:
- 30 x 35 x 12
- Freedom Steel $13,480
- TMC/Star $11,685
- Savings $1795 or 13.4%
- 60 x 65 x 16
- Freedom Steel $29,300
- TMC/Star $25,350
- Savings $3950 or 13.5%
While these savings might not seem significant, factor in the additional cost of insurance, shipping, customs duty, and VAT, and those savings get even bigger.
Another advantage – TMC Engineering is an award-winning, authorized Star Buildings dealer. We are currently represented on the Star Buildings Presidential Advisory Council and have a strong project history and repeat customers throughout the Bahamas.
As the old Bahamian saying goes – “Shop locally, the job you save may be your own!”