Most Trusted Storage Solution Provider

 

We’ve provided builds for thousands (and counting) of

satisfied homeowners and businesses.

1-877-275-7048

Can You Live In A Metal Building?

Can you live in a metal building?

Everyone wishes to live in a comfortable and cozy home. Do you know that metal building can also be comfortable for living besides regular materials? Steel and Stud offer high-quality metal buildings for storage and residential purposes nationwide. Buy the customized metal builders at affordable prices.

living in metal building

Table of Contents

Metal Building Homes For Comfortable Livings

Metal buildings means structures with metal (steel, aluminum, iron) used for internal support or frame. A metal-framed design can use other materials such as wood, glass bricks, and concrete for its exterior walls.

The metal building has been famous since the early 20th century. Many home builders are working on projects like metal buildings with living quarters. The primary reason to choose steel buildings over wooden building is that it is affordable. Moreover, the customization of a metal home is also accessible in comparison. It also requires less maintenance while supplying energy efficiency, weather resistance, and security.

Nowadays, people create separate areas for recreation, gyming, artwork, and more. These living quarters in metal buildings are as fancy as traditional houses and service those purposes. Steel and studs offer customised metal living quarters designed- changing the misconception that the metal buildings are only for storage. There are many other benefits to choosing living quarters in metal structures as it is safer, more durable, customizable, and a good investment in a future house.

metal building home for living comfortably

Is it legal to live in a metal building?

Yes, living in a steel or metal home in a country like the US is legal. But every state zone has some laws and regulations regarding the erection of steel buildings. Homeowners and builders can create livable residential homes after getting the necessary permit from the zonal department.

You will also need a permit to construct metal buildings, alterations or repairs to existing buildings, rehabilitation of historic properties, or new electrical, mechanical, and plumbing systems. To obtain your steel building permit, 

  1. Create a project plan that explains the scope of the project and the professional assistance it requires. 
  2. Your property deed with the legal description of the property
  3. The size and intended use for the structure
  4. Structural plans certified and stamped by an engineer licensed in your state
  5. Location of the steel structure on your property

Your permit will be issued if everything complies with local codes and requirements.

Achieving the Traditional House Look with Metal Buildings

Some people might hesitate to use metal for building because of its atypical appearance. However, innovations in construction design have led to the development of metal buildings with a traditional look and feel.

Many metal buildings with roofing have the appearance of tile or shingles. Even your metal building façade can even look just like stone or brick.

You can choose your favorite color palette for a more traditional house look on the outside and inside. A wide range of colors is available for metal building roofs. Metal building material is usually coated with a compound to prevent corroding and rusting when exposed to environmental conditions. These properties make metal buildings ideal for areas that experience solid seasonal winds and regions where temperatures fluctuate significantly.

There is also a wide range of interior finishes available for metal houses. You can give a metal building the same interior finish features of traditional houses, including drywall, trim pieces, and designer flooring. A substantial benefit of metal frames is they allow your structure to have bigger interior wall spaces, improving the insulation and comfort of the design. In metal buildings, the girts and purlins typically have 8-inch cavities that can be filled with insulation to increase interior comfort.

By changing the building’s interior and exterior and installing adequate insulation covered with sheetrock, you can convert that old metal building into a livable space. You can use a steel frame kit home in many creative ways to create a house with a “wow” factor. The interiors of metal building homes can be enhanced by painting, adding facades, installing siding, and decorating with accessories.

While metal buildings can have a traditional house look, they are also energy efficient and have comfortable interior spaces. Furthermore, the steel is fire resistant, and the framing comes with a 20-year rust-free warranty.

If you want to construct new living quarters in a metal building, make sure you do these:

  • Make sure it’s appropriately zoned.
  • Know what you’re working with
  • Think about energy efficiency.
  • Start with the roof.
  • Use adequate insulation.
  • Lighting and ventilation.
  • Rethink the plumbing and electrical plans.
  • Finish the interior with sheet rock.

Popular Metal Building Construction Techniques

There are different techniques for setting up different types of metal building. With so many options available, making the right choice can become quite difficult. Well, at Steel and Stud, we explain the benefit of each process and then let you decide whatever suits you. 

Here are some of the popular Techniques for metal building construction:

  • Pre-engineered steel: The buildings are made off-site and installed onsite. Not only does it help to reduce time but also construction costs.
  • Panel assembly: The metal building panel assembly will require construction panel by panel. All the structural components will be assembled.

Furthermore, you can also construct metal buildings across different foundations depending on the requirements whether commercial or residential. Some popular foundation options include steel piers, concrete slabs, and piers and beams. The construction of the same will eventually help in ensuring the structural integrity of the building. 

