Oct 11 2010
Steel buildings are becoming more common in residential buildings as their versatility expands with greater consumer demand.
They are sought after for their affordability, strength, durability and versatility in the building process. Once used primarily for warehouses, garages, sheds and additional storage facilities, today even residential homes are being built with steel buildings. SteelBuildings.org offers further insight into the latest trend.
Once used for large industrial purposes, many smaller scale structures are using metal construction, such as churches, schools, retail stores and private residential homes. In the past, the affordability and durability of such buildings were over shined by the lack of curb appeal. Now the exterior of steel buildings can be finished in brick, siding, stucco and additional options. They are easy to maintain, well insulated and can be constructed much faster than using more traditional materials. They also cost much less than stick built homes of the same size and quality.
The versatility of the way these metal structures are framed is another attractive quality. They can be fully framed to look just like a conventional home or they can have a completely open floor plan with minimal interior walls. The pole construction methods used during the construction process make the walls non-load bearing, so the poles support the weight of the walls. By having non-load bearing walls, a home can have dramatic, wide-open spaces for a living room or kitchen and yet have smaller rooms for bedrooms and bathrooms. This option has lower framing costs as well.
For additional savings and even faster construction for residential steel buildings, many people are choosing prefabricated building kits. These are easy to assemble and are more cost effective. These homes are partially assembled when they arrive at the lot. Because much of the assembly is done at the manufacturing site, the construction is done more quickly and is less expensive. Especially in the current struggling economy, steel buildings allow people, who may have never thought homeownership was possible, to build the home of their dreams.