Residential Steel Buildings, Really? Really!

While steel has gained in popularity for factory and industrial uses, home owners and residential developers have been hanging back on the use of steel buildings for residential uses. In overlooking steel as an excellent material for building homes, both single family detached and multi-family homes, developers are missing out on the outstanding benefits that steel buildings offer to homeowners.

Cost Effective and Economical

Steel residential buildings are an economical alternative to many other types of construction. While they can be built on a standard foundation, many steel buildings don’t require any more foundation than footings for the steel beams. Of course, local building standards may require a full foundation, but many areas don’t.

In addition to the cost savings on basic construction, you’ll also save money because a prefabricated steel building goes up much more quickly than other types of building. That means that you’re not paying contractors for months of work to frame and finish your house as some steel buildings can go up in just days, especially if you work with a company that regularly erects prefabricated metal buildings.

The economy doesn’t end with construction, either. Powder-coated steel doesn’t fade over time and is very resistant to weathering, rusting, mold, mildew and other natural pests that destroy wood and brick houses. About the time that your neighbors are getting ready to repaint, you can rent a power-washer to give your home’s exterior a good cleaning. The weather-tight construction of metal buildings also makes them far easier to insulate, and they’ll stay cooler in hot weather and warmer in cold weather, saving you on energy costs as well.

Custom Designs to Suit Your Needs

While there are quite a few basic residential steel building kits on the markets, many manufacturers will work with you directly to create a house plan that perfectly suits all of your needs. You can choose the locations of the walls because there’s no need to worry about where load bearing walls must be placed. In fact, it’s fairly easy to design a home that allows you to reconfigure the rooms at will with sliding walls. You also can choose the number and types of windows and skylights, doors and other accessories for your home.

Styles and Colors

You can choose from many different colors and trim choices for your home, just as you can with other materials. The big difference is that you won’t have to keep repainting it every few years.

If the advantages of steel buildings make sense to you, contact your local code office to ensure that they’re permitted in the zone where you want to build, then shop around for a steel building supplier that is familiar with creating custom designed residential steel buildings and fitting them to local code specifications.