Different Designs and Types of Steel Buildings

Steel buildings are ideal for many different uses, including garages, barns, workshops and storage buildings. The most commonly used residential steel buildings are pre-engineered metal buildings in one of a handful of designs and styles. Each design has its benefits and drawbacks, so choosing the right steel building for your needs is a matter of understanding your needs and how the different models of metal buildings fit them.

There are two different major types of steel buildings available: arch frame construction and clear span construction. Clear span metal buildings are generally reserved for larger projects and commercial projects. Most smaller steel buildings for use on residential or private property are one of the subdivisions of arch frame steel buildings.

Arch Steel Buildings and Quonset Buildings: Affordable and Durable

Arch frame metal buildings are modeled on the Quonset buildings used by the U.S. military during World War II. These steel buildings are lightweight, can be easily dismantled and reassembled even by unskilled workmen, and are inexpensive to fabricate. In addition to those features, the arch structure provides greater strength and durability, even when subjected to earthquake, heavy snows and strong winds.

Full Arch Steel Buildings

Imagine cutting an oil drum in half the long way and resting the open end on the ground and you have an image of a q-model or Quonset building. The arched shape provides high strength and durability and can easily be expanded lengthwise. The interior is completely unobstructed, but the arched shape means that the building height is highest in the center but significantly lower as you approach the walls. Quonset buildings are ideal for agricultural storage, airplane hangars and many other uses where the limited height at the sides of the building is acceptable.

S-Model Steel Buildings

Take the Quonset shape and straight the walls and you get the S-model metal building. The straight walls increase the usable interior space, and make it suitable for equipment storage and barns. S-model metal buildings also are ideal for use as workshops and provide the most usable interior height of all the arch frame models.

P-Model Steel Buildings

P may rhyme with T and stand for “pool” in River City, but in steel building lingo, it stands for “peaked roof.” The P-model metal building is nearly identical to the S-model, but has a pitched roof instead of a rounded one. The pitched roof can be a benefit in an area that has heavy snow loads, and may, in fact, be required by local building codes. Aside from that, though, the biggest difference between S-model and P-model steel buildings is cosmetic. They are most welcome in residential neighborhoods as garages and backyard storage or workshops.

How To Make Steel Buildings Look Less Steely

Many people who are considering steel buildings hesitate for one reason – appearance. The myth of the ugly steel building is strong despite the wide availability of attractive metal buildings. That may be in part because there’s also a proliferation of cheap steel buildings available. The cheap and ugly steel buildings – often sold by inferior companies – stand out like a sore thumb, while the attractive steel buildings blend into their surroundings. In fact, these days it can be impossible to pick out a steel building from its neighbors. So exactly how do you got about making steel buildings look less.. well.. steely? Here are a few ideas that can help you build metal garages, barns and workshops that don’t look like buildings made of steel.

Style

Quonset buildings – the half-hoop steel buildings born of convenience and efficiency during the World Wars – are difficult to disguise as anything but steel Quonset buildings. If you’re determined to make your metal building fit into a suburban setting seamlessly, you’ll probably want to avoid this style. There are straight-sided steel buildings that are much easier to disguise as a conventional building, including metal buildings with pitched roofs.

Color

Over the past decade or so, manufacturers of pre-fab metal buildings have really stepped their acquaintance with color. Not too long ago, the variety of colors offered by steel building manufacturers ranged from unpainted to gray to an unappetizing biscuit color. Today, most manufacturers of steel buildings offer a selection of standard colors you can choose from at no additional cost. The selection usually includes all the most popular exterior house paint colors, including white, blue, green, red, tan and yellow. That makes it much easier to match your new metal building to the existing structures on your property.

Trim

Properly finishing your metal building will also improve its appearance. The standard trim kit that comes with most steel buildings includes trim for the seams and roof, as well as gutters. You can make your new building more attractive by adding conventional doors and windows, complete with shutters, if desired. Consider adding eaves, overhangs or a porch to make your building look more like a traditional house.

Exterior Finish

Finally, you can finish off steel buildings with nearly any type of exterior, including stucco, stone and wood. Just talk to a facing company in your town to find out about the different types and styles of exterior facings they can apply to steel buildings.

Frankly, most contemporary steel buildings are attractive enough that you shouldn’t have to camouflage them, but if you’re determined to hide the strength and beauty of your new metal building, the above tips can give you some ideas.

