Five Reasons to Choose Steel Buildings for Larger Projects

Pre-engineered steel buildings can be manufactured to meet any custom design you can imagine. If you’re planning a larger construction project, these are just a few of the reasons to choose a steel or metal building for your store, business or commercial building.

Steel Buildings Are Cost-Effective

While steel buildings may seem to cost more up front, when you consider the entire package, steel is often the most cost-effective construction material. Steel saves you money at nearly every stage of your business construction. It’s easier to work with and can be erected in a much shorter time frame than most other types of structures. That saves you time – and money – on construction. Metal buildings are more energy efficient, saving you money on energy, heating and cooling. They’re rot and corrosion resistant, and close to maintenance free.

Steel Buildings Are Custom-Designed to Meet Local Building Codes

Every pre-engineered steel building is custom-designed to meet all local building codes for your building site. You’ll work with an architect and designer to create the plans for your metal building. Even if you choose a pre-engineered steel building design, the plans will be customized to meet all building standards in your area.

Metal Buildings Are a Perfect Fit for Any Environment

Steel buildings are not boxy, ugly structures. In fact, thanks to modern technology your steel building can look like anything you want it to look like. Your steel structure can be fronted with your choice of stone, plaster or just about any other façade you want. Your steel building can conform to any community standards for appearance that need to be met.

A Steel Building Is Safer and Costs Less to Insure

Steel is naturally fire resistant, and stands up better to most weather and natural events. Because they’re safer, steel buildings usually cost less to insure than other types of structures. That’s one more cost-savings you’ll enjoy when you choose a steel building.

Steel Buildings Are a Greener Choice

It surprises most people to learn that steel buildings are a green choice. Nearly all steel used in construction is recycled and reclaimed steel. It uses no new non-renewable resources, making steel buildings kinder to the planet than either steel or concrete. Steel is easier to heat and cool, and the construction of most steel buildings makes insulation easier.

When you choose steel for your commercial, retail or business project, you’re choosing a building material that’s greener, more cost effective and more attractive than other types of construction. Before you finalize your plans consider the advantages of steel buildings for your project.

Steel Buildings Make Ideal Home Offices and Workshops

Steel buildings, best known for their use as storage buildings and garages, are also ideal for home offices, workshops, hobby rooms and man caves. If you need more space for your business or hobby, a metal building kit can be an ideal way to add it onto your home affordably and easily. These are just a few of the reasons that steel buildings are an ideal solution for your home office and workshop needs.

Affordability

A metal building kit is an affordable and easy way to build a separate structure on your property. A small, room-size steel building kit saves you considerable money, especially if you build it yourself. Depending on your handyman skills, most people can assemble a basic steel building kit with help from a friend or two.

Building Codes

Even if you choose a metal building kit, it will be engineered to meet the building codes in your area. You’ll need to supply the relevant building codes, but the design engineers will make the necessary customizations to ensure that your new home office or workshop will meet all the codes and guidelines for your county, city or region.

Insulate and Soundproof

Steel buildings are easy to customize to meet your needs. Most high quality steel buildings are designed to be easy to insulate and soundproof. Let your building manufacturer know what kind of customizations you’d like to make and it can be designed into the tolerances for the plans. One of the easiest ways to customize for insulation is to create channels to fit standard size insulation panels. Once your building is assembled on site, you simply fit the panels into the wall channels and run metal strapping through the openings to hold them in place.

Add Electricity and Plumbing

Let your building manufacturer know that you’ll be adding electricity and plumbing so that the steel building shell can be fitted with the appropriate openings and channels to run wire and plumbing pipes. Do you want a greenhouse with a watering station at one end? Your metal building can be designed with the openings for the pipes exactly where you need them. Do you need overhead lights and six evenly spaced outlets? Let the steel building designer know and your building walls will come with channels for running the wire and openings for the outlets built right in.

Whether you want to build a home office for your business, a hobby/workshop or an audiovisual media room to indulge yourself and your family, steel buildings offer the best solution to your needs.

