Prefabricated Steel Buildings Provide an Economical Construction Alternative
The term "steel building" is often associated with simple storage sheds and basic structures. With advancements in the industry over the past forty years, however, steel buildings have broken that stereotype and are being used for an ever-growing list of larger and more complex applications. Steel has found its way into advanced farm buildings, riding arenas, aircraft hangers, commercial centers and more.
Prefabricated Steel Building Background
The
20th century marked the beginning of the steel building industry.
With the widespread use of automobiles in the early 1900s, one of
the first uses of steel building was the garage. As consumers saw
the low cost and value of steel, storage facilities, garages and
storage sheds made of galvanized steel quickly spread around the
country. In the first decade of the 1900s innovative builders also
created farm storage buildings and grain bins out of steel instead
of wood. By the end of the Depression, these storage bins had proven
their durability when compared to wood structures. This was validated
in 1938, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered 30,666
steel grain bins to store surplus crops. This order amounted to
1 ½ times the number of steel grain bins created by the entire
industry only one year before.
In 1940 Butler Manufacturing Company introduced the first line of prefabricated steel buildings using rigid frame design. (A rigid frame is a skeleton for the building's framework, made of steel girders.) This allowed businesses to purchase larger and more capable steel buildings at a lower cost and with a shorter construction schedule. By this time, the aeronautical world had embraced steel as well; steel aircraft hangers were being widely used in the civilian and military sectors.
Following World War II, engineers continued to improve prefabricated steel buildings, increasing the size and sophistication of these building "kits." The Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA) was founded in 1956 to drive innovation, standardization, and greater acceptance of prefabricated steel buildings. Their efforts have worked; the MBMA estimates that steel building systems were used for about $1 million of new construction in 1960. In 2000, steel building systems accounted for almost 1.16 billion square feet and $2.5 billion of new low-rise commercial construction.
Next: Steel Building Advantages
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