Customizing Steel Buildings as Workshops

Steel buildings, especially DIY kits, are a great option for building many things – garages, storage buildings, greenhouses, home offices and home workshops are just a few of the hundreds of uses people have found for the handy pre-engineered metal buildings. A basic arch frame steel building provides the framework to customize for any use you might need. If you’re considering a metal building for a home workshop, you should be aware of some of these options that will help you create the perfect workshop for any craft or hobby.

Insulation

Since you’ll be spending time working in your workshop, you’ll want to insulate it to keep the structure cool in summer and warm in winter. This is especially important if your hobby requires careful temperature control to keep equipment and materials usable. Many steel buildings are designed to make insulating the walls easier by providing an interior wall designed to fit the standard sizes of sheet fiberglass insulation. And since steel buildings are custom cut to fit together with no gaps, your insulation will work far more efficiently than it will with a wooden structure.

Windows

Customize your steel building with the number and size of windows that you need – from zero to entire walls of windows. Light – or the lack of it – can be an important factor in many home workshops. For photography, for example, a steel building can provide the lightless conditions you need for developing film safely. If you’re a painter, on the other hand, skylights and north-facing windows can provide you with clear, beautiful light that enhances color values and makes your work easier.

Channels for Wiring and Plumbing

When you order your steel building, be sure to discuss your needs for electrical outlets and wiring with the manufacturer or distributor. The architect and engineers designing the plans for your workshop will integrate channels for wiring and openings for electrical outlets into the workshop design to make it easier to wire your building.

Soundproofing

Some hobbies benefit from soundproofed workshops, either for your comfort or the comfort of your neighbors. If you use noisy woodworking equipment or are building a music studio where your band can practice, for example, your neighbors will appreciate your attention to detail. If, on the other hand, you need quiet for your recording studio or a meditation workshop, you’ll directly benefit from soundproofing. Again, if you let the distributor know when you’re ordering your steel building, the engineers can include details that make soundproofing easier in the design.

Many customizations may add to the cost of your building – but it’s far less expensive to add them if you do so from the design stage than attempting to retrofit them into a steel building after the fact. When you’re shopping for steel buildings, be sure to choose a distributor that will work with you to add in the customizations you want and give you a quote for the total price including all the custom work done to make your building suitable for use without further modification.