Energy Efficient Steel Buildings and Accessories

When people enumerate the benefits of steel buildings, they frequently miss out on one of the most important metal building advantages – they are energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. This may be in part because it seems to run counter to appearances. Most people don’t think of steel as an organic building material. In fact, there are many reasons that steel buildings are a green alternative, as well as a number of accessories and modifications you can make to a metal building to make it even more energy efficient.

Steel Is Recyclable

Steel is more recyclable than any other building material. Most residential and small agricultural steel buildings are made entirely of recycled steel, and the steel used for them will most likely be recycled yet again when the building is taken down. Unlike wood, which uses up our precious reserves of slow-growing resources, steel does not use any more of the resources that we already are using.

Steel Buildings Are Weather-tight

Custom engineering allows the components of metal buildings to fit snugly together, reducing heat transfer and improving energy efficiency. Garages and other buildings made of wood react to the weather by swelling and shrinking, which creates gaps and allows cold drafts to enter and warm air to escape, and vice versa.

But steel buildings don’t rely just upon their natural attributes for energy efficiency. There are a number of things you can do and accessories you can add to increase the energy conservation in your metal building.

Cool Roofs

The roof you choose for your steel building makes an enormous difference in how much energy it takes to heat or cool it. Certified Cool Roofs reduce the amount of energy required to heat or cool your building by reducing heat gain or heat loss from your building. Even if you can’t afford a certified cool roof, you can choose roofs with lighter, more reflective paint in warmer climates or darker roofs to hold heat in cold regions.

Thermal Blocks

Thermal blocks and insulation help reduce heat transfer between the interior and exterior of your building. Many manufacturers of metal buildings also provide insulation systems that are specifically designed to fit and work with their building models.

Solar Roofing Panels

Design the roof of your steel building to include solar roof panels to reduce your use of grid electricity generated by less earth-friendly methods. It’s easy to design your building with exactly the right roof pitch to maximize solar energy collection.

If you’re concerned about the environment, steel buildings deserve serious consideration for your next building project. They’re greener, energy efficient and recyclable, making them the obvious choice for most uses.

Unusual Configurations for Steel Buildings

One of the biggest advantages of deciding to use steel for your construction project is the versatility and adaptability of steel buildings. Because each metal building is custom-engineered for your specific needs and the requirements of your local building codes, it’s easy to plan in your modifications from the start. The buyer is often in on the design process from the start – you can designate the number and type of doors and window openings, for example, and delineate specifically where you want to place electrical outlets and wiring conduits. But steel buildings can be even more adaptable than those relatively simple modifications. Check out some of these unusual steel building configurations and styles.

The Urban Chicken Coop

What happens when a college decides to add chickens to its urban campus and engineers get involved? The urban chicken coops, designed by students and an instructor from University of Colorado at Denver, feature traditional steel building hoop construction and a corrugated steel roof, with a slatted wood bottom and wire mesh floor to make cleaning easy. The attractive metal chicken coops are a comfortable fit for the typical urban or suburban backyard.

Dealerships for GM Hummers

GM’s Hummer division has built distinctive and striking buildings for Hummer dealerships in about 60 cities around the country. The unusual design features an arched steel roof that seems to float above the steel-and-glass walls. Stylish and attractive, these steel buildings make a statement about what a well-designed metal building can look like.

Bus Stop Shelters

Waiting at the bus stop in some northern cities is a far cozier, more stylish affair, thanks to some beautifully designed bus shelters based on steel building construction. Like many other unusual steel structures, these shelters used the arch-frame construction for roofs that shed water and snow, making them safer and sturdier.

Homes

Steel buildings are finding more and more acceptance as residences, even in the most staid and conservative of communities. Metal building art can approximate any style you like, from cozy beach cottage to soaring glass and steel villa. Today’s technology allows for a steel home to fit perfectly into its surroundings – or stand out from the crowd. Owners of steel homes enjoy lower energy bills, lower maintenance costs and lower insurance premiums.

If you’re considering a construction project of any kind, there’s a good chance that a steel buildings supplier has ideas that will help you bring your construction concept to reality in a way you’d never envisioned – or exactly to meet your vision. Before you make a final decision on your building project, check out the many configurations available with buildings made of steel.