Frequently Asked Questions About Consumer Steel Buildings

Consumer steel buildings are metal buildings designed for use on residential properties as garages, home workshops, storage buildings and other uses. Companies that sell steel buildings to consumers are used to getting questions about shipping, ordering and other parts of the process of buying a metal building. These are some of the most commonly asked questions fielded by the customer service department of a company that sells steel buildings to the consumer market.

Why Is a Steel Building Better than a Traditional Wooden Structure?

Metal buildings offer many advantages over wood frame buildings. They require little maintenance, are fire resistant and won’t rot. They are designed to deal with all types of weather and natural events, including heavy snow, high winds and even earthquakes. They’re easy to expand and provide maximum usable interior space because they don’t require any interior support beams. Those are just a few of the major benefits of choosing steel buildings.

What Type of Steel Is Used in a Steel Building?

Steel buildings are made of high grade commercial steel. Look for steel buildings that are at least 26-gauge steel. Keep in mind that where steel is concerned, the lower the gauge is, the thicker and stronger is the steel. That is, 28-gauge steel is lower quality than 26-gauge. In most cases, steel buildings have corrosion and rust resistant paint coating that is available in a wide variety of colors. Depending on where you buy your metal buildings, you may even be able to request a custom paint color to match your main buildings.

Where Do I Find Building Codes for My Building?

Always check with your local building officials in the code office to find out what building standards your steel building must meet. While most states use one or another variation of the International Building Code, there are always local variances that you must follow. Before you order a metal building, be sure to check with your local code office and get the building codes so that you can supply the steel buildings supplier with the appropriate building code.

Can I install electrical lighting, sprinkler systems, ceilings and other accessories on a steel building?

If you let the steel building company know in advance what accoutrements you want to add to your steel building, your building can be designed to accommodate them. You can add skylights, windows, multiple doors, HVAC systems and nearly any other addition you want to your steel building.

How hard is it to add on to a metal building?

One of the biggest advantages of steel buildings is that they’re easily expandable. If you choose a Quonset steel building, expanding can be as simple as removing one of the end walls, adding more panels and replacing the end panel. As long as you have the land to expand, it’s easy to add on to a steel building.

For more information about steel buildings, contact a company that designs and sells metal buildings to consumers for a quote and all the info you need to place your order.

What Do You Mean Steel Buildings Are Green?

Earth Day has come and gone, but hopefully the awareness of earth-friendly products and methods lingers on throughout the year. For those who are considering adding a storage building, garages or other structures to their property, might we suggest choosing from the range of steel buildings in the interests of building green?

People don’t usually think of steel buildings when they’re thinking of green building technologies, but the fact is that steel is one of the greenest building materials we have available today. Here are five ways that steel buildings help increase your green cred.

Steel Buildings Are Recycled and Recyclable

While there’s a greater push these days for “repurposed” wood – old barn boards and wood floor planks – steel is way out ahead of the pack when it comes to green building. Most steel used in building today – especially in small building projects like storage sheds and garages – is post-consumer recycled. It’s already been used. By choosing steel, you’re conserving non-renewable resources – wood, for example – that will take decades, if not centuries, to replace.

When You Build With Steel, You’re Reducing the Waste Stream

By choosing a metal building for your project, you’re keeping the building materials out of the waste stream. This reduces the amount of trash building up in landfills. Your new steel building might have been a car, a railroad car or another steel building. Now, it’s your new garage or workshop or retail store – whatever you want. The one thing it’s not is trash.

Precision Engineering Provides Superior Energy Efficiency

Steel buildings are engineered to fit together perfectly. Unlike wood construction, which can gap and allow drafts and heat loss, buildings made of steel meet perfectly at all joints. This reduces heat transfer and provides a weather-tight interior.

Steel Buildings Can Be Designed for Easy Insulating

Many popular styles of metal buildings are engineered with insulation channels to make them easier to insulate. Simply put the building together, place the sheets of insulation into the channels and run strapping across them to hold them in position.

Energy Efficient Roofs Decrease Energy Use

Most steel buildings feature energy efficient roofs coated with reflective paint or coatings. The roof can reduce your energy use and costs substantially year round.

