Combining Green Steel Buildings with Alternative Energy Results in Higher Savings

Steel buildings are naturally a greener choice than traditional structures. The steel used in constructing a metal building is nearly always 100% recycled and recyclable, and since you’re using steel, you won’t be using up non-renewable resources like rain forest trees. They’re easier to insulate and more weather-tight, and require far less maintenance that can add pollutants to the air. When you’re done with your steel building, it can be recycled, or you can sell it, dismantle it and let the new owner reassemble it on his own property.

Overall, steel buildings are a good choice for the environment, but you can make them an even better choice by installing eco-friendly power systems and using alternative forms of energy. Metal buildings are wonderfully compatible with solar and wind energy generation systems, and as the alternative energy industry grows, they get even more compatible.

Solar Panels on Steel Buildings

Every metal building is precisely engineered to meet specific tolerances and building codes. That makes it very easy to specify the best roof angle for solar panels when ordering your building. A solar energy consultant can help you determine what that angle is in your location, and the engineers who design your building can work within the range to create a design that integrates seamlessly with solar panels, which will supply your new building with free electricity, further reducing the cost of ownership.

If you’re in an area with an electric company that purchases excess electricity, you may even be able to make money with your solar panels. Contact local electric companies for information on the possibilities for selling electricity back to the national grid.

In many cases, you won’t even have to engage your own solar consultant. There are a number of steel building companies that offer solar roof options for their steel buildings. But keep your eye on technological advances. Among the products already slated for production are flexible solar crystals that will fit to the curved roofs of many steel buildings and solar paint and solar coatings that generate electricity without the addition of solar panels.

Passive Solar Water Heating

If you’ll be plumbing your steel building, consider a design that incorporates a tankless water heating system that’s powered by the sun. Solar water heating systems are especially popular among the growing number of homeowners who are opting for residential steel buildings as homes. A good structural engineer can design your steel building to incorporate piping under the outer shell of your building and heat your water with the sun’s energy.

If you’re considering steel buildings because of their energy efficiency and their ecological goodness, why not take the extra step and look into fitting your project with solar energy or another renewable energy system?

Can You Get a Deal on Surplus Steel Buildings?

It’s a common scenario. You call a steel buildings broker to get a bid on a metal building for your workshop, garages or shed and the salesman on the other end tells you that he has a “surplus steel building” on the lot that he can let you have for half price. He may tell you that he can afford to do that because a previous customer put down a large deposit and then didn’t take delivery or couldn’t complete the purchase, or some similar story that sounds plausible – if you don’t understand how steel buildings are ordered and manufactured.

In truth, there is really no such thing as “surplus steel buildings.” It’s a standard high pressure sales tactic used by salesmen who are trying to pressure a potential buyer into a quick sale, preferably before the buyer can call around and get competitive bids. Here’s what you should know about buying steel buildings for use as garages, barns and any other use.

Generally, buyers do not purchase steel buildings on a whim. Every steel building must be precision engineered to custom specifications. That’s the case even with “standard” steel buildings that are built to a certain size with standard door and window openings, mainly because there are differing building codes in cities and states around the country. Because metal buildings generally ship directly from the manufacturer to the building site, it’s highly unlikely that a broker has a random steel building sitting around on the lot waiting for you to come along and purchase it.

Of course, strange things happen all the time, and it’s possible that someone really did get silly and place an order for a steel building that he couldn’t take delivery on. Maybe he fell for the surplus steel building sales pitch and put down a deposit before checking with his local zoning office and found out that metal buildings aren’t allowed on his property. Even if that’s the case, the chance that the building sitting on the lot will be suitable for your needs is pretty slim indeed.

That’s because steel buildings that are rated for Colorado weather tolerances probably won’t meet the standards for a Florida steel building. Every geographic region has specific weather loads and tolerances they must meet in order to meet the local building codes. The right metal building for your needs will be built to withstand the typical wind speed, snowfall and seismic activity in your geographic region.

So the moment a salesman mentions that he has a nice, shiny, barely used surplus steel building just sitting there waiting for you to plunk down your money, thank him politely, hang up the phone and look for manufacturers of steel buildings that will deal with you honestly.

Mistakes to Avoid When Buying Steel Buildings

If you’re still in the shopping and decision stage of buying a building, you’re probably a little skeptical about the promises commonly offered in advertisements for steel buildings, and rightly so. There are certainly some claims that seem too good to be true – and some dealers who use less than ethical practices to sell steel buildings. But there are claims about some used cars that are too good to be true, and we all know the reputation earned by used car dealers. Neither of those facts changes the reality that most used cars sold are solid, reliable and exactly what the buyer wanted.

