Save Some Trees Build Some Metal Buildings

In recent years, metal has become more and more popular as a building material. For many years, bricks and wood were used for most construction. The first large steel-framed buildings of the nineteenth century sparked the beginnings of a slow but steady trend. More and more smaller buildings are made of metal. It is used for roofs and walls today, in addition to its use for frames. Metal buildings are showing up everywhere.

For many years steel was known, but was so expensive and hard to make that it was only used for special purposes such as sword blades. The Bessemer steel making process from 1855 changed this by dramatically reducing the cost of steel. It was now cost effective to use steel as a framing material for buildings.

Steel alloys are formed by combining other materials such as chrome and nickel into the mix when the steel is made. Some alloys such as stainless steel are resistant to rust. Those that aren’t can be plated with zinc in a process called galvanizing to protect them from water. Paints have also been formulated to be protective against rust.

Aluminum is another popular building material. Until modern refining methods were developed, it was very expensive. Future steel buildings generally an easier material to work with than steel, though it is not as strong. A major advantage of aluminum is that it is not damaged by exposure to water. Paint or other surface treatments for aluminum are only for appearance.

Copper is not known for its structural strength, but it can make a very attractive wall or roof. It will develop a thin oxidized layer, but this does not generally go deep enough to compromise the material. It does create an attractive green patina.

The Quonset Hut, which was used very widely during World War II, was one of the earliest large scale use of metal for smaller buildings. Its distinctive shape, a curved metal shell combining the roles of walls and roof, flat ends, and a flat floor, is a distinctive image of that era. It’s walls, roof, and framing were all constructed of galvanized steel. They were easy to ship, since the wall roof units could be stacked on top of each other. They were also very easy to assemble.

Quonset huts are mostly gone today. But future steel buildings and other such structures like standalone garages, are often built from steel. It’s strength, robustness, and reasonable price makes steel a good choice for these buildings. They are usually squared up instead of round for more effective use of the footprint.

Steel, or aluminum in some cases, can be used for framing when building houses. Steel is stronger, but aluminum is easier to work with. Computerized equipment that can custom make aluminum framing at the construction location does exist. Most factory built mobile or modular homes are framed with metal. Metal framing is not used as much in more traditional home building, but it is becoming a viable option.

Sheet metal is a practical material for roofing. It can be made into surrogate shingles, or used in larger sheets. It can be treated to give it a better appearance and more resistance to the weather. It can also be used for walls, even made into pieces that look like old school wooden clapboards.

Metal building are becoming more and more important. Doing anything to reduce the use of wood is a positive step. Thus, metal as a building material is generally environmentally positive. Also, most building metal is recyclable. Metal should be considered as a building material by anyone involved in construction.

These future steel buildings provide storage solutions that can withstand extreme weather conditions. Choose from a wide range of future steel buildings designs at affordable prices. Future steel buildings do not require prior construction experience.

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Filed under storage by Adriana Noton on Jul 25th, 2010.

Save Some Trees Build Some Metal Buildings

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