Steel buildings’ economy is primarily concentrated in the labor area rather than anything else. Ironically, 60 percent of the total costs of steel structures are spent on labor and only 25 percent represents the material cost.
It’s mostly the quality and the quantities of materials that designers think of while considering costs. However, there are certain other factors too that need to be considered for economical steel structures.
These are:
- Well-Spaced Beams: The erection and fabrication of both light and heavy members of structural steel beams involve approximately same costs. So, it is judicious to space the steel beams as far as possible so as to reduce the number of members that need to be erected and fabricated, consequentially reducing the cost.
- Painting the Right Surfaces: Painting steel surfaces so as to avoid corrosion is often advised, however, it is equally important to paint the right surfaces. One must keep in mind that steel is better unpainted if it has to be in contact with concrete. Also, the fireproofing material adheres better if the steel surfaces are left unpainted.
- Open Communication: It is of paramount importance that the co-workers have an open forum so as to make best use of each other’s expertise, knowledge and experience in making the final steel fabrication an economical bet. At times, the lack of communication and exchange of information result in extra costs and expense.
- Market Research: The beams, rollers, frames or varied other steel sections used in the steel buildings need a thorough study and market research before the designer spends on them.
- Avoiding Blind Assumptions: Sometimes one tends to make certain blind assumptions about the design and the structural frames. Like one may assume that the lightest section building frame is the cheapest, contrarily such a frame consists of a large number of different shapes and sizes. Moreover, the pound price of steel will also be high. So, invest judiciously and analytically.
Keep in the mind the above mentioned pointers and you will definitely be able to cut to down on the cost of your steel buildings and truly realize their cost-effectiveness.
