Steel buildings have long been popular for hangers and factories, but they have come into mainstream use for everything from homes to office complexes. Steel buildings may already exist around you, but given their versatility, you don’t realise that they are steel buildings until you’re talking to the real estate agent and find out the property is termite-proof due to the underlying steel structure. Here are four things you should know before you buy a steel building.

Faster Construction Time

A popular saying by builders of steel framed buildings is that they cost half as much and go up in half the time. However, the reality depends on the design, the supply chain and any schedule dependencies. For example, steel framed buildings with non-steel exteriors are more resilient than wood framed buildings but take longer to finish than all steel buildings, though you can certainly throw up drywall or wood panels inside the steel building. At the other end of the structure, completely assembled steel sheds and trailers can be dropped off at your site and affixed to the foundation.

Steel buildings are typically assembled much more quickly than traditional wood frame buildings. They have large sections pre-engineered and shipped to site for assembly. There is also less schedule variability when assembling a steel building. You don’t have to coordinate between different teams of carpenters, roofers and bricklayers to put it all together. You still have to pour the foundation, install the plumbing and electrical connections and similar infrastructure; these finishing tasks may be done by a construction management firm instead of the steel building designers and installers.

You also don’t have to wait too long for steel buildings to be delivered. For example, steelbuildings.co.uk dispatch their steel building kits within a max of about 4 weeks, and sometimes within 2 depending on the order requirements. Ultimately, you could have your new steel building up within just a matter of months.

There May Be Overall Cost Savings

There is a good chance that your new steel building will have lower property insurance rates because it is insect-proof, fire-proof and often hurricane-resistant. You may or may not be eligible for tax breaks for building a steel building, whether it uses recycled steel or is designed to be energy efficient. You can design steel buildings to be highly energy efficient, and unlike many standard buildings, it is easy to make them strong enough to support solar panels on the roof.

Flexibility

We’ve already said that steel buildings don’t have to look like a steel building; you can put any façade on the outside of the building you want so that it meets local building codes and architectural norms. If your initial building permit is rejected when you propose putting in a steel building, talk to the zoning board or local building commission to discuss your options for making the outside of the building look the way they want it to.

A side benefit of building a steel building is that it will be cheaper to modify in the future, whether you want to expand in one direction or reinforce the walls you already have to support a heavier roof load. And, unlike wood buildings, you can modify or reinforce the structure at any time, since the strength of the structure won’t degrade over time like wood does. Or if you decide to upgrade your existing steel building, it isn’t hard to add a new brick façade or vinyl siding. You can’t do the inverse, replacing wood frame buildings with steel walls. Compare this, too, to concrete buildings that are equally durable and similar in cost but require a jackhammer to modify.

Reduced Maintenance

Steel buildings for sale can be an attractive purchase for businesses that want to buy the building and then forget about it. For example, the steel portal framed buildings with the right coatings and paint will have an exterior that lasts years longer than a painted wood building. They are also going to be far easier to clean with just water if there is dirt or mould. If your foundation shifts, the steel building’s walls will bend before the beams do, but you are less likely to have a catastrophic failure than with other types of buildings.

There are various types of steel buildings and they can range from drop off and install to simply far faster assembly than traditional buildings due to the reliance on pre-built components. There is a good chance the building will save you money on insurance and maintenance; energy savings and tax savings are possible but not guaranteed. Make sure that you are thoroughly prepared for any eventuality and understand the whole process so you don’t end up with unpleasant surprises.

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