How to Design a Metal Building: The Complete Guide

The world has changed seemingly overnight. Suddenly, many consumers and business owners have found a need for more space.

A metal building is a cost-effective solution for meeting the need for more residential or commercial space. However, there are quite a few things that you must consider for the project.

Analysts forecast that businesses will need an additional one billion square feet of warehouse space by 2025, according to a report published by CNBC. Companies will need this space to manage a sudden horde of retail goods.

Likewise, consumers are finding the need for additional space as they change jobs or work locations—or even where they live.

As a result, both businesses and consumers are finding creative ways to access the space that they need, such as metal construction buildings.

For a complete guide on how to build a metal building, continue reading.

Start With the Big Picture: Sizing up Your Metal Building

If you’ve heard about steel buildings, you’ve most likely heard about their benefits, such as decreased construction costs and durability. These benefits and others are the reason why more homeowners and businesses choose steel construction. However, it’s important to think about a few essential points for your metal building design.

As you start to dive into designing your metal building, you’ll slowly realize that you have a lot of work to do. However, don’t get overwhelmed. Break up the project into small pieces, starting with determining how much space you’ll need and where you’ll source building materials.

It’s important to consider metal build sizes at the onset of your planning. Clients who overlook this aspect frequently lament that they wish they did a better job of thinking out their space requirements.

If you’re a business owner, measure all your equipment and add that measurement to all your required rooms, such as office and dining areas. Also, make sure that you leave room for expanding needs.

If you’re building a steel building for personal use, you’ll need to consider the application. Again, it’s helpful to include extra space. Over time, you’ll likely find that you’ll need more space than you originally required.

Cost savings are a considerably attractive factor for choosing steel buildings. However, it would help if you thought beyond costs. It’s also important to think about quality.

Whether you’re erecting a steel building for personal or business use, you’ll need a structure that will last. Don’t sacrifice quality for savings.

Any money that you save upfront will most likely end up costing you more over time. By sourcing quality materials, you’ll find that the building needs less maintenance as time passes.

Getting Into the Details

Next, think about the building features. For example, consider the windows, skylights, and light fixtures.

These features must support the purpose of your structure. For example, a natural feature such as a skylight is a great way to decrease energy costs.

Once you’ve completed this task, move on to thinking about the building entrances and exits. Make sure that you locate them in suitable, convenient locations.

You also want to think about the type of doors that you’ll request for the structure. In addition to pedestrian entrances and exits, you may also need an overhead door for vehicles or loading and unloading.

Now, you can start to think about your flooring options. Depending on your needs, you may require durable, functional flooring. You may also want the flooring to have an attractive appearance.

Finished concrete is a durable all-purpose surface. You can choose from a wide range of finishes. For example, you can have it stained, dyed, etched, or glazed.

Alternatively, you may want to consider poured resin flooring. This flooring requires minimal maintenance and creates a seamless appearance.

Adding Final Touches

Now that you’ve considered the building features, you can start thinking about its appearance. For example, consider the colors that you want for the building.

If you own a business, you may want to choose colors that align with your company logo and brand. If you use the property for retail, you may want to select a color scheme that will make the building stand out.

Alternatively, you may need to structure to expand an existing enterprise. In this case, you most likely want to match the building to the current structure.

Likewise, you may want to match the building to your existing structure if you’re erecting the building to add storage space for your home. Either way, it’s helpful to stick with a basic color scheme. You don’t want to pick a trendy color scheme that will go out of style quickly.

Finally, you’ll want to consider the roof. The roof design is a great way to add personality to a structure.

You may want to consider a gable roof. A gable roof features two sloping sides that join at the top. Meanwhile, a hip roof has slopes on all four sides.

Alternatively, you may like the idea of a single slope. A single slope roof only slopes in one direction.

This roofing choice is an inexpensive, simple steel building design. It’s also ideal for an addition. If none of these designs suits your preferences or needs, you may want to consider a roof with a custom slope.

Points to Consider Before Meeting With Your Engineer

Finally, you should consider any special needs before you meet with your engineer. For example, if you’re erecting your structure for office space, you may want to think about the need for noise dampening to prevent distractions.

Alternatively, you may need noise dampening to prevent work activities in the structure from disturbing neighbors. Depending on the purpose of the building, you may have a range of additional considerations.

Considering these points can prove quite challenging. However, it’s important to think about them before speaking with your engineer. When raising a steel construction building, you want to communicate your needs as clearly as possible.

You Can Design Your Own Metal Building!

Planning a metal building is a big project. However, you can make the project more palatable by breaking it down into small steps. After segmenting the project into manageable pieces, it may surprise you how much you can accomplish.

It’s important to take your time as you think through each element of your building. In many cases, you will find that your business or personal needs will inform your decisions.

Completing these exercises will prepare you to express your needs to your engineer. In turn, the engineer can construct a metal structure that will serve your purposes well for years to come.