Finding The Best Steel Building Design for Your Needs

Renegade Steel Buildings

Finding The Best Steel Building Design for Your Needs

Purchasing a steel building is a major investment for any company, so choosing the correct steel building design to meet your business’ needs is very important. Compared to other types of building structures, steel structures are far more versatile and economical. This versatility has moved steel buildings into many other aspects other than just commercial and industrial applications. Because of so many different styles and building types, making the right decision can be a difficult task. Choosing the proper steel building for your needs can seem overwhelming. We are here to help!

To better help with your purchasing decisions, you should first familiarize yourself with the different types of steel buildings offered. The categories are split into exterior and interior.

There are three exterior types of steel building: Pole Barn, Quonset Hut, and Rigid Frame.

pole barn building illustration
Pole barns (not sold by Renegade) are building structures generally built with wooden poles buried into the ground and used as columns to support the roof. Wooden poles are usually cheaper, but require more investment in repairs, maintenance and future expansion. Using steel poles in the pole barn structure offers great advantage over this recurring investment. Steel pole barn structures have a concrete foundation with steel poles anchored to it. These types of structures are durable and resistant against weather and mold. They are ideal for storage purposes. However, compared with the other types of structures, pole barns are more susceptible to strong winds.
quonset hut building illustration
Quonset Huts (not sold by Renegade) are curved or arched shaped, self-supporting structures, meaning there are no beams or interior supports. They are designed with a semi-circular roof and either semi-circular or straight walls. Side door installation requires a higher expertise due to the difficulty of the building’s curvature.
red iron steel building illustration
Rigid Frame structures contain straight walls with clear interior space. This type of steel building structure offers more opportunity for architectural necessity and a higher protection. Roofing choices are gable, single slope, and lean-to style.

There are individual factors needed in your decision of the style of steel building you purchase. Fundamentally you need to initially ask yourself how the building will be used once assembled. What will the building do for you? Determine how the building will be beneficial, not only presently, but many years down the road. In deciding this you will be looking at the size necessary for your application. Common practice is to always add 20% more space than what you currently need for future growth, and the unexpected. Making the mistake of buying a building too small will cost you a significant amount more in expanding in the short term future.

Entrances need to be determined and addressed as well. Will you be requiring regular walk in doors, overhead doors, or both? If overhead doors are needed, then the amount of overhead doors needs to be determined as well. What will the doors be used for? Is heavy machinery using the doors? Determining the size of door is necessary as well. This is a major factor in deciding the size of the building by ensuring there is ample space for all needed entrances. Finally, decide whether these entryways will be in the end or sidewalls.

Now you need to consider the height of your structure. The best gauge to figuring this out is finding out how much room is required in the interior height of the building.
Think of eventual expansion also.  When and what type of expansion can quickly narrow your decision in the design of your steel building. For examples, once the width of an I-Beam steel structure is determined, it cannot be changed, while the length can usually still be expanded by removing the end walls.

The advantages of steel buildings make them a clear choice for almost every application. The ability to seamlessly customize for a specific and the reduced construction time is ideal for commercial and industrial builds. And the idea of being able to greatly reduce your company’s footprint in the environment through recycled metal and the ability to expand without demo or new construction is an added bonus. Contact us today and start your business off right!