Which is Better to Live - Wood or Steel Buildings

STEEL BUILDING VS WOOD BUILDING

Let’s compare what factor makes metal building much better than a wood building to live:

Metal Buildings are Less Expensive

A wooden structure may appear more attractive than a steel structure. However, the amount of time and money spent on repairs and efforts to keep a wood building (which deteriorates naturally over time) standing will be far more than the cost of building a steel building. On the other hand, steel structures maintain their integrity longer and require little maintenance, if any. Lastly, land with prefabricated steel buildings tends to appreciate, whereas land with traditional timber buildings typically stays the same or may even depreciate.

Financing and Cost Considerations

Contrary to the popular belief that metal buildings are expensive, they are actually affordable. Not only do these properties last long, but they provide complete value for money. Unlike wood, metal buildings can last long because the latter isn’t prone to any rotting or pest infestation. 

You can always opt for financing options if you do not have enough capital to set up your metal building. Various banks and government institutions offer financing options for metal buildings. To finance your metal buildings, you can also opt for personal loans. However, the financing option you choose must completely depend on what purpose you are setting up the metal building for. 

While financing options exist, you must also indulge in some cost-saving actions while setting up the metal building. One of the most efficient things to do in this case would be to either DIY the structure or choose from local suppliers with affordable rates. We aim to make metal buildings affordable at Steel and Stud, so we have the most affordable options. Furthermore, we can also guide you regarding the financing options you can choose from. 

Structural Strength and Durability is More With Metal Home

The structural strength of both wood and steel is high. But in terms of durability, steel wins the show. Wooden structures can become infested with termites, which can cause major damage.

Wood absorbs moisture, which can dry out and warp the wood when it dries. Drywall and other coverings in the wooden structure can crack and distort, affecting the wood’s stability and durability.

Pre-engineered steel frames/metal frames are designed to withstand earthquakes, hurricanes, heavy snowfall, high winds, flooding, and other natural disasters. Metal structure kits are resistant to termites and other pesky insects.

Construction time is Less in Metal Frame :

A wood-frame building’s materials will arrive on the construction site as raw lumber. Wood-framed installation requires a construction specialist to dedicate valuable time cutting the lumber and fabricating the building’s framework on the job site. In contrast, prefabricated steel buildings could be rapidly reassembled as the materials delivered to the job site were already manufactured.

Metal Building Can be Easily Customized

Steel structures can be customized according to owners’ preferences. You can add many veneers and facades to your steel building to give the building’s outside covering the appearance of a different building type. It is easy to expand and add to a steel building in the future, and you can have any custom home design you want. Expansion projects can even be completed within a few days or weeks.

Steel Building is energy Efficient and Eco-friendly

In wood houses, the heat transfer does not occur as quickly as in steel, which is a positive characteristic of wood. As a result, the wood framework still needs to be insulated, equalizing the savings for both materials regarding energy efficiency. Wooden frames are rarely recycled, usually torn down and sent to landfills. However, steel can be recycled repeatedly with no loss of strength. Steel structures are incredibly energy efficient in design.

Some Metal Building Assembly Tips For Quick DIY Installation

Assembling a metal building could be pretty exciting. Many homeowners hire a metal building contractor to assemble their metal buildings. Some homeowners or home builders choose to assemble the parts on their own. 

Hiring a contractor for assembling is more beneficial if you do not have considerable experience doing this. If you have decided that you are the one who is going to assemble the metal building, then here are these few tips from Steel and Stud that would help you do the task successfully.

  • Visit another metal building project in your local area and watch them do it for at least a week.
  • Develop a safe work plan. Familiarize yourself with potential hazards in weather, terrain, and machinery. Always use appropriate personal protective equipment and ensure your hired help does so. Keep yourself physically and mentally healthy for each day’s activities.
  • Breaking the big job into smaller, manageable jobs and completing each task as an individual project would help you focus and make the final assembly much more manageable.
  •  When raising a panel, it’s possible to save time by bolting as many components together as possible before raising the panel.
  • Build sections progressively. Assemble all the steel frameworks in each building bay before moving on to the next.
  • You can assign these smaller jobs to teams of 3-5 workers, depending on the size and scope of the entire project.
  • Use trained workers as they work faster, are more careful, and build better buildings. They also require less instruction, saving hours throughout the project.
  • Make sure you provide appropriate tools to the workers.
  • Map a layout of the jobs and inventory and give a copy of that to each worker. Doing this would help you and your workers work according to the plan, saving money and time.