The same is true of steel buildings – the dishonesty of a few shouldn’t keep you from reaping the many benefits you get when you choose a metal building to build garages, barns, workshops and storage buildings. The truth is that steel buildings are durable, cost-effective, stylish and easy to erect. There are a few important things to remember and mistakes to avoid when you’re ordering a steel building to ensure you get exactly what you want and need.

Shopping for a “Steel Building”

Don’t go shopping with the vague notion of “buying a workshop” or “building a garage.” That’s a recipe for buying a steel building that doesn’t fit your needs – and often, for overspending on things that just won’t work for you. Before you shop, decide on the basics. For garages, how many cars? How much additional storage do you want to build in? What kind of door do you want? Make similar decisions for other types of steel buildings – how much space do you need, what will you be doing in the building, how many windows and doors do you want? The clearer your visualization of the finished product, the more likely it will be that you’ll get exactly what you want at a reasonable price.

 Shopping without Research

Before you plunk down your dollars for a metal building, you’ve got a lot of background research to do. For starters, check with your local building and code office to find out if you’re allowed to erect a steel building on your property, and if so, exactly what codes and restrictions you have to follow. The last thing you want is to put down a deposit on your dream workshop only to find that you’re not allowed to build it. After that, research the realities of building the size and style of building you want. Will you really be able to build it yourself or will a construction company or contractor be a better choice? If you opt for a contractor, is there a particular brand or company that they’re familiar with and can recommend? Finally, make sure that you research the companies you consider buying from. What’s their reputation? Can they provide you with references? Are they honestly helpful and do they use responsible sales tactics?

If you plan ahead and research your project carefully, you can navigate the process of shopping for steel buildings and designing the building you want with ease. Don’t make the mistake of jumping in without doing your homework first.

How to Compare Bids on Steel Buildings

The best way to get the best price on a steel building is to get several bids from several different manufacturers. The problem is that those bids can be confusing when they come in. How do you tell if the bids you received on two or more steel buildings are identical? Here are some of the places you should check in the bids for metal buildings to make sure you’re actually comparing oranges with oranges instead of tangerines.

Check the dimensions of each of the steel buildings: width, length and eave height – that is, the height of the exterior walls at the sides, not the height of the building peak.

Check to make sure the roof pitches are the same. The pitch is the ratio of slope to length. It’s expressed as 1:12, 2:12, 3:12, etc. The larger the first number of the roof pitch is, the more expensive the building will be.

Check to see that the bay spacing is the same. The bay spacing is the distance between the supports or columns along the length of the building. More distance between the bays means fewer columns to support your building.

Check to make sure that all of the bids for your steel buildings are using the same building codes. Your state may use one of the international building codes – the most common are IBC 2006 and IBC 2009, or it may have its own building codes. Make sure that the code on each of the bids is the same.

Check the load tolerances on each of the bids. They should include roof and ground snow load, wind speed in mph and the wind exposure. Obviously, higher tolerances will be more expensive than lower tolerances. Make sure when you compare that you’re comparing buildings that are built to the same standards.

Check the stated color for your walls, trim and roof. If the color says “galvalume,” you are not getting a color finish on the trim, roof or walls. If the contract bid specifies Galvalume, you’ll end up paying additional to get the color of your choice on your building. If you haven’t chosen a color, it may read TBD (to be determined) or Standard. Either one means that the bid price includes color for that component.

Compare the accessories listed on each bid. Those will include doors, windows, skylights and vents. Check to make sure that each bid includes the same options for accessories.

Be aware that a “framed opening” doesn’t usually include the door or window which will be an additional cost.

Check to see if the price includes taxes and freight. If it’s not specifically stated in the bid, it’s not included.

In order to properly compare bids on steel buildings, it’s important to know that you’re comparing the same thing. If there are differences between the bids, be sure to make adjustments in your figuring to account for them. That way you’ll know that you’re getting an accurate bid and be able to make an informed choice.

Steel Buildings for All Types of Uses

Looking for a new garage, carport, RV or boat storage building or just about any other type of structure? Steel buildings can be the perfect solution to all of your building needs. Here are just a few of the most popular uses for today’s modern steel buildings.

Garages

Whether you need a garage for one car or 50, a custom-built home for your classic car collection or a place to park your minivan, steel garages are the easiest and most affordable option. Available in sizes from 10 feet to 100 feet wide and unlimited length, arch-framed steel buildings provide unobstructed interior space so there’s nothing to interfere with your parking skills.

