The Advantages of Steel Buildings
A friend of mine is in the military and is serving in Iraq. He will be there for over a year. He sends me frequent e mail updates and digital photos, which helps me understand a little about what his daily life is like. When he left, I pictured him living in a tent in the wind and sand. To my surprise, they are living in these prefab steel buildings.
I was quite relieved to know he would be more protected in steel buildings than in a tent city, but I still did a little digging to find out more about these structures. After all, my most vivid experience with steel buildings like that was from the drivers education class I took in high school. We had prefab structures for extra classrooms, while our high school was being remodeled. It felt a bit like being in a big huge RV.
A quick search for steel buildings yielded a handful of companies that provide them for numerous purposes. The government uses a lot of these type of structures. You will see that many companies advertise their Government Services Administration approval. Commercial boat yards, farmers and auto mechanics use steel buildings for storage, service areas and retail. The structures can be ordered and procured very quickly. Steel buildings require less structural beams and trusses, so they offer more usable space than traditional structures. They require little maintenance, as they have no siding or gutters.
Steel buildings are appealing to the residential customer, as well. Steel buildings are offered in various basic models. With just a few people, these steel buildings can be erected easily. The majority of the construction can be done on the ground without special tools. People often purchase these buildings for garages. I remember my grandparents building a new steel garage on their farm when I was growing up. A construction crew built it from soup to nuts. Had these prefab steel buildings been available back then, I am sure they would have chosen that as an easier and do it yourself route. They would have probably chosen one of the companies that advertises that their buildings are 100 percent American made from US steel.
It was interesting to read about the GSA approvals, ease of construction, cost effectiveness and low maintenance of steel buildings. Thinking of my deployed friend, I, however, am comforted by the fact that they are STEEL.