What You Need to Know About Steel Buildings from Kits

Garages, storage sheds, carports, workshops, barns and home offices – what do all of these things have in common? Steel buildings are the ideal solution for the person who needs any of them. A steel building put together from a kit can be a cost-effective and time-saving way of putting up the perfect structure for your needs.

What Are Steel Building Kits?

Steel buildings are popular as DIY projects for homeowners who want to add a storage shed, greenhouse, home office or some other expansion to their properties. A steel building kit comes with all the parts and pieces you need to construct a steel building yourself – or have a contractor put it up for you. Unlike wood or vinyl garden shed kits, which usually only provide the brackets and fasteners for your building and leave you to buy the actual construction materials on your own, steel building kits come complete with the framework, walls, roof, bolts and trim that you need to put up a usable metal building. A basic steel building kit might be bare bones – for example, you’ll still need to finish the interior yourself – but you’ll have a fully usable structure without supplying anything outside the materials supplied in the kit.

What’s In a Steel Buildings Kit?

A basic steel building kit will contain everything you need for easy construction, from the arches and panels that form the framework to the nuts and bolts required to fasten it all together. Your kit will also include a base connector so that you can fasten your newly constructed building to a foundations and end walls to finish off the front and back of your garage, shed or office. Every piece will be pre-drilled so that all you have to do is put the pieces into place and tighten down the bolts to hold them together.

In addition, many steel building kits include doors, windows and other ventilation options to provide natural light and air in your new building. Many manufacturers of steel buildings will work with you to modify the design to incorporate the windows and doors of your choice.

Your building kit should also include blueprints and a construction diagram that gives you step by step instructions for assembling your building onsite. Those blueprints and diagrams will usually be delivered to you well in advance so that you can have them approved by your city’s code department and provide them to your contractor, if you’re engaging one to do the work.

Steel buildings built from kits are a practical, low-labor and low-cost solution to many of your storage and space needs. Check out information about the many options for steel building kits and pre-fabricated steel buildings to help you decide if they’re the right solution for you.

Steel Buildings Save Time and Money

Storage and extra space – nearly every home or business can use more of both, but adding them can be an expensive and time-consuming proposition. When you choose steel buildings to expand your home or business, however, you’ll cut costs and decrease the amount of time it takes to get your new building up and in use.

Save Money Four Ways with Steel Buildings

When you choose a metal building for your storage or additional space needs, you’ll save money at least four ways.

Lower Purchase Cost

Because steel is a lower-cost material, your up-front purchase cost will be lower than if you purchased lumber and all the fittings needed to construct a wood-frame building. While a wood shed kit may seem to cost less, they usually only include the trusses, brackets and hardware for your building. Kits for steel buildings, by contrast, come complete with everything you need to put up your structure.

Lower Construction Cost

Your steel building will arrive ready to assemble. In most cases, you won’t need a dug

foundation, and in some areas with smaller buildings, the only foundation you’ll need is a pier foundation for the anchor bolts. Check with your local code office for specifics. Since the components of your building are pre-cut and pre-drilled, an experienced contractor can usually get the framework up and ready for occupancy in a day or two. Compare that to the weeks of work often required to build a wooden building.

Lower Maintenance Cost

Steel buildings require very little in the way of maintenance over the years. Most galvanized steel building components are powder-coated with weather and corrosion-resistant coatings, often in the color of your choice. The coating is often guaranteed for up to 20 years – that’s 20 years without having to sand, repaint or touch up. You’d repaint a wood shed or garage four or five times in that period, costing you thousands of dollars. In addition, you don’t have to worry about termites or other pest infestations – steel buildings aren’t terribly attractive to those.

Lower Disposal Cost

You can expect to get decades of use from your new steel building, but when and if you’re ready to move on to something different, you won’t have to pay a fortune to have it demolished. In fact, steel buildings can be disassembled as easily as they are assembled. The component parts can be sold for scrap or recycling, or you can sell the entire building to someone else who can reassemble it on his own property.

From start to finish, metal buildings save you both time and money. If you’re considering adding storage to your property or expanding the space available for your home, check out the many advantages offered by steel buildings.

