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Posts Tagged ‘steel building styles’

Steel Building Styles II – Straight Wall

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

Quonset huts are multi-purpose steel buildings that are typically used for shelter and storage. However, they have limited customizable options.

First of all, the doors and/or windows can only be placed at the end walls. There is also limited overhead clearance for certain uses. Straight wall steel buildings or rigid frames, offer more flexible solutions than Quonset huts.

Straight wall designs are more visually appealing than the traditional look offered by Quonset huts. When compared to other traditional methods of construction, straight wall steel buildings are cheaper and more durable.

There are five types of straight wall designs for steel buildings – straight column, clear span gable, clear span single slope, beam and column, and lean-to.

The straight wall column design provides a lot of open space that can go up to 70 feet in width. It is best suited for applications such as RV storage steel buildings, small retail stores, and other commercial functions.

Clear span designs are either gable-shaped or single-sloped and can be as wide as 150 feet. They also provide large open spaces that require no interior support. Typically, they are used as aircraft hangars, storage buildings for big vehicles, and athletic facilities.

For a steel building that needs to be wider than 150 feet, the beam and column design is a perfect choice. This model makes use of interior columns for even weight load distribution, reducing frame and foundation costs. The beam and column design is the best steel building option for a factory or a large warehouse.

A steel building with a lean-to or “Wing” style is designed to extend a pre-existing building without modifying it. It can even be finished using the same material as the original building, making this design suitable for all sorts of purposes.

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Posted in Steel Buildings, Steel Storage Buildings | 18 Comments »

Steel Building Styles I: Quonset Hut

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Those who prefer economical, durable, and cost-efficient construction, choose prefabricated steel buildings for their construction needs. Pre-engineered steel building kits come in various sizes and styles to accommodate every need and budget.

Basically, there are two major styles of pre-engineered steel buildings: the Quonset hut and the straight wall.

A Quonset hut is an all-purpose portable prefabricated steel building that is durable and easy to construct. These inherent characteristics of Quonset huts made them widely used by the military during World War II.

There are different styles of Quonset huts, which are described below:

“A” Style

The “A” style has a more conventional appearance, with straight sides and peaked roof. The center heights can vary depending on the needs. The length of this type of steel building is unlimited.

It is typically used as backyard garages, woodworking shops, mechanic shops, all-purpose shelters, and storage for recreational vehicles, boats, and campers.

“Q” Style

The “Q” style has the profile of a traditional Quonset hut – single radius with clear-span arch. The maximum height permitted is limited to half the span of the steel buildings.

“Q” styles are typically used for riding arenas, indoor swimming pools, swimming pool halls, sports arenas, barns, livestock storage, crop storage, equipment maintenance shops, and airplane hangars.

“R” Style

The only difference of an “R” style Quonset hut from the “Q” style, is the conventional wall design, which is straight, for sidewall support. It is a single radius metal structure with clear-span and low profile arch.

Typically, these steel buildings are used as swimming pool covers, walkway covers, hockey rinks, recycling plants, and as replacement roofs.

(to be continued)

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Posted in Pre-Engineered Steel Buildings, Steel Buildings | 5 Comments »

Steel Building Design Choices

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Steel buildings provide a great deal of flexibility with respect to the way the building is constructed. Steel building design can therefore be a challenging task, owing to the vast number of choices available to you as a customer. However, you can ease the process of selection by following a few standard models. This doesn’t mean that steel buildings design needs to adhere to these standards – rather it only means that you have the choice to adopt from the design features of these buildings to choose your own architectural style.

  • Single slope steel building design: This is probably the design style that you will see the most around. This is because it is simple and has stood the test of time. It consists of a simple single sloping roof in a single plane. Due to its simplicity and efficiency, it is a popular choice for a variety of buildings like garages and sheds. However, this can get plain and simple at times and therefore not used in more competitive building structures like offices or homes.
  • Unsymmetrical steel building design: This is another popular design element that can be tweaked and modified to get a fabulous look for the building. The asymmetry can be a source of great creativity and therefore give you a wide choice of architecture. Because of its aesthetic appeal, it is used by many businesses that need to look good and different to attract customers, like shops and restaurants.
  • Symmetric gable steel building design: This type of a design is symmetric in nature, thereby giving your steel building a more professional look. This is widely used for building such structures as small offices and business buildings because of their look. In addition, the symmetric building design can help you with a lot of customization options as well.

With steel building design choices, you can combine a plethora of architectural elements to get the right mix for your building. A little research on your part will greatly help you decide the look you want for your building.

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Posted in Steel Buildings | 18 Comments »