Newstricky| And it’s no surprise why – most steel structures are strong, sustainable, and can be built fast at an affordable price. But steel for construction also comes with its fair share of challenges.
Are you thinking about building with fabricated steel? This blog is going to weigh the pros and cons of steel fabricated buildings to help you make the right decision. And these pros and cons are as follow
Table of Contents
Pros of Steel Fabricated Buildings
Fabricated steel comes with a lot of advantages in construction. Here are steel building benefits you don’t want to forego:
Strength and Durability
Structural steel is stronger and lighter than structural concrete and wood. This makes steel fabricated buildings stronger and more durable than wooden structures. They can withstand harsh weather conditions, such as strong winds, earthquakes, and hurricanes.
This feature is also crucial in the construction of custom buildings. Unlike wooden structures, they are not affected by termites, molds, bugs, and fungi.
Easy Installation
Unlike wooden structures, steel structures are pre-manufactured to a specific design. This speeds up the construction time significantly. Consequently, it takes a shorter period than usual to complete large-scale projects.
Due to this, it is easy to assemble and install them on-site while making portable buildings. There’s no need for cutting and measuring parts on site. If you need any construction help visit Canamsteelbuildings.com for assistance.
Versatile
Steel is extremely versatile – it can be tailored to suit different structures. This gives architects more options to construct various structural designs that may not be possible with other materials.
Moreover, steel befits any type of construction application – from floor joints to framing. This means using steel provides more room and floor-plan flexibility. Hence, allows more freedom for later changes and renovations.
Fire Resistance
Compared to wooden structures steel structures are very fire-resistant. Fire spread is limited if there is more steel structure in a building. Special flame-retardant coatings on the steel can boost the fire-resistance rating.
Environmentally Friendly
Steel frame buildings minimize the impact of sand, stone, ash and other materials on the surrounding air quality during the installation process, and there is less environmental pollution during the construction process. During the dismantling, no blasting is required, spread of dust and reducing the generation and will not become the air pollution.
Temporary structures
Steel structures can be easily constructed by various methods, such as welding, bolting or riveting, and can also be disassembled without any problems. This reduces the time needed to make a temporary structure, which is why professional steel fabricators use steel for temporary structures. This is also favorable when you want a strong structure in a short space of time.
Construction materials can be reused
These steel scraps can be recycled and regenerated. It can improve repeatability and recyclability. It does not generate a large amount of waste and is consistent with the sustainable development strategy.
Cons of Fabricated Steel Buildings
Fabricated steel comes with its fair share of challenges. Some of the cons include:
High Maintenance & Capital Cost
Upon exposure to harsh weather conditions, steel structures may get corroded. Preventing this is quite expensive since it requires frequent application of paints. Hence, this may be a concern to the common use since the maintenance cost of steel may go up.
Moreover, when you compare the initial cost of steel structures to wooden or concrete structures, it is quite high. Additionally, steel structures require more skilled labor.
Fatigue and Fracture
Steel structures are quite inclined to fatigue. Due to large variations in tensile strength, this exposes steel structures to excessive tension, which leads to their overall strength decreasing.
Once steel loses its ductility, it becomes responsive to brittle fractures. This increases its chances of buckling. It’s solved by adding expensive steel columns which stiffen the primary structure.
Fire protection treatment
Although steel elements are non-combustible up to a certain temperature, their strength is greatly reduced if they are exposed to higher temperatures due to fire or if other materials in the building burn, making them susceptible to buckling.
In addition, steel is a good conductor of heat, ignites materials in contact and often causes fires that quickly spread to other parts of the building. Because this steel structure required fire protection treatment.
Steel structures are also provided with fire-resistant coatings, i.e. expanded mineral coatings. Sometimes steel structures are enclosed by masonry blocks, gypsum blocks, plasterboards and clay boards to protect them from heat. However, the construction of these enclosures is very expensive and requires constant additional maintenance.
Why You Should Consider Steel Fabricated Buildings
Despite its cons, steel fabricated buildings are popular for their sturdiness and versatility. The steel portable building benefits certainly outweigh the cons. This is why you should consider them for your construction project.
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