Need a Greenhouse? Check Out Steel Buildings!

Every avid gardener hates to see the growing season end, and many of those in northern states wish it would start a little sooner each year. If you live north of, say, Washington D.C., your gardening months can get squeezed into the weeks between the middle of May and the beginning of October – not much time if you’re longing to grow watermelons and other slow-to-ripen produce. Steel buildings may just offer the solution that will extend your northern growing season by a month or more on either end. If you haven’t considered the advantages of a greenhouse built from a steel building kit, you may be missing out on some of the best growing months of the year.

Why Steel Buildings?

Many pre-engineered greenhouse kits are made of lightweight aluminum and plastic sheeting. They may work out well in warmer states, but they provide little protection from the cold – and are prone to collapse under the weight of winter snow. If you’re looking for a permanent solution – a building that will allow you to enjoy growing things for three of the four seasons – and possibly even year round – steel buildings offer strength, durability and flexibility that aluminum and vinyl structures lack.

Cost Considerations

You’ll pay a little more for a greenhouse built in a steel building than you would for lightweight aluminum frame, but when you spread that cost over twenty or more years of use, the difference doesn’t mean much. Most vinyl and aluminum greenhouses won’t last through a second season. While the cost will vary depending on the accessories and size you choose, you can conceivably build your own steel greenhouse for less than $1,000.

DIY Greenhouse from Steel Buildings

One of the most attractive aspects of using a metal building as the base for your greenhouse is that you can build it yourself. In most cases, you won’t need a foundation at all for a steel greenhouse – just sunken steel footings to secure the frame to the ground. Steel building kits come in a wide variety of styles and sizes, and come with all the parts you need to assemble the building yourself on your property.

If you’re interested in learning more about building a greenhouse, a manufacturer who deals in steel buildings can answer any questions you have, including ways to modify the standard plans for a metal building to allow for greenhouse panels or skylights to let the sun in. Why confine yourself to a four-month growing season when you can build a greenhouse to indulge your hobby for months longer?

Steel Buildings Suit Your Need for Storage

If you asked a dozen property owners what they’d change about the home they own and love, chances are good that the majority of them would have the same answer – they’d add more storage. Steel buildings and sheds offer a permanent solution to the need for storage in your home and garden – and they do so with style, durability and budget prices. Are you looking for a storage solution for your property? Take a look at the different types and uses for steel buildings as storage solutions for your home.

Build-It-Yourself Utility Buildings

Steel buildings are a popular choice for utility buildings, such as storage sheds and garden sheds, especially among DIY homeowners. All the pieces are precut and ready to assemble. You don’t even have to drill holes – the pre-cut steel panels are all drilled with the holes for fasteners in all the right places. All you need is a slab foundation, some basic power tools, and a friend or two to help you muscle the pieces into place and hold them there while you screw them all together.

Durable Steel Buildings for Extreme Weather Conditions

Heavy duty steel sheds are the perfect solution for homeowners who need yard storage but live in areas that are subject to extreme weather conditions. There are many sheds and storage buildings that are designed specifically to meet the toughest building codes in states and geographical areas that see blizzards, hurricanes and other severe weather. When you order a steel building, the manufacturer will ask about the building code in your area and work with you to ensure that the design of your structure is compliant with the local codes. In short, it’s possible to buy steel buildings that will withstand hurricane force winds and stand up to heavy loads of snow without crumpling under the strain.

Stylish and Subtle Steel Buildings Fit Your Style

Despite their outdated reputation, today’s steel buildings are attractive and stylish. They come in many styles and an array of colors that match the most common colors for homes. Whether you live in a split-level ranch, a Colonial style home or a gambrel-roofed farmhouse style building, you’ll find steel buildings made in the same style, with a wide choice of trim and colors.

When you choose a steel building as a garage, storage shed, utility building or outbuilding, you’ll be getting a high-quality, attractive structure that fits your home’s design aesthetic and will stand up to the abuse of the elements for decades to come.

10 Uses for Steel Buildings and DIY Metal Building Kits

In an age where there’s never enough storage and seldom enough privacy, steel buildings can be the ultimate solution to nearly any home storage or expansion need. If you’re looking to add onto your home or business and haven’t considered the possibilities that steel buildings open for you, you might find a source of inspiration in this list of 10 actual steel building projects undertaken by our customers.

