Pros and Cons of a Steel Garage

Anyone looking to add some extra square footage to their life for whatever reason should consider a steel garage. Many people only think of steel garages when it comes to industrial use, but for the same reasons that steel buildings can be great for industrial use it can also be excellent for home use or small applications.

There is a differentiation that must be made here. Steel buildings are not the same thing as steel frame construction. Steel frame construction uses steel beams instead of wood framing. The outbuilding is similar to other common structures. This can be a great option for people looking to build a home in a hurricane prone area or a location susceptible to other environmental factors. Steel garages or steel buildings are completely constructed out of steel. They garner their strength from the steel framing as well as the structure themselves. They have many uses and many different applications. Here I will discuss some of the pros and cons of steel garages.

Pros

Price

As a whole, steel buildings are cheaper to build that many other types of construction. Kits are common and there is assembly may require specialized tools but is really a very straight forward process and once it it up there isn’t much to do. So it the end you spend less on steel garage than other common building methods.

Durability

No surprises here, steel is strong. Steel garages have a very long life expectancy. They do not require much internal support and the maintenance of a steel structure is pretty much none existent when compared with a wood structure.

Multipurpose

A steel garage can be used for many different applications. When you construct a steel building you are constructing the exoskeleton of a building. It is easy to customize and refinish the inside of a steel building and to modify the use. They can be great for simply storing vehicles or other large equipment or you can modify a building and make an entire ventilated wood shop. The sky is the limit.

Alternatives

You can make a steel building appear to match an existing house or stand alone and look like a barn. Many homes now use aluminum siding that looks similar to steel. You can add virtually any color or texture to a steel garage to achieve whatever result in appearance you like.

Fire Resistance

Many house fires start in garages because or the vast range of hazardous things that take place in garages. Whether it be vehicle maintenance or construction. A garage can be a fire prone area and steel buildings are fire resistant. This is not to say that all of the goods in a garage may resist fire, but you will be better off with a steel building burning than you would to a wooden structure. This may be reflected in your insurance premiums.

Metal buildings are green

Green is all the rage right now and can equal a good feeling and cost savings if you play your cards right. There are a couple of aspects of metal buildings that make them green. One you can buy recycled material or you can recycle a structure if you ever decide to take it down. They are also easy to insulate and can easily be made highly energy efficient. These factors could allow you to apply for tax credits or just lead to big savings on energy bills.

Damage resistant

Closely related to durability but I thought a couple more points could be made about this aspect of steel garages. Wood buildings usually end up succumbing to rot sooner or later. This leads to costly renovation or total reconstruction, which is often cheaper. Steel buildings are not the least bit susceptible to insects, fungus, or rot. You may have to worry about rust, but even this is easy to fix and easy to prevent. Metal is also not nearly as susceptible to season variations in temperature that can lead to damage from expansion and contraction. In areas highly susceptible to these different factors this can make a huge difference.

Cons

Special Expertise

Building a steel garage may require some specific technical expertise that is above the realm of many do it yourselfers. But that should not dissuade you from construction a steel building. That said, constructing and entire wood building is beyond the expertise of many competent folks as well, so this shouldn’t be too much of a sticking point.

Restrictions

There may be deed restrictions that prevent you from building a steel building if you live in a neighborhood. If this is the case you can make an appeal to the home owners association. If they say no, there is not much you can do except for opting to use steel frame construction for any further building

To Sum It All Up

There are many uses for steel buildings and if you are looking for additional space a steel garage is something that could be perfect for you. Take these considerations into account when shopping for a steel garage.