Metal Buildings in Chewelah, WA: PEMB Shops, Garages & Commercial Steel

Pre-engineered metal buildings in Chewelah, WA, engineered for Stevens County snow and frost. Raven Buildings supplies and erects red-iron PEMB shops, garages, equipment buildings and commercial steel in Chewelah and the surrounding Colville Valley, with the footings and slab poured by our own concrete crew. Inside city limits we permit through the City of Chewelah; outside them, through Stevens County.

Steel buildings we put up around Chewelah

• Shops and garages: clear-span red-iron frames with roll-up doors, walk doors and windows where you want them
• RV, boat and equipment storage: tall sidewalls and wide doors for motorhomes, trailers, tractors, and farm or logging equipment
• Ag and commercial buildings: contractor shops, warehouses, hay and machine storage
• Slab and foundation: footings, anchor bolts and the shop floor from the same contractor

First question: city or county?

A Chewelah mailing address (99109) can be inside the city or out in unincorporated Stevens County, and the permit office depends on which:

• Inside Chewelah city limits: the City of Chewelah Building Department issues building permits. It's at City Hall, 301 E. Clay Avenue, Room 104 (509-935-8311), and the City also takes applications through its online permit portal
• Outside city limits: Stevens County Land Services issues them, through its Building Division at the Annex, 260 S. Oak Street in Colville (509-684-8325), and its Planning Division
• How we check: we pull your parcel number before we quote, so the design loads and paperwork match the right office

City of Chewelah: what the permit asks for

• Site plan: the City's building permit application requires a site plan drawn to scale, showing property lines, building locations, and meter and utility locations
• Department reviews: the application routes through Planning, plus storm drainage, driveway and parking, the City's Electric Department and Public Works, so utility connections get sorted out at permit time
• Avigation and noise easement: the City's Building page provides an avigation and noise easement form. If it applies to your lot, it gets signed and notarized as part of the permit
• Planning: land use and zoning questions go through the City's Planning department
• Design criteria: we confirm the City's snow load, frost depth and other design criteria with the Building Department for every permit, so the engineering matches what the City will inspect

Stevens County (outside city limits): design loads and permits

• Codes: the County enforces the Washington State Building Code, and its building pages list the 2021 codes as effective July 1, 2024
• Frost depth: Stevens County's building ordinance sets a 30-inch minimum depth below finish grade for footings exposed to outside temperatures
• Snow load: the County doesn't publish one countywide number. Washington engineers set each site's ground snow load from ASCE 7 or the SEAW snow load analysis, and the building official has the final say (WABO/SEAW White Paper 8)
• Site Analysis first: the Planning Division's Site Analysis checks zoning setbacks and plat restrictions before the building permit
• Does a shop need a permit? Per the County's Building FAQ, anything with plumbing, habitable space or commercial or public use does. A residential utility building over 200 sq ft or on a permanent foundation may be exempt if it's at least 20 feet from every property line and from any structure with habitable space, but only after the Site Analysis confirms no plat restriction requires a permit. Utility buildings of 200 sq ft or less, with no plumbing, no habitable space and no permanent foundation, don't need one
• Timeline: the County says plan reviews take about 2 to 3 weeks, and March through November is its busiest season
• Keep it active: County permits and applications are deemed abandoned after 180 days of inactivity

How much snow is Chewelah designed for?

The SEAW Snow Load Analysis for Washington, reproduced in the WABO/SEAW snow load white paper, lists a recommended ground snow load of 50 psf for Chewelah, at an elevation of 1,671 feet. For comparison, the same table lists 46 psf for Colville, 45 psf for Kettle Falls and 56 psf for Springdale. The paper notes the analysis is not a legally enforceable document and that design roof loads are usually lower than ground loads, so your engineer converts the ground load for your roof and the building official confirms it.

What that means for your building:

• Engineered for your parcel: every building we supply comes with stamped engineering for the site's snow and wind loads
• Footings below the frost line: our crew sets footings at the depth your jurisdiction requires, 30 inches in unincorporated Stevens County
• Roof details: pitch, sliding snow and snow guards all matter here. Our metal panel guide and snow load guide cover them
• Foundations: our PEMB foundation guide explains anchor bolts, column reactions and hairpins before you pour

Faster steel, from whoever can deliver first

Raven isn't tied to one metal building manufacturer. We source each building from whichever manufacturer can deliver the engineered package fastest, which helps when you want a shop dried in before the snow. Our PEMB lead time guide walks through a realistic timeline from quote to keys.

What an installed metal building costs

Raven's going rate for an installed pre-engineered metal building is about $60 to $75 per sq ft. Electrical, plumbing and utility hookups are not included and are extra.

• Always extra: electrical, plumbing and utility hookups
• Varies by site: grading, gravel, driveway approach and how far utilities have to run
• Your exact number: we quote each building from your size, doors and site

Not sure what size you need? Our 30x40 vs. 40x60 vs. 40x80 shop sizing guide works it out from your vehicles, doors and lift. Pole buildings run about the same installed in our market. See our red iron vs. pole barn comparison, or our pole buildings in Colville page.

Why Chewelah owners call Raven

• North-country experience: we build up into Stevens County, including metal buildings in Colville, plus Deer Park and Nine Mile Falls
• Concrete in-house: footings, slabs and aprons from our own crew. See our concrete flatwork services and concrete in Colville
• City or county: we handle the City of Chewelah or Stevens County paperwork that fits your parcel. Our permit guide covers the basics

Get a Chewelah metal building quote

Call 509-350-2016 or request a free quote with your size, door layout and address or parcel number. See our steel building services.

Sources

• Installed pricing: Raven Buildings' current going rate
• City of Chewelah Building Department
• City of Chewelah Building Permit Application (PDF)
• City of Chewelah Planning
• Stevens County Building Division
• Stevens County Building FAQs
• Stevens County Building Codes / Ordinance
• Stevens County Building Code Ordinance 02-1984 (frost depth)
• WABO/SEAW Snow Load White Paper, SEAW ground snow loads by town (PDF)
• WABO/SEAW White Paper 8: Snow Loads (2020, PDF)