Cool Roofs Are the Perfect Topper for Steel Buildings

What’s the only way to top awesome steel buildings? Cool roofs, of course. No matter what other decisions you make about your metal building project, choosing the right roof is one of the most important. The right roof will affect the appearance, energy efficiency, maintenance costs and the lifespan of your new steel building. Here’s what you need to know about choosing cool roofs for steel buildings.

Materials

Topping a steel building with a steel roof seems like a no-brainer, and there are a number of good reasons for that. Steel is stronger than wood, is fire-resistant and is not prone to mold, decay, warping or cracking. In addition, wooden roofs absorb heat while steel roofs reflect it. That gives steel a natural ability to conserve energy.

Energy Efficiency

Steel is an environmentally friendly building material in and of itself, but there are adaptations that can make your green roof even greener. You can add interior insulation or exterior spray foam coating to slow heat transfer, choose a more energy-friendly color, add energy-saving accessories and choose a specific pitch.

Insulation

Air leaks are among the main causes of wasted energy in any building. Insulation helps save energy and keeps your new metal building more comfortable. Choose roof insulation based on the local climate – but keep in mind that most experts recommend an R-30 value for insulating roofs.

Spray Foam Insulation

A liquid polyurethane spray coating forms an additional layer of protection on your roof. It provides extra insulation that reduces energy consumption and lower utility bills. It’s most commonly used on roofs where appearance is not important.

Color

Light roofs are generally considered to be more energy efficient than dark roofs because they have a higher reflective rating. In general, light roofs are recommended in most areas of the country. In areas where there’s a strong chance of heavy snow loads, however, dark roofs can be a better choice. In addition, keep your eyes peeled for new innovations in paint, including highly reflective dark colors and paint with embedded solar cells.

Pitch

The slope of a roof has a major effect on the energy efficiency of a green roof on a steel building. Flatter roofs tend to absorb more heat while pitched roofs reflect it. Pitched roofs also shed water and snow more easily than flat roofs, and are more attractive to most homeowners. Be sure to discuss the implications of roof pitch with your steel building supplier.

Accessories

Finally, consider some of the accessories and additions you can make to the roof of your steel building. Today’s steel buildings can include skylights, vents, solar panels and many other accessories that make them greener and more energy efficient.

What You Should Know About Insulating Steel Buildings

If you’ve been considering the purchase of a metal building, you may have heard that prefabricated steel buildings such as steel garages, workshops and storage buildings are difficult to insulate. Nothing could be further from the truth, according to industry insiders. In fact, a properly constructed metal building with properly installed insulation is one of the snuggest types of structures you’ll find anywhere. So what accounts for the idea that steel buildings are difficult to insulate effectively?

In a nutshell, there are two reasons for that belief. First, steel transfers heat/cold more efficiently than wood. Thus, any metal parts of the building such as purlins and girts can transport extremes of heat and cold from the exterior to the interior. The second reason is that, quite frankly, the insulation in many steel buildings is improperly installed. The insulation may be cut to the wrong size or may not be properly covered. In fact, many of the problems with insulating steel buildings are the fault of the installer rather than the fault of the building. That’s why it’s important to use an insulation package that’s specifically designed for the steel building you buy.

When you order your prefab metal building, talk to the supplier/manufacturer about your insulation requirements. In many cases, the building can be engineered specifically to fit the type of insulation you plan to use. In addition, the best suppliers of steel buildings often offer insulation packages for the buildings they sell. The package will usually include a vapor barrier and special liner fabric to help cut down on condensation problems that contribute to mold.

Your metal building supplier can also offer you special insulation and installation tips, often customized to your area of the country. Larger companies that have been in business for any length of time have encountered many of the problems you are likely to run into when installing insulation for your building. Their experiences can help you avoid costly mistakes and ensure that your insulation job is done properly.

If you’re considering a specific steel building insulation system, be sure to talk to your metal building supplier about whether or not it is suitable for the model of building you’re purchasing as well as whether it is appropriate for your location. Insulation that would be ideal for a building in Massachusetts might not provide enough cold protection for a metal building in Minnesota or enough moisture protection for a building in Florida.

Insulation is an important component of steel buildings that will have live occupancy, such as factory buildings, office buildings, barns or retail stores. Don’t overlook its importance when ordering your metal building.

