Factors Considered in Engineering Steel Buildings

For many people who buy steel buildings, one of the deciding factors is that each metal building is custom engineered to meet all the building codes and safety standards of the region in which it will be erected. Have you ever thought about the factors that engineers must consider when developing the designs for the steel buildings they create? Here’s a brief overview of how engineers design steel buildings that will be stable, sturdy, durable, and, most important of all, suited for your region.

The Different Types of Loading

Loading is the most important factor that engineers must consider when creating a steel building design. Loading is expressed as the amount of weight a building must be able to support per square foot. Those figures are modified for each specific region of the country based upon the types of weather and environmental factors to which the metal building might be subjected. There are four types of loads for which steel buildings – and all other structures – must be engineered. Those loads are dead load, live load, snow load and wind load.

Dead Load: Can Your Steel Building Support Itself?

For starters, steel buildings must be able to support their own weight – the weight of all the steel and other materials that make up your building. Typically, steel buildings are engineered to support about 2.5 lbs. per sq. ft. in dead load.

Live Load: Will the Steel Building Support Your Weight?

The technical definition of live load is “temporary forces applied to a building.” In non-tech speak, that means the weight of anything that exerts any force on the building at all. It includes the weight of people walking around on it, the weight of rain falling on it and even debris that might drop onto the building from above. The industry standard live load for steel buildings is 20 lbs. per sq. ft.

Snow Load: Oh, the Weather Outside Is Frightful…

Snow might be technically temporary, but it’s treated differently than other types of live loads because it behaves differently. Among other things, it is a little less temporary than, say, rain that runs off the roof. In addition, it accumulates and can build up differently at different areas on the roof so that the pressure it exerts on the steel building is not at all uniform. In some regions, snow load is not really considered. In others, it’s of vital importance. Because the likelihood and severity of snow differs so widely from one region to the next, there is no standard for snow load for steel buildings. That’s one of the figures you’ll have to get from your local building codes office so the manufacturer can engineer the building to the correct specifications.

Wind Load: Steel Buildings Swaying in the Breeze?

The single most important external load that engineers must account for is wind load. The wind affects every single part of a building – often in unexpected ways. The effect of the wind on a steel building can change depending on nearly every design factor, including height, location and number of framed openings – doors and windows – and even the position of the building. Like snow load, every area has its own building codes that must be followed, so there is no standard wind load for steel buildings. If you want your building to be approved by your local code office, however, you’ll have make sure that the steel building manufacturer has the right wind load standard for your area.

In addition to these load-bearing standards, your local code office may also have other requirements and restrictions on steel buildings in your town. Always be sure that you check with your code and building office before placing your order.