On a drawing, it is easy to shift a gate by a few metres. In the finished building, however, a column may stand in that spot or a bracing may run through it. The same applies to windows. Openings in a steel hall must be planned together with the structure and the envelope. The best moment comes before the elements are ordered. Then the layout can be matched to the company's operations without demolishing walls and looking for costly alternative solutions. Vehicle dimensions do not always determine the required opening. The transported load may protrude, and a machine's attachment may be wider than its cab. Also check the turning conditions in front of the gate. A steel hall should allow entry in the real layout of the yard. A wide opening helps little if the vehicle cannot line up with it straight on.

A thick panel on the wall will not guarantee low heating costs. In a warehouse, doors are opened many times, and the temperature also depends on ventilation and the way work is organised. A heated steel hall must therefore be planned as a whole building. Materials matter, but just as important are the joints between the building envelope elements and the organisation of deliveries. The decisions taken before ordering the structure and the envelope bring the greatest benefit. Not every warehouse requires the same conditions. Goods resistant to cold are stored differently from products sensitive to temperature or moisture. The presence of employees and the type of activities carried out also matter. A steel hall should provide the conditions resulting from its intended use, the requirements of the goods and the applicable rules for using the premises.

The column-to-foundation connection transfers forces from the hall to the substrate. A chemical anchor is one way of making such a fixing, but it must be selected to suit the concrete, the loads and the geometry of the base plate. There is no single rod or single hole depth suitable for all halls. The work begins with the design of the connection. The connection may be subject to tension, shear and bending moment. The condition of the concrete, the edge distances and the spacing between anchors also matter. The capacity of a single anchor from a table cannot simply be multiplied by the number of rods and taken as the capacity of the base. The group of fasteners acts together with the concrete and the base plate.