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

Pre-engineered metal buildings in Medical Lake, WA, for shops, garages, equipment storage and commercial steel. Raven Buildings supplies and erects red-iron PEMB buildings in Medical Lake, Four Lakes and across the West Plains acreage between Medical Lake, Cheney and Airway Heights, with the footings and slab poured by our own concrete crew.

Steel buildings we put up around Medical Lake

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

Built for West Plains snow, wind and frost

The City of Medical Lake doesn't post its design criteria online, so for jobs inside city limits we confirm them with the City's Building Department. For lots in unincorporated Spokane County, these are the County's published figures:

• Ground snow load: 39 psf base, with a 30 psf basic minimum roof snow load. The County says some areas reach 150 psf, so we look up your parcel on the County's SCOUT snow-load map
• Wind: 110 mph in the County's design criteria table. Open West Plains ground gets real wind exposure, and the manufacturer engineers the frame and bracing for it
• Frost depth: footings go at least 24 inches below finished grade under the City of Spokane / Spokane County joint frost-depth policy

A PEMB is engineered for the loads you give the manufacturer. Every Medical Lake building we quote is designed to your parcel's snow load and wind, and the column reactions from that design set the size of the concrete footings.

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 can take weeks off your schedule. Our PEMB lead time guide walks through a realistic timeline from quote to keys.

Permits in and around Medical Lake

Where your lot sits decides who you work with:

• Inside city limits: the City of Medical Lake's Building Department issues building permits, and the Planning Department reviews them for zoning. The Building Department is at 124 S. Lefevre St., (509) 565-5024, and the City notes permits are paid by cash or check only
• Shop size on a city residential lot: the City's March 2026 Planning Commission presentation summarizes the current code as limiting a detached garage or shop to 80% of the house's square footage or 1,000 sq ft, whichever is less, and no taller than the house
• Proposed changes: the City has been drafting a zoning update (draft Ordinance 1144) that would instead cap accessory buildings at 17% building coverage of the lot and 24 feet tall, with 5-foot side and rear setbacks and no closer to the street than the house. We check which rules are in force when we quote
• Outside city limits (Four Lakes and the unincorporated West Plains): Spokane County Building & Planning issues the permit. Only one-story detached accessory buildings of 200 sq ft or less skip a building permit under the County's exemption list
• Electrical: permitted separately through Washington L&I

More detail is in our Spokane-area permit guide for shops, pole barns and garages.

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.

• 30x40 (1,200 sq ft): about $72,000 to $90,000 installed
• 40x60 (2,400 sq ft): about $144,000 to $180,000 installed
• Always extra: electrical, plumbing and utility hookups
• Varies by site: grading, gravel, driveway approach and how far utilities have to run

Pole buildings run about the same installed in our market. Our red iron vs. pole barn comparison shows how the two systems differ.

Why Medical Lake owners call Raven

• Local: we build across the West Plains, including our Airway Heights metal building jobs
• Concrete in-house: see our Medical Lake concrete contractor page for slabs, aprons and approaches
• Steel or pole: we build both, so you get a straight comparison for your site

Planning the inside? Our metal building insulation guide covers the energy code and condensation.

Get a Medical Lake metal building quote

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

Sources

• Installed pricing: Raven Buildings' current going rate for the Spokane area
• City of Medical Lake Building Department
• City of Medical Lake Planning & Zoning Department
• City of Medical Lake, March 2026 Planning Commission presentation: Building Coverage and Accessory Buildings
• City of Medical Lake, Draft Ordinance 1144 Zoning Districts
• Spokane County BP-06 Residential Building Permits (design criteria)
• Spokane County Building FAQ (snow load and jurisdiction)
• Spokane County SCOUT map, snow-load layer
• City of Spokane / Spokane County Joint Policy BUILD-07, Official Frost Depth
• Spokane County BP-25 Permit Exemptions