Perfect Combo: A Pre-engineered Steel Building with Steel Wall Panels
A pre-engineered steel building with steel wall panels offers the ultimate combination of strength, resilience and practicality.
How can something that’s just a fraction of an inch thick be so remarkably resilient? As a pre-engineered steel building company, we get asked a lot about the use of steel wall panels in our designs. More often than not, they’re the most practical and cost-effective option for exterior cladding.
Oh, and they look great too.
These days, when you look at the exterior finishes available for steel buildings, you’re spoiled for choice:
- Wood
- Brick
- Stucco
- Glass
- Other textiles
Yet, when simplicity and functionality are called for, metal wall panels are hard to beat. Here’s why:
They’re Tough
On its own, sheet metal is strong and durable. When you engineer it to be corrugated, you increase its structural integrity significantly. By creating folds in a metal panel, you make it more rigid and reduce its susceptibility to denting and bending.
Furthermore, before steel wall panels are approved for use, they must meet a range of performance criteria, including:
- Wind loading
- Moisture infiltration
- Seismic loading
- Thermal movement
- Fire resistance
If you want further proof that wall panels are durable, just look around at some of the metal buildings in your area. Some of them have been around for decades, and they still provide admirable service.
They’re Lightweight
Compared to other building materials, steel wall panels are light. By providing a lower weight per square foot of coverage, it places less stress on the building frame and foundation of a pre-engineered steel building.
Another advantage of being lightweight is that wall panels are manageable to handle, even in longer lengths. This aids in the speed of installation, and helps keep project labour costs to a minimum.
They’re Pretty…wait, what?
Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say. Wall panels have really upped their game in the aesthetics department. Thanks to advances in coating technology, you can make your pre-engineered steel building pretty much any colour you want. With customization options in building design, your design options are limitless.
If you want your steel building to reflect your company brand, no problem. If you want it to blend in with the surroundings, consider it done. Many owners are just as happy to go with the industrial look of bare metal. It all comes down to preference.
For more on this, read: Coatings on Metal Buildings Bring Aesthetics to the Forefront.
As an added bonus, modern metal building coatings reflect heat and light, which keeps your work environment more comfortable, while reducing heating and ventilation costs.
They’re Easy to Maintain
For commercial and industrial projects, the last thing you want to do is waste time and manpower maintaining your building. Metal panels are designed to last with minimal upkeep.
For pre-engineered steel building designs that align perfectly with your operational goals, talk to the experts at Metal Structure Concepts. From design to erection, we can handle all of your project management needs.