What is Building Depot?

Building Depot is Ontario's Authorized MegaDome Dealer for engineered fabric buildings. We supply, engineer, foundation-pour and install hot-dip galvanized fabric structures across Ontario for agricultural, industrial, mining, municipal, aviation, commercial and equestrian use.

Where is Building Depot located?

Building Depot is headquartered at 1053 McNicoll Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M1W 3W6, and serves customers across all of Ontario — from Windsor to Ottawa and from Niagara to Thunder Bay.

What areas does Building Depot serve?

Building Depot serves the entire province of Ontario, including the GTA, Ottawa, Hamilton, Niagara, London, Windsor, Kingston, Barrie, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, North Bay and every city in between.

How do I contact Building Depot?

Call 1-800-398-5053 toll-free (or 705-333-9511 local), email support@buildingdepot.ca, or request a fixed 24-hour quote at buildingdepot.ca/contact.

Is Building Depot an authorized MegaDome dealer?

Yes. Building Depot is Ontario's Authorized MegaDome Dealer and sells the full MegaDome series (HP, HHP, XP, XL, DB and AR) with Ontario-stamped engineering and manufacturer warranty.

What warranty does Building Depot offer?

MegaDome fabric membranes carry a 15-year prorated warranty, and hot-dip galvanized steel frames are engineered for a 50+ year service life. Foundations and installation carry a 1-year workmanship warranty.

Why won't you publish a price per square foot?

Because it misleads more often than it helps. Two buildings of identical floor area can differ substantially in cost once snow load, clear height, foundation type, doors, insulation and site access are accounted for. We give a project-specific preliminary range instead, then a firm quotation once the configuration is fixed.

What usually costs more than people expect?

Foundations and doors. A tall concrete stem wall designed for material push loads, or a pair of large overhead doors with the framing to support them, can move a budget noticeably. Site access, grading and electrical coordination are the next most common surprises.

Is a fabric building cheaper than a conventional steel building?

It depends entirely on the application, span, clear height and finish requirements. Fabric buildings often compare well where a large clear span, natural daylight and fast erection matter. We will tell you honestly when a project is not a good fit rather than force it.

Does the time of year affect cost?

It can. Winter foundation work, frost protection and weather delays add cost and schedule risk in Ontario. Planning a build so the foundation goes in during a workable season is one of the easiest ways to control budget.

How firm is the estimator output?

The online estimator produces a preliminary planning range, not a quotation. Final pricing comes from our team after reviewing your site, loads, foundation and configuration.

Can you help build a capital budget number?

Yes. Send the size, location and intended use and we will return a preliminary range suitable for internal planning, along with the assumptions behind it so you know what could move.

Aerial view of an engineered fabric building under construction on new concrete stem walls with concrete trucks on an Ontario site

BUYER'S RESOURCE

Fabric building cost guide — Ontario.

What actually moves the number on an engineered fabric building project, and how to build a budget you can defend before you go to quotation.

Get a Project Budget Find Your Building

START HERE

There is no honest price per square foot.

Every supplier gets asked for a square-foot number, and every accurate answer has the same shape: it depends. A 60 × 120 storage building on a gravel pad in Chatham-Kent and a 60 × 120 workshop on concrete stem walls in Timmins are not the same project, and pricing them as if they were is how budgets get blown at tender.

What follows is the list of variables our estimators work through on an Ontario project. Read it once and you will know exactly what information to bring to a quotation conversation — and which assumptions to challenge in anyone else's number.

This is a preliminary budgeting tool only. Final pricing depends on engineering, site conditions, foundation design, building configuration, selected options, installation requirements and project-specific scope. It is not a quotation.

WHAT DRIVES THE COST

The twelve variables that set your budget.

Width, length and clear height

Span and height drive the steel profile, arch spacing and the foundation reactions below them.

Site location

Ontario snow and wind loads vary widely by region; Northern Ontario and snowbelt sites carry heavier design loads.

Snow, wind and drift loading

Adjacent buildings, roof steps and terrain create drift cases that must be engineered, not assumed.

Foundation type

Concrete stem walls, piers, precast blocks, helical piles or an existing slab each carry very different costs.

End walls

Open, partially closed or fully insulated end walls change both material and labour.

Doors

Overhead, sliding, bi-fold and personnel doors — size, quantity and operation.

Ventilation

Ridge vents, gable vents, HVLS fans or mechanical ventilation depending on the stored contents and occupancy.

Insulation and heating

Year-round conditioned space costs materially more than seasonal cold storage.

Electrical

Lighting, power distribution, emergency lighting and coordination with the site service.

Site conditions

Access, grading, drainage, soil bearing capacity and servicing.

Engineering and permits

Stamped drawings, building permit support and any municipal review requirements.

Installation and delivery

Crew time, equipment, distance from our Ontario base and the season of construction.

CONTROLLING THE NUMBER

Where owners save real money.

Fix the clear height to what you actually need — every extra foot carries through the steel and the foundation.
Confirm soil bearing early; a geotechnical report often prevents an over-designed foundation.
Group door openings rather than spreading them along the wall.
Decide on insulation and heating before engineering, not after.
Schedule foundation work outside deep winter where the project allows.
Bundle engineering, foundation, building and installation so nothing is priced twice or missed.

BEYOND THE PURCHASE

Costs that live past day one.

Heating and lighting an insulated, year-round building is an operating cost; a daylit cold-storage building is close to none. Membrane structures let usable daylight through, which is one reason owners report lower daytime lighting use than in a comparable clad building.

Maintenance is modest but real: inspect the membrane and hardware, keep tension correct, clear drift where it builds against walls. Eventually a membrane reaches the end of its service life and is replaced on the same steel — a re-skin rather than a rebuild.

Warranty coverage on the membrane and the steel structure is published and prorated or declining by term. See the warranty page for the current figures and the conditions that apply.

Warranty Membrane Replacement ROI Calculator