Steel Buildings for Animals

Farmers have always been ahead of the curve when it comes to using steel buildings for general storage and equipment storage. In fact, for decades, a large percentage of the steel buildings sold in the U.S. were sold for agricultural purposes. Steel is an ideal material to use for building grain silos, storage buildings and equipment garages. Metal buildings are also ideal for processing and packing harvested crops for sale, and have even been pressed into service as roadside stands and farm stands. But it’s only fairly recently that farmers have turned to steel buildings for use as animal housing – more familiarly known as barns.

Metal may seem an unfriendly material for housing animals. The typical impression of steel is that it is hard and cold – not exactly the image we like to imagine when thinking of horses and cows and other farm animals. In reality, steel offers many advantages as the outer shell of a barn or a kennel. Steel buildings, for example, are precision-engineered to fit together tightly with no chinks to let drafts through. Wood, no matter how well it is cut, can’t achieve the same degree of weather-tightness.

Steel is also sturdier than wood and less prone to damage from outside sources. Termites and other pests, which can undermine the structure of a wood building, can’t be bothered with steel buildings because steel isn’t in their diet. Likewise, steel is fire-resistant, which makes it a safer building material than wood. Pre-engineered steel buildings, built to meet the building code standards in the city, county or region where each building will be erected, are designed to withstand heavy snow loads, high winds, freezing temperatures and even earthquakes.

But there are other reasons that farmers turn to steel buildings for use as barns and animal pens – versatility, for example. Because steel provides strength in combination with a light weight, most typical steel buildings are clearspan buildings – that is, they have no interior support beams. This allows for a totally flexible floor plan. When combined with modular walls and components, the interior of steel barns can be reconfigured easily as needs change.

Other important factors that influence the choice of steel for housing animals include affordability – steel buildings cost less than most traditional construction – and speed of construction. Because metal buildings are delivered ready to assemble, a steel barn can go up nearly as quickly as an old-fashioned barn at a barn-raising. That means that farmers can get the new barn up and ready for occupancy in far less time than it would take to get a wooden barn up and ready for use.