How Schools Can Benefit From Steel Buildings

It’s no secret that in towns and cities with booming populations, schools meant to accommodate a few hundred students can begin teetering into 1000 or more studentts quite quickly depending on where you live.

While many schools opt for complete overhauls and renovations to make space for a larger community and thus a larger amount of students, others choose prefabricated structures to help with the extra amount of students.

Prefab steel buildings have long been used to offset an influx of students during a new school year. Typically placed within the school’s outdoor grounds near the main building, these buildings can alleviate crowded classrooms and allow the school to better distribute the student population into more manageable sizes.

Because of the ease and speed of construction, it’s possible to construct these commercial sizes structures over the course of a few months in preparation for a new school year. These can be used as a helpful solution to the problem on a temporary basis until a school or district is able to complete a full renovation. However, due to the high quality nature of steel structures, it’s also possible to create unique additional learning spaces that remain a part of the school for years to come.

Their design flexibility makes it possible to put them anywhere you may have space on your school property or campus, particularly closer to entrances and exits of the main building or to create a flow between the main building and steel structure. Depending on what model you choose, it’s also possible to build more complex structures outside the main building, able to house multiple classrooms together. You can also use these structures to house administrative offices, day care centres, labs, libraries as well as additional storage – all things the main school building may not be able to handle. You may even need a much larger indoor space for recreation and physical activity than your current gym can accommodate; in which case prefab steel building additions to the property are a great option.

Construction from full-scale renovations can bring plenty of noise into an environment, in addition to creating inconveniences like barring access to certain parts of a building that are being worked on. Things like this can create distractions for both students and teachers in a space where focus is imperative. Prefab construction is much simpler and quicker than other traditional forms of construction, meaning there will be much less invasive distractions to your school property of campus and current teachers and students can remain focused.

Our recreational and commercial building models are the perfect options for creating this extra space, which is why it’s important for more school to consider steel structures as a way of solving any space issues they may have.

Lighting is one of the most important choices you’ll need to make when it comes to any structure, and steel buildings are no different. There are quite a few things you’ll have to take into consideration that will determine the type of lighting that works best, like the intended use of the building, the size of the building and height of the ceiling, and if there are any types of openings for natural light already that may cut down on how much lighting you actually need.

Hanging LED Bulbs

Hanging lighting is a popular option for steel buildings, as they tend to be the most cost effective of all the types, easily replaceable and use bulbs that are widely available. Like all LED bulbs, they’re largely environmentally friendly and consume less energy than other types of lighting. It has a life span much longer than traditional incandescent bulbs even with frequent switching, and still operate well in extreme hot or cold temperature – which will be important seeing as your structure will be outside and probably insulated a little differently than your home.

T8 LED Lighting

These types of lights are perfect for work spaces and garages where properly lit areas are integral to getting your work done. Not only that, but this type of lighting lasts long and doesn’t suffer burnout in the way traditional fluorescent or incandescent lights do. They’re much more energy efficient, often can be dimmed when linked to the right controls, have a longer lifespan than many other types of lighting and have a casing that is largely shatterproof – made from hard plastics as opposed to glass. This type of lighting will also help you maintain a mostly “green” structure, as they require less energy to function for long periods of time.

LED Panel Lighting

Panel lighting is great for steel structures used for commercial spaces like stores, offices, school portables and more. Providing a wider range of lighting, it’s meant to disperse throughout the room and be multi-directional as opposed to much more focused lighting. Like most types of LED lighting, panel lighting uses less energy (calculated in per lumens) than other forms of lighting, which translate into savings in the long run. This type of lighting can also mimic daylightdue to its spread, creating a well-lit and comfortable work environment that is conducive to productivity.

Mobile Lights & LED Lamps

In steel structures used to do work that requires great lighting, some of the other options may not be quite enough. While they can be used in combination with other types of lighting, having mobile lights or bright LED on stands may be needed as supplemental lighting, especially for work that needs a great deal of focus or detail.

Skylights

Though it’s technically not a lighting option in the traditional sense, skylights are a great way to let a lot of light into your steel building. If your structure is something you will mainly be using in the day, skylights are the perfect way to take advantage of the daytime. Don’t be afraid to use alternate forms of lighting in addition if you anticipate extended use or to access it when it’s much darker outside. Lamps and hanging bulbs are good types of lighting to use in conjunction with skylights

Take some time to consider these types of finishing touches to your steel building by having an understanding of exactly what you need it for so you can plan, purchase and install accordingly.

With the construction of any type of building, it’s always important to ensure that it meets specific standards and codes in order to be deemed fit for use. This is especially true when looking to build a structure that fall under certain codes of environmental and energy consciousness.

