It’s a balancing act. You need enough space for the business you have now, as well as the ability to expand. Many owners have discovered that the two best options for cost-effective business buildings – especially warehouses – is either concrete or steel.
Both are excellent choices in terms of durability and low maintenance, but ultimately you may discover that a pre-fabricated metal and steel building is the best choice. Here’s why.
Bumping Up Against Size Limitations
No one argues that steel is as moldable as concrete, but the trade-off is weight. Using standard information about concrete, an 8 foot by 10 foot concrete wall that’s 6 inches thick would weigh about 6,000 pounds.
Concrete’s weight places limits on the available span of a building structure. You’ll need concrete supporting columns to support the extra weight, too. These will interfere with interior open space, as well.
Steel has one of the highest ratios of strength to weight of any construction material. This allows for buildings that are free of support columns, so you’ll have more usable floor space. For example, our Miracle Truss® designs allow for roof pitches all the way up to 18:12 and clear-span widths of up to 125 feet, along with wall heights of up to 30 feet. Because of the pre-engineered modular nature of steel buildings, there’s practically no limit to the length of their construction. This means it’s easy to expand your Miracle Truss® building any time in the future by simply adding more elements from us.
Steel is Less Expensive than Concrete
Here’s the thing about concrete construction. It’s going to involve steel reinforcement. So you’ll be paying for both materials. That’s not really why concrete ends up being more expensive, though. The extra weight of concrete means you won’t be taking a DIY approach to construction.
Miracle Truss® manufactures buildings as kits. It starts with a basic set of drawings that are generated for your specific state to help you sail through the building permit process. The materials are pre-fitted at our factory before they’re sent to you. The trusses bolt together in four easy pieces.
Way Down the Road: The Recycling Factor
Hardly anyone is thinking about it when they’re just putting up a building, but what’s going to happen to it much later down the road? Steel and concrete are both recyclable materials, but concrete is more expensive to break down and reuse. Much of it ends up in our landfills. Steel is 100% recyclable. It’s a clear winner.
Both are Good Choices, but Steel is a Better One
Steel beats out concrete in cost, strength, flexibility, and safety. Best of all, you can put up a steel building from Miracle Truss® yourself. Learn more about the Miracle Truss® advantage.