Storage Sheds

The single most popular use for steel buildings on residential and agricultural properties is storage. While you can buy cheap storage sheds at a home improvement store, they can’t compare with the quality of custom-engineered steel storage building that are designed with your needs in mind. Innovative designs and a wide choice of exterior finishes can ensure that your metal building is the perfect fit for your needs and your neighborhood.

Hobby Shops

Get your hobby out of your basement and give it the space it deserves. Custom designed steel buildings are perfect for use as workshops and hobby shops. The advantages are many, for both the hobbyist and the rest of the family. Noisy woodworking tasks like drilling, sawing and sanding are a lot more bearable by family when they take place in a distinct, separate building instead of under their feet. Hobbies that require space or solitude – model railroad building or painting – also benefit from a separate workshop, designed especially to make them easier.

RV & Boat Storage

Your RV, boat and off-road vehicles deserve a home of their own. Steel buildings are the ideal solution to all your vehicle storage needs. Their design offers an unobstructed interior, providing plenty of room for maneuvering and proper storage. You can easily include room and options to store necessary equipment alongside the vehicles garaged in customized metal buildings.

Custom Steel Homes

As traditional home construction has become more expensive and traditional construction materials less sustainable, cost and ecology-conscious homeowners are turning to steel buildings. There’s a wide variety of styles and designs from which to choose, and nearly everything about your steel building can be customized to suit your needs and your family perfectly.

No matter what your construction needs are, from barns and garages to a home of your own, steel buildings offer an affordable, stylish and sustainable solution.

5 Reasons Steel Buildings Are Right for Your Next Construction Project

When people think of steel buildings, their first thought is usually storage sheds, garages and agricultural barns. While those are among the most popular and best known uses of metal buildings, steel is the ideal construction material for just about any type of structure. Whether your next construction project is a home office, a retail store or a carport, there are many reasons that a metal building is the right choice.

Get Your Building Constructed Fast

No one wants to live with construction debris and detritus for months on end. Steel buildings are designed and engineered by an architect and the pieces manufactured off-site. They arrive at your building site ready to bolt together and erect, cutting your actual construction time to a fraction of the time it takes to put up a traditional building.

Pay Less for You New Building

Pre-engineered steel buildings are lighter and use less material than wood-frame or concrete construction. That generally means that you’ll need less of a foundation – most smaller steel buildings can be built on a slab foundation or bolted to pier footings. That’s a major cost savings right there. In addition, because it takes less time and fewer people to put a steel building together, you’ll save up to 50% on labor costs when you choose a steel building.

Meet All Local Building Codes

When you order your metal building, the manufacturer should ask for a copy of your local building codes. Your building will be engineered to meet your local code requirements precisely. You’ll know that the building you receive and erect is built to withstand your local weather issues and load requirements. You won’t have to worry about your roof collapsing under a heavy snow load or blowing away in a strong wind.

Fit Your Building’s Style to Your Property

The biggest complaint people have had about steel buildings is that they’re ugly – or at least they used to be. Today’s manufacturing standards and technology gains have made a huge difference in the appearance of metal buildings. They’re available in many different styles and nearly any color you want. That makes it easy to erect garages and barns that match your main residence and fit right into your community standards.

Lower Cost of Ownership

In addition to reduced construction costs, steel buildings cost less to own. They’re easier to heat and cool, are often built with energy-compliant roofs and require very little ongoing maintenance. When you choose a metal building, you save money at the start and you continue to save money over its entire lifetime.

If you’re considering a construction project in the near future, contact a manufacturer or broker of steel buildings to find out how much you can save by building with steel.

The Evolution of Steel Buildings Over the Years

Steel buildings are among the most popular choices for people building garages, barns, storage buildings and workshops because they offer a number of important benefits, but they weren’t always the first choice for building. Over the years, the face of the typical steel building has undergone a quiet evolution that raised it from the awkward and ugly but very useful structure it once was into today’s aesthetically pleasing, stylish and very affordable building that’s at home in nearly any setting. These are the highlights of decades of history of metal buildings.

In 1849 as thousands of adventurers headed west to find gold in California, a savvy New York roofer struck gold in a much more pragmatic and practical metal. Peter Naylor designed and sold what may be the world’s first modular steel buildings. According to his advertising, he designed and sold “portable iron housing for California” – modular structures that could be shipped flat and constructed into a 20’ by 14’ structure at the destination. The major selling point – all the grooved pieces fit together easily and could be constructed in a day.

