Steel Buildings During the Winter

The end of August may seem like an odd time to be talking about snow, but there’s no better time to discuss the benefits of steel buildings in winter than the season when most people are putting up new garages, barns and storage buildings made of steel. If you’re considering adding storage space or any other type of structure to your property and you live in an area that gets hit with heavy snows, high winds and low temperatures, you really should be considering the many performance benefits of metal buildings during the winter.
The Three Winter Advantages of Steel Buildings
Essentially, steel structures offer three major benefits during winter weather. Those are:

• Ability to stand up to heavy snow loads
• Ease of Insulation
• High Energy Efficiency

Here’s how each of these play into your decision to build with steel rather than other building materials.
Snow Load
Snow load is a fairly self-explanatory term. It refers to the weight of snow that settles onto a building or other structure. In areas where there is significant snowfall, regional building standards call for construction that can withstand heavy snow loads without collapsing. When you order a metal building, you’ll be required to provide a copy of your local building codes and standards. The factory will use those codes to engineer your steel building so that it meets or exceeds those codes. In layman’s language, that means your metal storage building, barn or other structure will incorporate safety features that are designed to prevent collapse during the worst weather your region faces. Those features may include the pitch of the roof or additional strengthening at stress points that are likely to give way under heavy snow.
Ease of Insulation
While steel is not itself a good insulator – in fact, it’s an excellent conductor – the typical construction methods for steel buildings lend themselves very well to insulation. The features that make metal buildings easier to insulate include:

• Weather-tight Construction

All of the joins and angles in your steel building fit together tightly, and most have additional seam coverings to ensure that there is no heat loss or cold seeping in at the seams. That ensures that your insulation doesn’t have to work harder to keep out the cold.

• Ribbed Frames

The outer walls of your metal building are fitted over a skeleton of vertical ribs. These days, most steel buildings are engineered so that the standard width between the ribs is a perfect fit for standard widths of insulation. Insulating them is as easy as fitting a sheet of insulation between each set of ribs and running metal strapping along the length of the wall.
High Energy Efficiency
The weather-tight construction serves another purpose: it makes steel buildings surprisingly energy efficient and affordable to heat. When you add other energy-efficient options, such as reflective roofs, it’s clear that steel buildings are the best choice for nearly any need year-round.