Tips for Expanding Steel Buildings

So you did the smart thing a few years back and put up a new steel building – but as often happens when you add new storage or workspace capacity, you’ve outgrown it. Now that you need more space, it’s nice to know that it’s easy to expand steel buildings. Here’s what you should know about the processes used to expand steel buildings either lengthwise or widthwise.

Making Your Metal Building Wider

The easiest way to add to the width of your steel building is to add a lean-to. It’s a standard type of metal building expansion that allows you to extend the run of your roof line and add extra bays. This method is most commonly used with straight-walled steel buildings rather than with Quonset buildings or those with slanted walls.

In most cases, you can simply attach the main framing of your expansion to the main frame of your current building. This requires that you remove the siding and some of the secondary framing if you want to open the space between the main building and the expansion. Depending on the structural stability and current design of your metal building, you may opt to leave the interior framing and siding material in place and simply add a door or two for access to the new area.

A widthwise expansion can be tricky, and with some building designs, you can only do it you’ve planned ahead and had your original building designed to support later expansion so that the steel building engineers can build extra load-bearing capacity into the supports. You’ll also have to check with your local office of building codes to make sure that you’re allowed to expand your building.

Expanding Steel Buildings Lengthwise

Most Quonset buildings and hoop frame steel buildings can be easily expanded lengthwise, especially if you’ve planned ahead for easy expansion. As with widthwise expansions, engineers can add in extra load-bearing capacity if needed.

Essentially, adding length to a steel building is as easy as removing the end cap at the end you want to extend, and attaching the secondary framing for your new expansion to the original end-wall main frame and then to the first expansion frame you’re adding. Once you’ve built the framing, you add the wall panels, and finish it off by replacing the secondary framing and end-wall panels at the new end of your building.

Steel buildings are popular for industrial and storage uses, as well as for use as garages, barns and home offices in residential and agricultural communities. Knowing that you’ve got options to expand your new structure from the start make them even more attractive.