Going Green With Steel Buildings and Accessories

Steel buildings can be a green alternative to traditional construction if you need additional storage, retail, shop or other space on your property. Traditional industrial building methods consume a lot of resources that may not be readily apparent. If you consider only the amount of time spent in digging a foundation and pouring it along with the time it takes to actually construct a traditional building in contrast to the time it takes to raise a modern metal building, you’ll begin to understand why choosing a pre-fab steel building is a greener choice than traditional construction.

In contrast to traditional construction, and in addition to the substantial savings you’ll realize with a metal building, contemporary steel buildings:

• require less time
• consume fewer resources in the way of fuel for construction equipment
• leave a lighter footprint in terms of foundation requirements
• consume fewer resources for heating and cooling because they’re designed to be energy efficient
• are more portable, so you can take it down when you leave a property instead of leaving behind an empty shell

In addition to these factors that are common to steel building construction, there are options you can choose that make your choice even greener.

Friendlier Foundation

Instead of the traditional concrete foundation, consider a poured earth foundation. It’s as hard as concrete and extremely resistant to the elements. While it will add a bit more to the upfront cost of your building, poured earth foundations are stronger and retain more heat than concrete foundations, so you’ll save money on heating and cooling costs. In addition, a poured earth foundation is extremely low maintenance and requires fewer repairs over time than concrete. Other foundation options you could consider for a steel building are adobe, cast earth and rammed earth.

Greener Roof Options

Traditional roofing tiles are environmentally unfriendly. Many steel buildings form their own roofs, so you can do away with slate or wood shakes entirely. If you choose a metal building that requires a roof, consider shingles made from recycled tires or other synthetics that include a high percentage of recycled materials. If you want to be even greener, look into solar roofing shingles, which are designed to capture and store the sun’s energy and reduce your consumption of traditional electrical energy sources. Steel buildings are also sturdy enough to support a truly green roof – with plants, soil and drainage that give you additional growing space and reduce your carbon footprint in many ways.

When you’re looking into expanding your storage space, adding a garage or building retail space for your business, consider the many ecological advantages of choosing steel buildings and earth-friendly options to make your property greener.