If you’re considering a new garage, workshop, home office or other small structure, choose energy-efficient, green steel buildings. You’ll save money on energy and help the planet at the same time.

Why You Should Choose Steel Buildings for Your Project

There are a number of excellent reasons that make steel buildings ideal for many projects, including garages, carports, home workshops, manufacturing facilities and garden sheds. Here are just a few of the great reasons you should consider choosing a metal building for your next construction project, no matter what it is.

Steel Buildings Do Not Warp

Heavy duty steel doesn’t warp like wood can, even in wet climates. A properly engineered steel building will stand for decades without the floors buckling or walls shifting.

Metal Buildings Are Not Fire Hazards

Steel is naturally fire-resistant, and most steel building components are treated with fire retardants to make them even safer. Which leads to the next reason you should consider steel buildings…

Steel Buildings Cost Less to Insure

Fire resistance is just one of the reasons that insurance companies love steel buildings. Steel is less prone to many of the hazards that befall wood construction, including mold and mildew, which can give rise to high insurance settlements. Among the other things that don’t bother steel buildings are…

Termites Don’t Much Care for Metal Buildings

Which means that you won’t have to worry about termite infestation if you decide to on a steel building kit for your garden shed or pool house. And since insects don’t lay their eggs in steel, you’re not likely to have to deal with any annoying woodpeckers trying to find grubs in the walls of steel garages, or, for that matter…

No Rafters for Birds to Perch In

Garden buildings and grain storage buildings tend to attract nesting birds who hang out in the rafters. Steel buildings have no rafters, so there will be no birds hanging out to foul up your precious possessions.

Lots of Usable Space

The lack of rafters has another benefit – it’s a side effect of the way metal buildings are constructed. The most common construction, derived from Quonset buildings, is steel arch construction. There are no interior beams or rafters, so all of the interior space is usable, from floor to ceiling.

Expand at Will

Most steel buildings are easy to expand, as long as you have the land to do it. In most cases, steel buildings can be as long as you want them to be. They consist of steel framing components, hoops and end caps. When you want to expand, pull off one of the end caps, add on to the length and replace the end cap.

Whatever project your considering, steel buildings offer many advantages. Before committing to any other type of construction, take a closer look at the benefits of building with steel.

Steel Buildings Are Ideal for Recreational and Community Buildings

Community organizations, churches and private businesses are recognizing the advantages of pre-fabricated steel buildings for use as recreational and community buildings. Whether your church needs a community center or your community needs a place for the kids to meet for organized sports and other games, a steel building can be especially designed for the use with the help of a manufacturer that specializes in custom-engineered metal buildings. Here are just a few of the uses your community might find for a steel building.

Ice Rink

Ice skating is a popular physical activity but in many communities there are few outdoor spaces that are conducive to safe skating. An open or closed Quonset metal building can provide the shelter needed to keep ice surface clean and smooth while providing a safe recreational area for kids and community members to show off their figure eights. From the most basic open-ended roof shelter to elaborate recreational buildings complete with dressing rooms, showers and event rooms, steel buildings are the ideal choice as a community recreational building.

Indoor Beach Volleyball

Why quit your favorite sport when the weather turns too cold? Arch-frame steel buildings provide an ideal housing for a beach volleyball court where friends can gather to play even in the middle of winter. With no interior beams or support posts, a prefabricated metal building provides the maximum amount of usable floor space for your sports events. Since there’s no need for a dug foundation in most cases, your costs are lower and they’ll remain lower over the course of time because steel buildings have lower maintenance costs and needs.

Community Event Halls

Does your church need a meeting hall for events, clubs and other meetings? A metal building can serve those needs admirably. Pre-engineered steel buildings are affordable and attractive, and require very little ongoing maintenance. The lack of internal support posts means that there will be no bad seats or tables stuck behind posts at events, and there will always be room for a dance floor at weddings and church events. A modified arch frame metal building can fit perfectly into any community setting and add an attractive structure to your property.

If your church, community group or community needs space for meetings, recreation or events, a steel building could provide the perfect solution to your needs. For more information about how steel buildings can work for your community needs, contact a manufacturer that specializes in designing customized buildings for community uses.

