Over the years, steel buildings have become popular not only in the commercial and industrial sector; steel buildings are nowadays being used in the community for building houses as well. Steel buildings offer many benefits and advantages. And in this article, we’ll try to discover the amicable things that can be associated with having steel buildings instead of the traditional building construction processes.
1. Standard Frame Models
– Gable Symmetrical
A steel building frame model that has up to 200 inches wide clear span
– Gable Unsymmetrical
Asteel building frame model that has up to 175 inches wide clear span
– Single Slope
A steel building frame model that is up to 175 inches wide and are mostly used as retail/commercial store fronts as well office/warehouse
– Lean-to
A steel building frame model that is up to 75 inches wide and are mostly used as low-cost add-on to building frame, office space or additional storage
– Multiple Span
A steel building frame model that has unlimited width with interior columns and are mostly used as large manufacturing and warehouse commercial applications
2. Available Colors:
– Lightstone
– Pearl Gray
– Polar White
– Slate Gray
– Sand Gold
– Burnished Slate
– Sahara Tan
– Hawaiian Blue
– Rustic Red
– Fern Green
3. Advantages of Steel Buildings
Clearly, steel buildings offer many advantages and benefits that it has fast become so popular in the construction industry. The many options it offers the customers are so enticing that most construction builders nowadays prefer them; steel building offers strength and affordability that you cannot get from traditional building construction methods. Steel buildings also offer any options and usage. You can use steel buildings as:
– Quick and Easy To Erect
There are some steel building dealers that offer steel buildings in the form of pre-engineered structures. These can be sent directly to the site where you intend to have the building erected for instant assembling
– Versatile
Steel buildings are available with adjustable panels thus you can changed the size of each unit as per individual requirements. These will also allow expansion easier than in traditional building construction methods
– Strong
Steel buildings, since they are made of steel, can withstand unfavorable weather conditions like hurricanes, high winds, heavy snow and even earthquakes. They are also resistant to termites, creeping, cracks, splitting and rotting
– Cost-effective
Though sometimes, steel buildings don’t come exactly low in price, it is much cheaper than traditional methods since it has a reduced risk of fire and is easy to maintain
– Environment-Friendly
Using steel as building materials will undoubtedly save those trees in our forests. Aside from these, steel building frames can be recycled so there’s no need to cut more trees for expansion or remodeling
Source: Street Directory
Concrete vs. Steel
Before modern engineering and the ability to manipulate concrete and steel, the world of architecture consisted of wood, adobe, thatch, and cave dwellings. We’ve come a long way. Today’s cities reveal skies punctuated by buildings so tall and austere, even architectural tour guides experience the occasional pain in the neck. So, which material reigns supreme in the world of development today – concrete or steel? Both provide numerous benefits. As for whether or not one is better, Buildings lets you determine which side you’re on.
SAFETY
Concrete: The recent announcement by Ground Zero Developer Larry Silverstein regarding safety measures at the new 7 World Trade Center (WTC) building echoes what the concrete industry has been saying for years: Concrete is safer. The building’s core (where elevators, stairs, and power systems are located) will be encased in 2-foot-thick concrete for protection in the event of a fire or terrorist attack. “Cast-in-place reinforced concrete offers outstanding resistance to explosion and/or impact. Moreover, it can endure very high temperatures from fire for a long time without loss of structural integrity,” says Alfred G. Gerosa, president, Concrete Alliance Inc., New York City.
Concrete requires no additional fireproofing treatments to meet stringent fire codes, and performs well during both natural and manmade disasters. Because of concrete’s inherent heaviness, mass, and strength, buildings constructed with cast-in-place reinforced concrete can resist winds of more than 200 miles per hour and perform well even under the impact of flying debris.
With proper design, engineering, and construction, the seemingly rigid structures built with concrete can exhibit increased ductility – a must in areas prone to seismic activity. However, according to the Skokie, IL-based Portland Cement Association (PCA), the performance of any building during an earthquake is largely a function of design rather than the material used in construction.
Steel: While recent reports issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology blame the reduced structural integrity of steel for the collapse of the WTC towers, the jet-fueled fires are to blame. Experts acknowledge that steel can soften and melt with exposure to extremely high temperatures. However, with the addition of passive fire protection, such as spray-on fireproofing, buildings built of structural steel can sustain greater temperatures and, therefore, provide additional safety.
Don’t base your opinions about steel’s performance on the events of 9/11. In the October 2003 Modern Steel Construction article “Blast Resistant Design with Structural Steel,” authors Anatol Longinow and Farid Alfawakhiri recall the 1993 WTC attack. The article indicates that the inherent redundancy of the steel frames prevented the structure’s collapse. “We’re seeing a lot of structures constructed taking into account progressive collapse for blast conditions that are designed very effectively and very economically in steel,” explains John P. Cross, vice president, marketing, American Institute of Steel Construction, Chicago.
Steel’s strength and ductility, combined with solid engineering and design, make it a safe choice in seismic zones. “Steel framing does very well under high [wind] loads because it is ductile, which means it has the ability to bend without breaking and can absorb that kind of energy,” says Larry Williams, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Steel Framing Alliance, of cold-formed steel.
COST
Concrete: It’s true: Prices of construction materials have spiked. However, the cost of ready-mix concrete remains relatively stable, and according to Ed Alsamsam, PCA’s manager of buildings and special structures, even the increase in steel has had a minimal effect on reinforced concrete building projects. “Concrete prices remain very steady despite the fluctuating and substantial increases in other building material prices,” he says.
While cast-in-place concrete construction can be pricier on the front end, the return on investment achieved can lessen the cost differential. According to Gerosa, “Insurance companies recognize the benefits of a cast-in-place reinforced concrete office building because the aforementioned benefits – increased safety and structural integrity – reduce liability on their part. Insurance companies also report that owners and developers of a Class-A, cast-in-place reinforced concrete-framed office tower with a concrete core and wider egress stairs will save nearly 25 percent annually on the cost of property insurance.”
Steel: The big news in development is the price of steel. And while structural steel has experienced a 50-percent increase over mill prices since November 2003, experts like Cross stress that structural steel represents less than 20 percent of all the steel used in building construction. “If you look at the overall impact on project costs, in the past year we’ve seen project costs go up by about 10 percent as a result of increases in all types of construction materials. The increase in cost of the structural framing system represents less than 2 percent of the 10-percent increase in project costs,” Cross explains.
And despite what some concrete experts say, if you thought you’d escape the rising steel prices by opting for reinforced concrete, think again, Cross says. “The costs for a concrete framing system have gone up pretty much equivalently to the costs of a steel framing system,” he adds. To get an accurate reading on which material is most cost effective, analyze current steel and concrete framing prices on a project-by-project basis. And remember, according to Williams, “2004 was not a good year for any building material.”