Five Steps to Erect Steel Buildings

One of the major reasons that steel buildings are so popular is their ease of erection. Most handy homeowners can reasonably erect their own steel buildings with the help of a few friends. You don’t need any special equipment to erect smaller metal buildings – basic power tools that most home handymen already own are all you need. How easy is it to put up a metal building? You can do it in just five steps.

Step 1: Prepare the Foundation

A proper foundation is the single most important step in erecting a steel building Most metal building suppliers will advise you to hire a professional, experienced foundation contractor for this part. Unless you have a lot of experience with building foundations, having a professional dig and pour the foundation is essential. Your steel building supplier will provide you with the drawings and information your contractor will need to make sure that the anchor bolts are properly located. If the foundation is done properly, the rest of the steps will be easy.

Step 2: Do the Primary Framing

The next step in erecting your metal building is to set up the primary framing, consisting of the main beams and rafters of your building. Everything will be pre-welded, cut to size and pre-punched so that all you have to do is get the pieces into the right positions and bolt them to your foundation using the provided bolts. This is where your friends come in handy to help with the heavy lifting.

Step 3: Bolt the Secondary Framing Into Place

You can start bolting on the secondary framing once you have a few of the primary frame pieces in place. The secondary framing includes the girts, purlins and framed openings for doors, windows and vents. Again, everything will be pre-punched and pre-cut. The only tools you’ll need are a power drill to tighten the bolts and fasten the pieces of your steel building together.

Step 4: Install the Roof and Wall Sheeting

Once you’ve finished the frame, it’s time to start filling in the walls and roof. Start by screwing the pre-drilled wall sheeting into place as shown in the diagrams that come with your steel building After the walls are done, you’ll install the roof sheeting and the weather stripping for the roof.

Step 5: Install the Trim and Accessories

Finally, add the trim to your building. The trim does more than look good – it’s essential to finish off steel buildings and create a weather tight seal to keep your building leak-free. Install your doors, windows and vents, and any other accessories that you’ve chosen for your metal building.

Of course, you always have the option of doing it the easy way – there are many contractors who specialize in erecting steel buildings. If you’re not comfortable erecting your metal building yourself, talk to your supplier about local contractors who are familiar with the brand and style of steel building you’ve chosen.

Top Uses for Steel Buildings

Steel buildings are among the most popular options for small residential additions – garages, storage buildings and the like. They’re also very popular with farmers as barns and for equipment storage. Those are just a few of the many popular uses for steel buildings. Here are some of the top uses of small metal buildings and DIY steel building kits.

Storage Building

Nearly any homeowner can use extra storage space, which is probably why this is the single most popular use for small-scale steel buildings. Metal building kits are especially popular for this for a number of reasons: affordability, appearance and ease of construction among them.

Garden Shed

Storing gardening equipment can tie up your garage space and make it impossible to park your car safely inside. Steel buildings are the ideal choice for storing lawn mowers, gas grills, leaf blowers and other lawn and garden equipment where it’s easily accessible but out of the way.

Pool House

If you own a pool, you know how much space your equipment and supplies can take up. A steel building is an attractive, affordable option to hold your pool vac, pool chemicals and all the pool toys your kids love to use. Even more importantly, keeping your pool chemicals in a safe, locked storage building can prevent accidents, especially if you have children around.

Garages

Somewhat larger than most DIY steel building kits, garage building kits rank almost as highly as storage building in popularity with homeowners. They’re easy to erect, affordable and come in colors and styles that look good in just about any neighborhood or community.

Barns and Agricultural Storage

One of the original uses for Quonset buildings was agricultural storage and equipment storage. The old Army surplus buildings spread across the countryside after World War II – and many are still standing today. Quonset buildings are still a popular option for use as agricultural storage because they provide enough unencumbered interior space to make it easy for farm equipment to maneuver around.

Workshops

Free-standing workshops are an affordable luxury for woodworkers, potters, jewelers, photographers and many other crafters. A steel building provides all the space you need to house hobby equipment and gives you a place to work where you won’t disturb – or be disturbed by – the family.

Larger steel buildings may be used as boat houses, airplane hangars, garages for RVs and SUVs and even retail stores. Whatever use they have, they provide advantages and benefits you won’t get from buildings constructed of other materials.