Steel Buildings Are Ideal for Recreational and Community Buildings

Community organizations, churches and private businesses are recognizing the advantages of pre-fabricated steel buildings for use as recreational and community buildings. Whether your church needs a community center or your community needs a place for the kids to meet for organized sports and other games, a steel building can be especially designed for the use with the help of a manufacturer that specializes in custom-engineered metal buildings. Here are just a few of the uses your community might find for a steel building.

Ice Rink

Ice skating is a popular physical activity but in many communities there are few outdoor spaces that are conducive to safe skating. An open or closed Quonset metal building can provide the shelter needed to keep ice surface clean and smooth while providing a safe recreational area for kids and community members to show off their figure eights. From the most basic open-ended roof shelter to elaborate recreational buildings complete with dressing rooms, showers and event rooms, steel buildings are the ideal choice as a community recreational building.

Indoor Beach Volleyball

Why quit your favorite sport when the weather turns too cold? Arch-frame steel buildings provide an ideal housing for a beach volleyball court where friends can gather to play even in the middle of winter. With no interior beams or support posts, a prefabricated metal building provides the maximum amount of usable floor space for your sports events. Since there’s no need for a dug foundation in most cases, your costs are lower and they’ll remain lower over the course of time because steel buildings have lower maintenance costs and needs.

Community Event Halls

Does your church need a meeting hall for events, clubs and other meetings? A metal building can serve those needs admirably. Pre-engineered steel buildings are affordable and attractive, and require very little ongoing maintenance. The lack of internal support posts means that there will be no bad seats or tables stuck behind posts at events, and there will always be room for a dance floor at weddings and church events. A modified arch frame metal building can fit perfectly into any community setting and add an attractive structure to your property.

If your church, community group or community needs space for meetings, recreation or events, a steel building could provide the perfect solution to your needs. For more information about how steel buildings can work for your community needs, contact a manufacturer that specializes in designing customized buildings for community uses.

Steel Buildings Can Improve Your Marriage

Pre-engineered steel buildings can add extra storage and living space to your home. They make great home offices and garages. They’re affordable and easy to maintain. But can a steel building really save your marriage? While a metal building might not be much of a marriage counselor, you’d be surprised what these nifty marriage improvers can do to help your relationship.

More Space!

Believe it or not, one of the biggest stressors on a marriage is cramped spaces. Don’t believe me? Just watch a “Clean House” marathon some Saturday afternoon. There’s very little that’s more frustrating than having to wind your way around all that STUFF that shouldn’t be in the living room or cluttering up the dining room table. On “Clean House”, the crew works its magic by emptying out the house and selling all that stuff to provide extra room and catharsis happens. You can get the same effect by erecting a steel building for storage to hold all that overflow stuff and get it out from underfoot. It’s a whole lot easier to be romantic when you’re not tripping over boxes and motorcycle parts.

A Room of One’s Own

Virginia Woolf imagined that if Shakespeare’s sister had had a room of her own, she may have achieved the same level of literary fame as he did. While you may never be Shakespeare, there’s something very affirming in having a room of your own in which to pursue your interests and hobbies. Steel buildings are an ideal choice for hobby workshops, photography studios, pottery barns and just about any other type of “room of your own”. When you have your own space in which to pursue your passions, you’ll find yourself more open to pursuing other passions as well.

Just Get It Out of My House!

Some hobbies should never be practiced inside a house where other people live. If your partner plays the tuba or practices with a garage band or, for that matter, uses power tools in the basement, you know the kind of strain the noise, dirt and smell can put on your nerves – and your marriage. A pre-engineered metal building can provide the perfect man cave or wood shop so you can get the sawdust out of the house and corral it where it belongs.

Steel buildings may not be the best listeners in the world, but erecting a steel building to expand the functionality and livability of your home can certainly help improve your marriage.

