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If you are thinking about using steel for your next building project, there are three basic steel frame types you should consider. You can choose from clear span frames, modular frames, or single slope frame structures. This article is aimed to help you make the right choice of frame to meet your requirements.
Most steel building manufacturers or suppliers utilize a precision design and pricing system, whether you are purchasing a structure by phone or on the Internet. The most popular choice in today’s steel building market is the sturdy-framed clear span steel building and it is easily priced. Likewise, the modular and single slope design buildings are also simple to cost out.
We will start by looking at the clear span frame design, which has been a proven and reliable structure for many years. The consumer enjoys the economy of construction, strength, durability, and versatility of steel by choosing this structure, in which no interior load bearing columns are required. This frame style is ideally suited for uses where vast unobstructed interior space is required. These buildings are popular choices as industrial facilities, retail establishments, gymnasiums, and warehousing. The use of moveable interior partitions makes the structure easily sectioned into units or rooms as and when they are needed. These partitions are not load bearing, so you can move them wherever and whenever you wish. Clear span construction, however, does have some limitations. When an extremely wide building is required the steel frames must be designed to be heavier to support the increase in loads. The increased width of the building will raise your cost per square foot. Clear span framed buildings, however, can be as wide as 300 feet and are most cost effective when the width is around 150 feet.
The modular frame style is the next steel frame to be considered. Modular frames employ interior load bearing columns, unlike clear span construction. The use of these columns will more evenly distribute the building’s loads and reduce the cost of both the frame and foundation where great widths are required. The building purchaser will start to see per square foot cost savings as the building approaches 80 feet in width, and it continues to offer greater savings with increased width. Most buildings beyond 150 feet in width need to utilize a modular frame style to maintain cost efficiency. Many factories, for instance, utilize modular design in addition to any steel building that needs moderate or substantial space under roof.
The final frame type to be considered is the single slope frame. These structures feature different eave heights on each sidewall, which allows the building’s roof to slope up from front to back. The eave height of the lower side needs to be pre-determined and will calculate the right pitch to achieve the desired slope results. Roof pitch is simply the number of inches a roof rises vertically for each horizontal foot run. A popular choice for single slopes is ½:12 pitch, although higher pitches are possible. Single slope design is popular for mini-storages, offices, and strip malls.