Steel Buildings Buyer's Guide
Steel buildings offer a versatile and economical solution to a whole range of storage and accommodation related problems. The key to this versatility is their design flexibility; in other words, steel buildings are available in an almost endless variety of shapes and sizes, from small shed-type storage units all the way up to huge purpose-built factories, modern churches and even homes. As such, it’s highly likely that there’s a steel building suited to your needs and it’s just a case of considering the options available to you. This however, is more easily said than done; as the sheer variety of steel buildings on offer can be daunting. The purpose of this article then, is to discuss some of the main options available and where appropriate to assess their respective pros and cons. Hopefully this will give you some valuable information and thus allow you to have a better idea of what’s suited to your needs before you contact a reputable steel building supplier.
Main Design Types
The first choice you will need to make with regards to your steel building is the design type you intend to use. Steel buildings fall into two main categories and they are easily distinguished.
Arch Style
Arch Style steel buildings, as the name suggests, are built from an interlocking series of arches. The result of this is a stable, freestanding structure, without the need of a supporting frame. They are by far the cheapest type of steel building available on the market, as their manufacture and construction are comparatively simple. However, due to their design they necessarily take the shape of a long arch, like that of the archetypal airplane hangar. This unfortunately creates some disadvantages; firstly, there is little or no flexibility in the shape of your building, although the design can be easily scaled up or down in size, it will always have a rectangular floor-plan and a curved roof. Secondly, the arch shaped roof means that the only walls capable of housing doors and windows are at either end of the building limiting light and access. Another possible problem is that the ceiling height drops rapidly towards the sides of the buildings, often making the space awkward to work with. The combination of these features means that arch style steel buildings are most suited to industrial uses which require large, open plan spaces for work or storage. In that capacity though, arch style steel buildings are an incredibly cheap, effective and popular solution.
Rigid Frame
Rigid framed steel buildings are a far more flexible design format but are more complex and therefore a little costlier. This type of steel building incorporates a “rigid frame” of steel girders, to which large sections of sheet steel or steel alloy are then attached. The main benefits of this construction style are that the building can be designed in any shape or size. Furthermore, the vertical walls create a more userfriendly internal space and allow for windows and doors to be places wherever desired. As such, the vast majority of office, retail or leisure spaces constructed using steel building technology, utilise the “rigid frame” technique.
Foundations
Due to the light-weight nature of steel buildings (compared with standard brick constructions) the foundation requirements are different and typically simpler. This section is only intended as a rough guide, as local town planning requirements will vary in nature. However, most steel buildings with a floor-plan over 120 square feet (about 11.15m2) will require engineered foundations. Usually these will simply consist of a reinforced concrete slab to bear the load and provide a secure surface to properly anchor your steel building to the ground. The slab thickness will vary depending on the size of your steel building and the construction equipment needed to erect it. The minimum recommended thickness is usually around 11cm but this is only for small studio or storage buildings. Some agricultural steel buildings are designed to have dirt or gravel floors, in which case the foundations are usually concrete piers or column supports instead of a full slab. It is very important to construct proper foundations for your building, as poorly laid or inadequate foundations can result in costly alteration work and contravene town planning laws. As such make sure you consult both your steel building supplier and the local council before proceeding.
Steel Building Extra Features
It is usually the case that steel buildings are fairly uninspiring in appearance and rather basic in terms of internal amenities. These days however, most steel building suppliers will be able to offer you a long list of options to beautify and kit-out both the interior and exterior of your building. This option list is especially important if you don’t intend to use the building simply for commercial purposes but want it to be a home or extension of your property like a garden office or workshop.
Panelling
The exterior panelling of your steel building need no longer be a drab grey. At the very least, most steel building retailers will offer you a choice of colour for the walls and roof. Although more expensive, often you can also have your building clad in other materials such as wood or masonry. These options can go a long way to conceal the fact that your building is, in fact, a steel construction and add a great deal to its character. Internally, there are also a number of options for your steel building. Basic constructions will usually leave the frame exposed however; internal panelling available in a range of options from more steal to a plasterboard finish can conceal this.
Windows and Doors
There is a very wide variety of window and door options available for steel buildings to accommodate the huge range of applications they are used in. For commercial or industrial uses, you may want large bay doors to allow easy access and clear Perspex roof panels to allow maximum daylight in. On the other hand, if you intend to use your steel building as a house, some suppliers will be able to provide you with wood panelled doors and double glazed windows.
Insulation
If you need your steel building to retain heat, especially through the winter months, you will need to consider insulation. Unlike bricks and mortar, the high heat conductivity of steel buildings means that they very swiftly take on their ambient temperature and can become uncomfortably hot or cold. The good news is though, that there is a range of insulation solutions for all types of steel building and these can be considered before or retro-fit after construction. The basic rule with insulation is that the higher insulation efficiency, the lower your energy consumption and the more comfortable the ambient temperature. As such, investing in good insulation will probably save you money in the long run.