Buying the Right Steel Building Kit is The Key to Comfort and Luxury

When buying metal buildings, there are several factors to consider to ensure comfortable and safe living in the future. The most crucial thing to do is to scrutinize your requirements for a building.

  • It is essential to consider the end-use of the building as it will help you determine the size of the metal building you need. 
  • Before reaching out for quotes, check with local construction codes, and determine the dimensions you need for your metal building. It will affect the price of your project.
  • When selecting dimensions for your custom project, it is always better to go longer rather than wider. As the width of a building increases, heavier framing is required, which increases its cost.
  • It is beneficial to choose larger-sized buildings to accommodate future space requirements.
  • Various factors will affect the cost of your custom metal building, including size, geographic location, end-use, and more. Consider these factors when defining a reasonable budget to meet your needs.
  • Other significant factors to consider are energy efficiency and weatherproofing.

Metal Buildings Size Chart

Here are Steel & Stud Most Popular Customized Sizes for metal buildings. We can also get them customized as per your requirements:

Metal Building Sizes Metal Building Sizes Metal Building Sizes Metal Building Sizes

What Makes Metal Buildings with Living Quarter Such A Hit!

There are many advantages of metal buildings with living quarters. The following advantages are making people choose metal buildings over other forms.

The primary reason to prefer residential metal buildings over the other forms is: 

Affordability

In the period of recession, Metal building cost is cheaper than constructing a regular or conventional house made of other materials.

You can save money because of the shorter construction timeframe since a metal building does not need a deep excavation for its foundation.

It also has lower labor expenses because of quicker erections. It is beneficial to those in haste to live in their house.

It also decreases construction costs as steel structures are usually prefabricated. Therefore, you can assemble it rapidly and put it together quickly. It also reduces repair costs, and there are no maintenance issues.

And since there won’t be any termites or rotting wood products inside your house, there’s almost no chance that you’ll have to spend any money on repairs in the future.

Easy in Design

There is hardly any issue in designing a metal structure in any shape you like.

It means you can create whatever unique layout for your metal house you think of and design it that way. You can do this during the initial design, even if you decide to remodel.

Since metal living and business spaces stand on external walls, the interior columns do not have to bear the structure’s load. It enables you to modify the interior spaces whenever you want quickly.

Having metal buildings that are easy to remodel means you can experiment with new design trends. It also allows you to expand interior spaces simply by removing interior columns to create additional spaces for you and your family. 

Large industrial buildings for business applications like warehouses and airplane hangars are made of steel building and load-bearing walls because they are not concerned about interior walls taking up much-needed space.

Required Less Maintenance

Maintenance is crucial in safeguarding and maintaining the quality of your home as it is a long-term investment.

Steel is a sturdy material that can withstand the force of hurricanes and other weather extremities.

Pest damage is no longer a problem in metal homes; thus, you do not need to worry about rot, mildew, or mold.

Cold-formed steel is one of the few materials used to make metal structures that can resist termites in nearly any climate or building type.

Steel structures also resist moisture and humid air. It has less moisture content than other traditional homes.

Proper ventilation can prevent it in areas with too much moisture.

Noise and Insulation

One of the best things about metal buildings is that they are customizable. As a result, if noise irritates you, there is always an option to insulate the property. The insulation process regulates the temperature and cuts down on sound transmission. 

Furthermore, you can also integrate additional features to your metal building, like acoustic panels. At Steel and Stud, we help to include all such unique features in your property. Not only do we give priority to your privacy but also to your safety. By reducing noise transmission, our main focus is to provide you with a comfortable living experience in your metal building.

Safety and Security

Over the years, metal buildings have stood out as one of the most convenient options. Despite the structure’s popularity, people still need clarification about the property. Made from strong metals like steel and aluminum, metal buildings are durable and long-lasting. As a result, these can survive the harsh weather conditions easily. 

You may wonder what contributes to the structural integrity of these metal buildings. Well, at Steel and Stud, we use high-quality steel for fabricating the structure of metal buildings. Furthermore, these metal buildings aren’t prone to fire which eventually reduces the overall risk of fire damage. We can customize the metal buildings based on your requirement by installing strong doors, windows, and alarm systems. Therefore, with sage and secure metal buildings, we bring peace of mind to all the residents.

Conclusion

After going through the above points, We can safely answer the question, can you live in a metal building? Yes, you can live in a metal building. Metal structures are great for both, whether you want tiny houses or villas. It has many advantages over traditional material houses. Order your dream metal home now.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the different applications of metal buildings?

Metal buildings can be useful for various purposes, from residential to commercial. You can also use it for agricultural reasons.