In the same way that appliances can be Energy Star certified to ensure it meets all the specifications of an energy efficient model (and homes actually have to meet this standard as well), steel buildings almost always fall under LEED certification to denote those same properties. But what exactly does that mean? LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a popular design certification that’s used all over the world and aims to help home builders and homeowners be more environmentally conscious and use their resources in a more efficient way. In Canada, The Canada Green Building Council makes the final decisions and sets specific standards about how the process is completed.

It involves a point and rating system that takes multiple factors about a building, location, materials and more to determine whether or not they get the certification, with differences in checkpoints for different types of building depending on their use, be it residential, recreational or commercial spaces. These different rating systems are Homes, neighbourhood development, building operations and maintenance, interior design and construction and building design and construction, and each system has their own specific set of guidelines and consideration that cater to the type of building or development is being assessed. The buildings would then fall under a specific level based on points received during the assessment process. 40–49 points would receive “Certified”, 50-59 points would be rated “Silver” 60-79 points would receive a “Gold” rating, and 80 points & above would be rated “Platinum”.

Steel buildings and other pre-fab structures by nature are more environmentally friendly and energy efficient than traditional building, and tend to qualify for LEED certification. One thing that greatly helps prefab buildings in this regard is that LEED certification not only focuses on the final product, but the whole lifespan of the home, such as the building process and its effects on the environment. One of the many factors for consideration include the conservation of building materials and waste, meaning having less wasted material from any part of the process will make it more likely that a structure will receive the certification. Due to the very purpose of prefab, there’s little to no waste because all parts of the structure are made to order and fit perfectly with each other; with no need for cutting, leftovers or unused parts.

Location is one of the things that plays an important part of the decision process, as buildings closer to other homes, groups of buildings or within close proximity to sewer lines and water as the structure is able to benefit from that existing infrastructure instead of creating brand new connections that would further disturb the surrounding environment.

It’s important to note that Olympia Steel Buildings can qualify under LEED Green Building guidelines, so you can rest assured that you will meet this important standard. Contact us at 1-888-449-7756 for more information

Why Steel Buildings Make The Best Horse Riding Arenas

For years, wood was the go-to material when creating spaces for horses to live and play; but steel buildings are a great alternative that might actually be the better choice altogether. Our steel buildings can be used for anything from Horse Trailer Storage, Riding Arenas, Horse Care Equipment Storage, Training Facility & much more.

Like most prefab metal buildings, building time is drastically shorter than traditional building methods using other materials. It’s also the most economical option, as the cost of a steel building will be well under the pricing for more traditional materials like wood.

Steel buildings offer lots of design flexibility in terms of what the structure will look like in the end, from the shape to the size of the structure. One of the biggest advantages of choosing to use a steel-framed building is the fact that you can create much larger buildings than with wooden framing, able to accommodate sizes of up to 4000 sq. feet and more. The metal’s “strength to weight” ratio is to thank for this, as its strength and quality guarantee but lightweight property prevent the structure from getting too heavy for the supports. This delicate balance of resistance and volume also remove the need for centre support columns, created completely open and unobstructed riding areas.

The cathedral-type ceilings also adds to the open feel of the structure, also adding more visual appeal than their wooden counterparts.

For all your steel building needs, be sure to contact us at 1-888-449-7756.

Why You Should Consider A Prefabricated Steel Building

When putting up a new structure, the planning stage is the most important part of the whole process. Long before you break ground, it’s important to have a clear idea of what your needs and wants in regards to the building. Whether it’s a workshop or large commercial building, you must start out by deciding on fundamental details like the material you’ll be using. While brick and timber are viable options, there are many reasons why you should seriously consider prefabricated steel buildings for your next structure.

Fast Construction

Putting up a steel building will take up much less of your time due to the fact that the pieces are prefabricated based on the design you’re looking for, and are shipped together with everything you need for a seamless installation.

Economical

Because of its prefab nature, the ready-to-assemble pieces produce little to no waste and required minimal labour to put together, saving you money. And because steel is one of the most recyclable materials on earth, any waste that is produced will can easily repurposed for other uses.

Strength

Composed of such a strong metal, our buildings come with a 35-year rust perforation warranty and are expertly engineered to last for decades. It is not affected by water and dirt in the same way that other materials are, and surrounding weather conditions do little to affect to integrity of the structure.

Fire & Pest Resistant

Unlike other materials, steel is flame resistant and can withstand temperatures up to 500° F. Burrowing animals and insects like termites are common issues for wood structures, but are no match for steel buildings.

Low Maintenance

Because of its resistance to outside elements, particularly natural, once your steel structure is constructed you don’t need to do much of anything to keep it in top form. The very nature of the material is to last for years without the trappings of wear & tear.