There’s a wide range of available building materials, such as wood, concrete, and masonry, that you can use for your commercial building project. Wood was once the most popular building material, but this is no longer the case in modern construction. Steel replaced wood as the material of choice for construction projects.
Steel isn’t a stand-alone material; it’s an alloy made of several components. Some of the available steel options include carbon steel, structural steel, alloy steel, and stainless steel. Structural steel, an alloy of iron and other metals, is what’s commonly utilized in the construction industry. It has several advantages and characteristics over other construction materials, as showcased in this article.
Cost-Effectiveness
Companies that fabricate steel for buildings often have a steel building warranty which makes using steel for your commercial construction project cost-effective in the long run. This also ensures that if any issue arises as a result of poor material quality, then the manufacturer will sort the problem out with no complications, instead of you having to incur the costs on your own.
Steel costs slightly less compared to other materials. This is because steel companies don’t always have to get “raw” steel to make components. Instead, they can collect old steel components, melt them and mold them into new components.
Thanks to its structural strength, a steel member is actually lighter than a wood beam of similar length while still being able to support heavier loads. Therefore, you won’t require much workforce on-site to assemble the steel components, reducing labor costs.
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With the use of steel allowing your personnel to work faster on your commercial building, it’s possible to complete projects in a shorter amount of time. Small or medium-sized projects can be completed in only a week or two, whereas working with traditional construction materials would’ve taken more than a month to finish a project of a similar scale.
The durability of structural steel gives it a long lifespan and makes it more resistant to damage caused by regular wear and tear. This reduces the building’s long-term maintenance costs as well as the insurance cost you’re going to pay to cover for the likelihood of structural failure.
Last but not least, a commercial building made of structural steel doesn’t need a deep or large foundation compared to other building materials. This reduces the amount of money you’ll have to spend on constructing the foundation.
Increased Construction Speed
The key structural components of a steel construction project are usually pre-fabricated off-site. These components are then brought to the site where they’re assembled. This takes significantly less time compared to building with wood, which requires on-site construction, or with concrete, which requires curing or setting. Finishing of your commercial building project lets you get down to your business operations as soon as possible.
Structural steel being easy to mold and pre-fabricated off-site, also enhances the quality of the final product. Pre-fabricated components are less likely to have problems like improper sizing or rough finishes. This reduces the need to cut or polish key structural components on-site that provides more opportunities to make erroneous measurements.
Durability
Due to its flexibility, buildings made with structural steel can withstand harsher weather conditions than those made of wood. Steel can bear heavier lateral loads brought about by strong winds and is stable enough to prevent tipping over during an earthquake or hurricane.
Steel can retain its structural strength relatively well, even when subjected to high temperatures. It also doesn’t burn unlike wood or bamboo, which helps make a building more fire-resistant.
Another factor that makes steel durable is its immunity to termites and mold attacks. Termites and mold are known to weaken the structural integrity of wood. With steel, there’s no need to worry about those two factors compromising the structural integrity of your building.
Ease Of Customization
Designers and architects prefer building using steel since it’s pretty malleable. Steel can be molded into different sizes and shapes, allowing the construction of more complex designs.
If your commercial building is to house offices or shops, steel allows easy partitioning of the spaces to desired sizes.
Steel can accommodate modifications in the middle of a project without compromising on quality or increasing project costs.
Structural steel allows architects to design commercial buildings with large open spaces without the need for columns or supporting walls that are needed with other construction materials.
Reusability
As earlier stated, structural steel is made from metal components that are highly recyclable. Recycling eliminates the need to mine and process raw materials, which leads to carbon emissions, polluting the environment. The recycling of steel components reduces the amount of waste that end up in landfills.
Conclusion
Structural steel has excellent characteristics, making it an ideal choice for your commercial building project. Using steel will increase the life span of your building, making it structurally sound for many years while still maintaining significantly reduced maintenance costs. It’s time you asked your architect to design your desired commercial building using structural steel.
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