Steel Buildings for Commercial and Residential Purposes
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by: fredthompson
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Word Count: 438
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. I assumed he would be living in a tent city like in MASH. Quite the contrary. His unit is living in prefabricated 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. I was distracted by the idea of those trucks on the highway carrying part of a house with a sign slapped to the back announcing "wide load." I knew my friend would be living in something more substantial than that, but I needed to see for myself.
I hopped on the internet and easily found a few companies that offer steel buildings for both commercial and residential purposes. The Government Services Administration has approved a lot of steel buildings for government use, including use by all branches of the military. 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. With no gutters to clean or siding to maintain, the steel buildings require almost no upkeep.
Home owners can see the advantages of steel buildings over traditional structures too. There are usually 5 to 10 basic styles from which to choose. These steel buildings can be put together in a couple days with the help of a handful of people. The majority of the construction can be done on the ground without special tools. Decades and decades ago, my grandparents built a metal garage with the help of contractors. It felt like quite a process. Knowing my do it yourself grandparents, they would have preferred the ease of one of these new prefab steel buildings, had such things been available back then. Given that they were farmers, they would have been happy to support one of the many companies that offers buildings made from US steel and made in the US.
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.
About the Author
Learn more about metal building, visit PowerBiltBuildings.com.
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