Steel buildings make great garages. Many 1940s and 1950s era tract homes were built without a garage, and many people find that metal building kits are an easy and quick way to put up a one or two car garage.

For many people, a garage is overkill. Steel buildings are among the most popular options for carports because they need minimal foundational support, are inexpensive and quick to build.

As more and more people choose to work from home in their own professional offices, many are finding that a pre-engineered steel building makes a great home office. A separate home office makes it easy to focus on work without distraction without cutting down on available living space.

Hobbyists who need space and specialized equipment use buildings made from steel building kits as workshops. A home workshop gets your woodworking equipment, pottery wheel and kiln or auto workshop equipment out of your basement and gives it a space of its own. It’s safer and helps you be more productive.

Fed up with having to jockey around your lawnmower, rakes and bags of fertilizer when you park your car in the garage? Steel storage sheds are among the most common uses for steel buildings. Because they’re small and need little in the way of electricity, plumbing or insulation, steel storage sheds make a great do-it-yourself project for a weekend or two.

Gardeners who want to extend the growing season find that a well-insulated steel building with skylights is an excellent alternative to a full-on greenhouse. A small metal storage shed can easily be turned into a grow room to force vegetable harvests year round.

The tight fit and perfect seams you can achieve with a steel building kit make metal buildings an ideal choice for use as a photographer’s darkroom and photo studio. It’s easy to rig most kits for electrical power and plumbing so that you have all of your equipment at the ready.

Boat owners can solve the problem of wintering their small boats with a metal boat barn. A steel building is a much more attractive option than a blue tarp lashed over the boat to keep it dry.

It doesn’t take much to turn a steel building into an in-law apartment – just add insulation, plumbing, electricity and some home décor skills. It’s a great option for kids returning home after college, too.

Steel buildings also make great housing for pets and animals. From dog kennels to hen houses, the right steel building can be adapted to house nearly any animal.

Those ten possibilities barely scratch the surface of the many options that steel buildings offer for the home owner. If you’re planning any sort of home addition or expansion, take the time to research steel buildings – chances are you’ll find the perfect solution to your needs.

Steel Buildings Offer Workshop Options for DIY Enthusiasts

Are you a DIY enthusiast in need of a home workshop in which you can follow your crafting dreams? Whether you weld metal, throw pottery, build engines or craft artisanal cheeses, there’s a selection of steel buildings that would make the perfect workshop for your hobby and all the equipment you’ve accumulated to pursue it. If you need some reasons to convince your partner of the need for your own workshop space, try a few of these reasons for using steel buildings as a workshop to buttress your arguments.

A Separate Workshop Is a Safe Bet

If your hobby involves hazardous materials – especially flammable ones – an unattached workshop is a safety measure that you really should consider. Steel buildings are an especially good choice to house flammable materials like paint thinners, turpentine and photo developing chemicals because steel is naturally fire retardant. When you separate your workshop from your home, you may even save money on your insurance since you’re reducing the risk of fire and other mishaps related to your hobby.

Steel Buildings are an Affordable Alternative to Wood Frame Construction

Steel is a very affordable construction material, and buildings made of steel are among the most affordable small structures for storage and hobby use. Because you probably won’t need to involve a contractor, you can put a little extra money into the “luxuries” you’d like to have but thought you couldn’t afford.

Building a Separate Workshop Frees up That Extra Room in Your House

A separate workshop gets all your hobby equipment and supplies out from underfoot and frees up the space they’ve been taking up in your house. That means that you can use that extra room as a guest room, a media room, a home office or a nursery – and your roommate doesn’t have to stumble over your hobby supplies ever again.

You Can Put up a Metal Building Yourself in Just a Weekend or Two

Many steel buildings come as kits that you can assemble on site with the help of a friend or two. That can make them even more attractive to confirmed do-it-yourself enthusiasts. Imagine the pride you can take in pointing to your new hobby workshop and proclaiming, “I built it myself!”