Today’s manufacturers of metal buildings offer far more designs and options than Mr. Naylor did 160 years ago, but the ease of construction is still a major selling point for residential steel buildings.

In the early years of the 20^th century as the automobile started to make its way into popular use, architects and builders designed the first steel garages to house them. The technology used in producing and building them grabbed the attention of the construction world for its innovation and easy reproducibility.

Garages are still among the most popular uses for steel buildings, but today’s metal garages can be custom-designed to fit the design aesthetic of any home or neighborhood.

The technology used to build steel modular homes and garages attracted the notice of farmers and ranchers. Cost was a major consideration among farmers and ranchers, who popularized the use of steel for agricultural storage buildings and equipment sheds. A steel building could be built for a fraction of the cost of traditional agricultural structures, and steel was less prone to weather damage and fire.

Today, steel is widely used for barns, storage buildings, grain silos and equipment garages on farms and ranches of all sizes and types.

In the 1940s, the Quonset building, based on Quonset steel buildings used by the Army during World Wars I and II, swept the country, especially in agricultural areas. The arch-shaped buildings were easy to erect, cheap to build and sturdy enough to withstand the severe weather that often struck the Midwestern plains. The arch construction that made Quonset buildings so strong and easy to construct is the basis for the most popular of today’s steel building designs and modified Quonset design that features a rounded roof and sloping sides is one of the strongest types of structures for storage buildings in areas with the most severe winter weather.

Peter Naylor probably never suspected what his portable iron houses would become in the future, but one would hope he’d look at modern steel buildings with a touch of great-grandfatherly pride and more than a little amazement at the conveniences and options that today’s steel building manufacturers offer their customers.

20 Benefits of Steel Buildings Over Wood Frame Construction

If you’re considering new constructions, you’ve probably caught some of the buzz about steel buildings.  Whether you’re looking at barns, storage sheds, garages or workshops, steel buildings feature high on the list of affordable, popular options. What makes metal buildings so popular? It might be the many benefits they provide over traditional wood frame construction. Check out these top 20 benefits of steel buildings to see why they’re so popular for both private and public construction.

Steel buildings are engineered to specific tolerances and exacting quality. Every piece is guaranteed to fit exactly where it’s supposed to fit.

Steel components for metal buildings are manufactured precisely to ensure that every piece is exactly the dimensions and shape it is supposed t obe.

Metal posts, studs and building components do not warp, bow, twist, split, shrink or pop knots. They’re cut to the right shape and size and they stay the right shape and size throughout their lives.

Your construction crew doesn’t have to throw out a percentage of the steel beams, posts, walls and other pieces because they don’t meet standards. They’re manufactured to meet those standards.

Steel buildings do not rot, decay or weather like wood does. It doesn’t swell when it gets wet or contract in dry weather. That means less strain on fasteners and safer construction.

Termites, insects and rodents won’t chew on your exterior walls and interior support posts as they do with wood buildings. That means less money spent on exterminators and on general maintenance.

Steel doesn’t promote mold or mildew. Painted coatings on steel buildings often contain retardants to prevent the finish from weathering and fading from the sun.

Steel has one of the highest ratios of strength to weight, making it one of the strongest building materials for your construction project.

Because steel is stronger, steel supports can be placed further apart. That means you use less material and less labor, reducing your construction costs substantially.

Steel’s strength also allows for wider spans. Because steel buildings don’t need interior support posts and columns, you have larger open spaces and more flexible floor plans.

The strength of steel allows you to build taller buildings.

Because steel is stronger than wood, concrete and masonry, steel buildings are lighter than other construction of the same size. That means you need smaller footings and foundations, which saves considerably on construction costs and the use of materials.

Steel is not combustible. It will not add fuel to a fire, and fire retardant coatings can reduce the chance of a fire spreading.

Metal building components can be 50 percent lighter than wood. That means steel buildings are suitable for areas that won’t support the weight of larger, heavier buildings.

Because steel is non-combustible, insurance companies will usually charge you less to insure your building.

Steel works as well with other materials as it does alone, giving you a lot of versatility in appearance and style.

Because steel building components are precision engineers, they connect to each other better than wood components. That makes for stronger connections and safer buildings.

Steel can be engineered to meet building codes in areas that are prone to earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados and heavy snow.

The average steel building produces about 1.5 cubic feet of waste in landfills. Compare that to the 50 cubic feet that the average wood-framed home produces.

Steel is the most recycled material in the world. Because it’s 100% recyclable, we recycle 60 million tons of steel every year. That makes steel buildings among the most ecologically friendly types of construction you can use.