Steel Buildings Aren’t for City Slickers

Steel buildings have picked up a reputation for being urban and gritty. Steel is used to build skyscrapers and factories, warehouses and parking garages. But steel buildings are not just for city slickers. In fact, the market that has seen the most growth in the metal building industry is in the field of steel buildings for agricultural use. This shouldn’t surprise anyone – after all, it was farmers that adopted Quonset buildings when they came back from the World Wars overseas and put them to work in peace time – an almost literal translation of the concept of beating swords into plowshares. And it should come as no surprise that farmers, who have long known how to raise barns without hiring an expensive contractor, are among the biggest consumers of pre-engineered steel  building kits. The fact is that steel buildings just make sense for use as horse stables, barns, equipment storage and livestock housing. From chicken coops to grain silos, steel buildings are often the best choice for farmers.

Steel buildings are more durable than nearly any other type of construction. Because they’re made of recycled steel, they’re nearly always more environmentally friendly than wood barns, especially in areas where building wood is hard to come by, and because they are custom engineered to meet the building code standards of the area in which they’ll be erected, farmers can be sure that their new metal building will stand up to the strong, sweeping winds, heavy snowfalls and other weather and natural event disasters that can devastate a stick-built barn in a heartbeat.

That’s important when the building you’re putting up with be housing expensive equipment. A demolished building generally means the loss of tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of tractors, plows, harvesters and more. And if the steel  building will be used for livestock housing, it’s even more important to choose steel buildings, with their strength, durability and safety standards.

In addition to structural considerations, though, steel buildings are also the ideal choice for livestock housing for another reason – they’re easy to insulate for climate regulation. Steel buildings are designed with vents and insulation cavities to guarantee a climate that’s comfortable and safe for farm animals.

Farmers also choose steel buildings because they’re low-maintenance. There are enough tasks to do on the property without having to fit in time to scrape and repaint a barn, or replace structural beams and planks that have rotted or been infested with pests. Steel is resistant to all of those things – and is non-combustible to boot. Since those risks are reduced, farmers also will see their insurance premiums reduced when they choose steel buildings to house equipment, animals and grain or produce.