Finally, the many options for different styles and types of steel buildings nearly guarantee that you’d find one that looks great on your property. In fact, an attractive, a well-made steel building can add considerably to the curb appeal and value of your property.

Save Money with Steel Buildings

A new storage shed, barn or home office doesn’t have to wipe out your bank account. Steel buildings made from prefabricated kits are an affordable alternative to traditional construction, saving you time and money and keeping your construction project on budget and on time.

Steel buildings, once used mostly for agricultural storage, have become a fixture on the residential market. Easy to assemble and affordable, steel buildings are often the best choice for use as garages, garden sheds, barns, home offices and even small to mid-sized homes. The advantages and benefits of steel building construction make them especially popular for homeowners on a budget.

One of the biggest reasons for the popularity of steel buildings in the residential market is the straightforward and easy construction. The pieces of steel building kits are pre-cut and pre-drilled for easy assembly. Even an inexperienced homeowner can usually follow the instructions and diagrams to assemble the building on his own or with the help of friends and family. In most cases, the only professional assistance needed is in pouring a cement slab foundations, and even that may not be necessary for structures that have an earthen floor.

Despite the ease of construction, prefabricated steel buildings are sturdy and durable, and can resist even extreme weather conditions. The precision measurements and structural details are designed to withstand high winds, heavy snow loads and even earthquakes. The quality of the construction materials – high grade steel – and the precision fit make steel buildings weather tight and very stable. Any steel building you buy will be engineered to meet the specifications and building codes for your area.

One of the major advantages of choosing metal buildings for storage sheds, garages and other residential purposes is the low cost. In addition to the initial lower price for the building kit, engineered steel buildings save you money in construction costs and time spent. Your metal building kit arrives all together, with everything you need to erect it. You’ll know the exact date your building will arrive, so you can schedule with a contractor if you plan to use one. Since everything arrives at once, there’s no down time while you wait for additional components, and because all of the pieces are pre-drilled and ready to assemble, the work goes quickly and easily. An experienced contractor with a small crew can usually erect smaller steel buildings in as little as a day.

From start to finish, steel buildings are an attractive, affordable alternative to traditional wood construction. For more information about how a steel building can suit your needs for storage or space, contact a supplier of engineered steel buildings with your questions.

Steel Buildings for Nearly Any Need

Are you in need of more storage? Thinking of building a home office? Want a new space for your hobby or workshop? If you’re in need of more space for just about any reason at all, steel buildings can be designed or adapted to fill your need. These are just a few of the ways we’ve seen arch-frame steel buildings used by homeowners for residential, agricultural or commercial use.

Garages

When you need a place to store your car, steel garages are the ideal solution. Metal buildings are available in an enormous variety of sizes to fit one, two or more vehicles. They’re easy to erect, and can be designed to fit the style of your home. A steel garage can free up your attached garage to use for other things – like the man cave or the home theater room you’ve been wanting.

Garden Storage

One of the most common uses for steel buildings is for storage, particularly garden and yard storage. A metal garden shed can protect your lawnmower, lawn tractor and other lawn equipment, as well as hold all of your gardening equipment and supplies, safely and without tying up your garage space.

Pool House

A metal building by the pool can do double duty, storing your pool supplies and providing a handy place where your family and guests can change, shower and use the toilet. It’s not difficult to add plumbing to a steel building. Turning a metal bulding into a pool house keeps the kids from running in and out of the house when they’re dripping wet.

Home Office

Professionals such as accountants, real estate agents and counselors often set up an office to work from their homes rather than renting office space in another location. Working at home has its own disadvantages, though – among other things, it ties up a room in your house. A well-constructed steel building is the perfect solution for professionals who want a separate office without leaving home.

Animal Shelter

Steel buildings make excellent shelter for animals. From dog kennels to full-size barns, metal buldings are easier and less expensive to erect than traditional wood frame buildings, as well as being easier to maintain. Because engineered steel buildings are designed to fit together perfectly, it’s also easier to maintain a comfortable temperature at a lower cost than traditional structures.

Steel buildings can be custom-designed to suit nearly any purpose you need. Contact a dealer or vendor of steel structures to discuss your needs and how a steel building can meet them.