Many residents of Arizona’s sprawling desert country searching for building and storage solutions for their property discover a dilemma—metal buildings or traditional wood construction? Both types of construction come with various advantages and some disadvantages. Assessing your exact needs and knowing the details of each type can help you determine the best choice for you. This article will highlight many of the pros and cons of both choices, but you can always secure the advice of experts like those at Steel Erection and Maintenance, Inc. Let’s start with a quick peek at what defines each of these construction options.

Differences Between Metal Building Construction and Wood Construction

At first blush, the difference between metal construction and wood construction seems blatantly obvious. A structure is either built with metal or wood. However, you may come across some terminology and visual similarities that can blur the distinction and make finding the right building a little more difficult.

Metal Buildings

As their name would indicate, metal buildings are fabricated using some type of metal, typically steel. But sometimes other metals such as red iron or aluminum can be used. Your specific application will determine which will service your needs best.

Metal buildings are suitable for a wide variety of applications from the residential barndominium to commercial applications such as airplane hangars to agricultural storage like hay barns. They are frequently available in kits and can be a great solution for projects needing a quick turnaround time.   

Wooden Buildings

Some features can cause some confusion between metal and wooden constructions. Both types of construction can have metal siding and roofing. This can make them visually similar from the outside, but it is the interior framing where the difference lies.

Wooden constructions like pole buildings, excluding metal pole barns, pole sheds, and post-frame buildings are framed entirely with wood. They are typically supported with wooden poles or posts that have been driven into the ground. They are a popular choice for livestock housing and agricultural storage but do have some drawbacks compared to metal buildings.

Choosing Metal Building Construction Is A Good Solution

While metal buildings can be costlier to construct initially, compared to wooden structures, metal buildings have an appreciably longer lifespan. Wooden structures require much more maintenance than metal buildings, often succumbing to the effects of the sun and weather. Wood is also more susceptible to pest damage, such as termites.

Metal buildings also allow for larger projects. Unlike wooden structures which can only support widths below eighty feet and restrict heights due to required trusses, metal buildings often do not incorporate trusses. This allows for greater height clearances and increases storage availability giving you more bang for your buck.

What to Expect with Metal Building Construction

You can expect a long life and durable performance from your metal building. There is no need to replace rotting boards or paint reapplication such as you might experience with wooden construction. Potentially, you can also expect to enjoy lower insurance premiums as steel is far more fire-resistant than wood.

However, you should be prepared for slightly longer construction times. Metal buildings traditionally take longer to erect than wooden ones. Also, consider any potential future expansion plans when planning with your professional designer. If you don’t work possible additions into your plans from the start, you could face a sizeable cost should you decide to expand later.

A good creative team like the ones at Steel Erection and Maintenance, Inc. can help you design an aesthetically pleasing building for your business or residence, steel buildings have no limitations, even if you’re looking for a more rustic design.

So, if you are trying to decide whether to go with metal construction or wood for your next building project, ensure you’ve accurately assessed your needs—both for the present and the future. If you reside in Kingman, Phoenix, or Prescott areas and want a durable, low-maintenance choice that can grow with you, let the experts at Steel Erection and Maintenance, Inc. help you design and erect the perfect structure for you. We are ready to use our 46 years of experience to complete any custom-build or erection-only project to your satisfaction.