Five Things You Shouldn’t Believe About Steel Buildings

Many people decide against steel garages, workshops, barns and other steel buildings because they’ve fallen for one of the many mistaken beliefs that exist about these affordable, convenient and very functional structures. These are just a few of the things people believe about metal buildings – and the reasons that none of them are true.

Metal Buildings Get Struck By Lightning More Often

Metal is a good conductor of electricity, so it’s easy to understand how this particular myth about steel buildings got started – and seems reasonable. In fact, industry research shows that a metal building is no more likely to be hit by lightning than a wood or masonry structure of the same size and shape. Steel buildings can be struck by lightning, just like any other type of building, but they don’t attract lightning. And if it really concerns you, you can always install a lightning protection system.

Steel Buildings Are All Ugly Little Boxes

Steel is one of the most versatile building materials available, and there are creative architects and engineers building and designing exciting visions and shapes with steel. There are octagonal churches, arch-framed buildings, Quonset buildings and many other styles of residential, agricultural and industrial steel buildings. The most popular small steel buildings – storage buildings, home workshops and garages – most often are designed to look like their stick-built counterparts, but offer many more benefits.

Steel Buildings Only Come in Certain Standard Sizes

Once upon a time, manufacturers ran off steel buildings in standard, stock sizes. Computer engineering and fabrication has changed all that. These days, most manufacturers design, modify and fabricate a steel building after a custom order is completed and received. There are far too many different building standards and codes to meet for a reputable company to run stock sizes only. Chances are good that skilled architects and engineers can create nearly any steel building you can envision.

Metal Wall Panels and Roof Panels Only Come in Standard Lengths

See above. While most supply centers do carry wall panels and roof panels in an array of standard lengths, it’s really no different than a store only stocking the most popular sizes of anything. Most steel building suppliers will happily order custom size panels in exactly the length you need for your metal building project.

Cold-Formed Steel Is Too Light to Be Strong

Light-gauge steel buildings – the most common residential and small metal buildings – are generally made of cold-formed steel. While the steel components might be lightweight, they’re custom-engineered for incredible strength. Between the strength of the materials and the inherent strength of the structural design, lightweight steel buildings can easily withstand heavy snow loads and hurricane force winds.

Don’t let the common misapprehensions about steel buildings stop you from investing in the best solution to your storage and or extra room needs.