Forget the Blog Cabin – Consider Steel Buildings as Your Vacation Home

If you’re a confirmed DIYer, you’ve probably followed closely as the DIY Network designed and started construction on Blog Cabin 2012, complete with lots of daydreaming and wistful sighs about your own vacation cabin. If you’re dreaming and plotting your own blog cabin in the woods or the mountains – your own little space of heaven for vacationing and perhaps, someday, retirement – why not take a more modern and more ecologically sound approach. Consider steel buildings as a base for your home-away-from-home.

Steel buildings, best known as storage buildings and garages or, conversely, as cavernous warehouse shells, are remarkably versatile and adaptable. If you’ve never thought about the advantages of choosing a metal building as the basis for your vacation cabin, consider these important factors.

Affordability

With few exceptions, steel buildings don’t need a dug foundation. A poured concrete slab foundation is almost always enough, though your local building codes might require something more. By eliminating the cost of digging a foundation, you’ll save money and time. In addition, steel is one of the most affordable building materials on the market. You’ll also save money on maintenance and energy costs over time because metal buildings require very little in the way of ongoing maintenance. Finally, you’ll save money on insurance costs because steel is, quite simply, a safer building material than wood.

Ecological Soundness

While you might feel closer to nature in a rustic log cabin, you’re actually kinder to the earth when you choose a steel building. Nearly all steel used in construction is 100% recycled steel made with metals mined years ago. By using steel, you’re diverting the steel from the waste cycle and reusing it instead. In addition, because you’re substituting steel for wood, you’ll be reducing the strain on limited non-renewable resources. And because pre-engineered steel buildings are designed for high energy efficiency, you’ll use less energy for heating and cooling, reducing your carbon footprint in a surprisingly large way.

Flexibility

Steel buildings provide an amazing amount of flexibility in many different ways. First, because most designs for metal buildings require no interior supports, they provide a completely open interior that you can customize to your heart’s delight. One room, two rooms, a single large room and a loft? The possibilities are endless. Secondly, steel buildings are easy to expand. If you decide you want to add on to an arch frame steel building later, it’s a fairly simple thing to do. All you need is the land for your expansion.

And if you really have to have that log cabin look? Today’s steel buildings can be finished in just about any style that pleases you, including a log cabin exterior. So go on and dream about your vacation home. It’s a lot less expensive than you think.

Important Things to Know About Steel Buildings Before You Buy

Are you planning to add on to your property? Steel buildings make great garages, storage buildings, workshops and home offices. When they’re properly finished and outfitted, steel buildings can even add extra living space to your home – a free-standing metal building can be the ideal solution when adult children return home or the perfect answer to providing a safe home for elderly parents without cramping either family too much. Before you jump right in and order a steel building for your purposes – or even get too enamored of the idea – there are some things you should know about steel buildings before you buy.

Does Your Community Allow the Erection of Steel Buildings?

Before you get too far into the planning stages of a steel building project, check with your local zoning office and homeowners association. Some communities don’t allow metal buildings at all, while others place specific restrictions on where you can put up a steel building. You may need to locate your new structure a specific distance from neighbors or from the street, for example, or only be allowed to erect a metal building that conforms to certain community standards.

What Local Building Codes Must You Meet?

Even in communities that allow steel buildings, you’ll still have to meet all the applicable local codes. Some of the regulations will apply to any building you erect. Others will only apply for specific uses. Dog kennels may have certain requirements, for example, and residential buildings will almost certainly have to meet certain standards of livability. In addition to those, your building will have to meet local safety codes. Metal building manufacturers will work with you to design a steel building that meets or exceeds all of your local codes and regulations, but you’re responsible for providing them with the right specs.

Should You Use a Contractor to Erect Your Steel Building?

One of the big attractions of steel buildings is their ease of construction. You’ll often see assertions that you can erect your own metal building with the help of one or two friends over a weekend or two. While this may be true of simple structures, the finish work on a steel building can be more complex. If you’re not an experienced do-it-yourself enthusiast with good skills, you might do better to locate a contractor to do the actual assembly.

 Before you ask for quotes on steel buildings, do your basic research so that you’re not disappointed if things don’t work out the way you want. Steel buildings are an excellent value for most uses, but buying a building you can’t erect because you didn’t check the particulars is a waste.