06 May What’s the Lifespan of Steel Frame Buildings?

The frame of every building is vital, but they’re not often seen, meaning that it’s only when you have to consider creating or adding to your property that people think about building frames. You can consider various building materials to create a frame for your structure, no matter what use you’re making it for. An option that more and more property owners are considering is structural steel.

Using structural steel fabricators to create building frames is a relatively new option compared to popular choices like timber, so if you’re considering using steel you may have some questions. Wondering about the longevity of your building is natural – after all, who wants to spend time and effort building only for repairs to be necessary after a few years? If you have these questions about structural steel buildings, take a look at the information below to understand how a steel frame building could be suitable for you.

Longevity of Steel Frame Buildings

Let’s start with answering the core question of this blog – how long do steel frame buildings last? The simple answer is that the lifespan of steel framed structures can depend on the use of the building, as a more intensive building usage will put more strain on the frame. 

However, steel frame buildings tend to last longer than other building alternatives, thanks to the reliability and strength of steel. Alternative building frame materials, such as wood and timber, can quickly decompose if exposed to elements such as termites or fire. Structural steel beams are resistant to both pests and extreme weather conditions, meaning that they have many qualities that make steel a more durable material. 

Maintaining Steel Framed Buildings

The lifespan of your steel frame building isn’t just up to the reliability of the material itself. There are maintenance steps that you can take to extend the life of your building and ensure that it suits your needs for as long as you need.

Inspect and Clean Building Regularly

An easy step that you can take, but one that could easily be overlooked, is to wash your steel building at least once a year. The best time to do this is once a year during the spring. If you wash your steel building every spring, you can remove any winter residue, meaning that your steel frames will look better for longer. This also removes any harmful substances which could build up on the frames and cause deterioration in the steel beams.

Whilst doing an annual inspection of your steel frame building, look out for scuffs and scratches. These can be caused by inclement weather conditions, such as hail or flying elements whipped up during a storm, and the marks left behind will reduce the attractiveness of your property. However, they can be buffed away; just ensure that the metal substrate underneath the panels is protected to maintain the structure of your steel frame.

Empty and Clean Gutters

This is another fairly obvious maintenance step, but if left ignored, it could cause issues. Like other building materials, it’s essential to clean out the rain gutters in your building to protect the structure’s roof. Suppose moisture or other substances overflow through the gutters and into the roof. In that case, it could cause structural damage to your property, creating extra maintenance costs and reducing the strength of structural steel.

Get Out the Paint Can

This step is purely to maintain the appearance of your steel frame building but is no less critical than other maintenance processes! Make sure to give your building a fresh coat of paint whenever necessary, as over time the colour of your materials could fade due to weather conditions. This keeps the appearance of your steel frame structure in top condition for longer! The better it looks, the happier you’ll feel.

Steel Frame Building Suppliers

Hopefully, if you own a steel frame building, this blog post has helped give you some inspiration on maintaining it and extending its lifespan. If the longevity and reliability of steel frame structures are attractive to you and you’d like to find out more, speak to a member of our steel fabrication team.

Baker Steel Trading engineer and fabricate bespoke structural steel buildings using high-quality in-house workshop facilities, to ensure that your structural steel frames are designed to provide long-lasting contentment in your property. We’d be delighted to do the same for you.