What's A Lifetime Shed?

18 November

What’s a lifetime shed? Imagine storage buildings that outclass old-school wooden sheds in near every respect. Think size, durability, individuality. What you’re thinking about is a lifetime shed.

It’s a sturdy steel construction that will provide more value than any average structure. All things being equal, you’ll have a low-maintenance, energy efficient, customizable building that has the potential to last you a lifetime.

This isn’t to say other building materials don’t have fine qualities, mind you. Wood, for instance, is lightweight and inexpensive. There’s just something about steel buildings, though, that makes them a particularly attractive when compared with other options.

Let’s take a look at how steel and wood stack up in the ways that matter most.

It always comes back to the bottom line. There’s a widespread belief that wood will cost less than steel as a building material. Is this true?

There is evidence to support the notion that steel buildings are a greater initial investment. A HUD study, Steel vs. Wood, compared the costs of the two materials.

They found that steel in the study cost more to purchase and erect. They noted, though, that there were less expensive options on the market that the crew building the steel test home overlooked. In addition, the increased cost associated with putting the building in place was a result of the team’s inexperience.

A prefabricated steel shed negates these downsides. The steel is reasonably priced. The cost of design is lowered since we can do designs in-house. Labor costs for erecting prefabs are lower since we build our structures to go up easy. Furthermore, if you have us handle the install, it will go even smoother, as we’ve got the benefit of experience.

That talk of wood being substantially cheaper up front might not be all it’s cooked up to be. Investigating further, there are several other factors that make steel a more affordable choice in the long term.

On the whole, steel is a more durable building material. It will not rot, warp, split, crack, or creep. It will not expand or contract due to moisture. It is not susceptible to termite infestation. It is resistant to fire.

When it comes to natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes, steel has a greater likelihood of coming out in one piece.

These factors mean that steel will last longer. Steel framing can stay standing more than 100 years. Quite literally a lifetime. It will also require less maintenance over time. Less maintenance and no replacement costs means more money in your pocket.

Steel has a greater strength-to-weight ratio than wood. This allows for greater flexibility in designs and constructions. You can build larger expanses. You can have wider frames. You can do more with your layout because steel allows for a greater range of options.

Take a look at some of these steel building types. Do you think the large open spaces would be possible with a wooden construction? More often than not, the answer is ‘no.’

An Evaluation Of Metal Building Systems lays out in simple terms how steel construction benefits the design and building process. It details how designers have greater freedom in planning a steel construct. It also highlights how quickly manufacturers can create steel structures, compared to alternatives:

“Completion of metal building structure is possible in roughly two-thirds the time of a conventional building.”

It goes on to explain that the factory fabrication adds consistency and to the process. This means that when designing a steel building, you can know with a good deal of accuracy how your finished product will behave.

Wood, on the other hand, is more unpredictable. Even under tightly controlled conditions, there will be more variation between two pieces of wood than two pieces of steel.

This may result in unexpected quirks with wooden constructions that would not be present in steel manufactured ones. This is further evidenced by the precise look of many steel constructs. If you’re planning on putting up a storage space for your things, wouldn’t you want it to be as exact as possible?

There’s a greater focus on sustainable building efforts in our society than ever before. The widely held belief is that wood has a reduced environmental footprint, and is thus a more sustainable product. This is borne from the notion that it is more “natural” than steel, and it also untrue.

In most cases, wood is a single use material. This means that once it reaches the end of its lifespan, it’s scrapped. If it heads to a landfill, it sits there, taking up space until it decays. If it goes to the incinerator, it’s generating CO2 that goes back into the atmosphere.

When used in buildings, it results in more job-site scrap and waste than other materials. In cases where it can be “reclaimed,” it loses some of its utility. Only under certain circumstances can reclaimed wood become a suitable building material again.

Contrast steel. It is the most recyclable building material on the planet. Structural steel has a recycling rate greater than 98-percent. Years into the future, the same steel that is in use now will continue to be in use. That includes the steel used for your storage shed. It’s the very definition of sustainable.

Moreover, when it is recycled, steel loses none of its sturdy building properties. It is just as strong as before and still complies with all the standards and codes regulating its use.

Conclusion

It should be easy to see why a steel structure would make the best choice for your lifetime shed. It provides durability, longevity, flexibility, and sustainability into a construction method that is streamlined and affordable.

You can customize it to your exact specifications. You can craft the interior to match whatever use you have in store for it. You can expand upon it as your need for space grows. In short, you can do just about whatever you need with a steel construct, and have it stand the test of time.

Fidelity Steel can help. Make sure to check out our resources for more information on your building types, and reach out if you have any questions.