The demand for steel to be used as a material for building is growing in the construction industry. The high strength, adaptation to prefabrication, ductility, speed of erection, and more have always been characteristics that are attractive to developers and consultants. Today, construction projects tend to be fast tracked, which puts scheduling and time ahead of everything else, and because of this, these qualities actually become decisive factors when it comes to choosing which type of structure will be built.

Choosing a Team

When it comes to cost control and the overall success of a project, you will need a civil engineering company that is both accurate and creative. It will be best to go with one whose portfolio includes clients that are from the professional sector as well as private clients. Experience in both the commercial and residential fields will also be best.

It will also be best to sit down with your design team and discuss the different types of steel that are used in buildings to discern which type will be the best option for your building. You can choose from:

• Aluminum
• Stainless steels
• Galvanized steels
• Carbon steels

A good design team will be able to let you know which steels are used for what and the benefits and drawbacks of each one so that you will be able to make an informed decision.

Stainless Steel

Once you have chosen a team to work with, you need to decide on the type of steel that you will be using in your building. Stainless steel is actually used in all sorts of construction, building, and architecture. It has been used in this industry for nearly a century and its range of applications is still growing. Some of these applications are ones that are highly visible because aside from being functional, stainless steel is also aesthetically pleasing. Other applications are ones that are hidden, while others are safety related and practical. Stainless steel can be used in things like safety railings, bollards, stone anchors, and even in masonry.

Carbon Steel

This is a metal alloy that is highly prized when it comes to the construction industry because of its strength and hardness. Carbon steel is generally used to make the beams that are used for structural purposes, as well as in plates meant for construction on highways, and rectangular tubing that might be used for bridges, and trailer beds. This is also an optimal material for hollow structural sections as well as rebar. Carbon steel is made by mixing iron and carbon together and gets classified on a scale from mild to very high and this will depend on the amount of carbon that is in the metal.

Aluminum Steel

This type of metal is quite popular. It is widely used when it comes to the construction of commercial buildings and homes due to its strength and flexibility. A lot of the time, aluminum will be used in roofing applications. This is because it can be painted or used as a base for any sort of coating that might be applied in order to make a roof more impermeable when it comes to water. Aluminum is also one of the kinds of metals that gets used in install it and then forget it applications because it is a very low maintenance type of material.

Galvanized Steel

Galvanized steel tends to be sort of grayish in color and it has a tensile strength of 50,000 psi. This type of steel is coated in zinc. They do this by using a hot dip method where steel will be immersed in molten zinc. This coats that steel with layers of delta, zeta, and gamma zinc iron alloy layers that are impervious, uniform, and hard. There is also a pure zinc layer that makes the steel resistant to corrosion.

Galvanized steel is join and weld friendly and easy to be painted. It is also resistant to stains and weatherproof, nearly maintenance free, cost effective, and long lasting. Because of these properties, it is an excellent option for airports, bridges, commercial buildings, and houses.

One thing that you need to keep in mind regardless of the type of steel that you choose is that steel can lose strength in a fire. For this reason, it is best to wrap it with a spray on material that is called fire protection or to wrap it in boards.