What Are the Advantages of Steel Beam Construction?

If you're building a new home or renovating an old one, then you have to decide which material to use for your beams and posts. While wood is a popular option, you should consider using steel here. What are the benefits of installing steel beams and posts?

Get a Better Strength to Weight Ratio

The materials you can use in your structural beams and posts will have different strength to weight ratios. These ratios affect how well beams and posts can hold weight and maintain their structural integrity.

For example, wood beams and posts don't always deliver perfectly here. Wood doesn't have the same density throughout all its structure. Some parts of a wood beam or post might be internally weaker than other areas. This could give you problems down the line if your structure has some weak spots.

Steel beams and posts don't have this problem. Steel has the same density and inherent strength all over. So your beams and posts will be stronger and will last longer.

Get More Resistance to Environmental Problems

Dealing with damage to internal beams and posts isn't easy. Structural problems are a big, invasive and expensive fix. So you should use materials with a better chance of taking care of themselves in problematic situations.

For example, if you use wood beams and posts, then you might have possible problems with wood-boring insects in the future. If termites eat away at a structural beam, then you have a big problem to fix. Even though structural wood beams are treated with insect repellents, their treatments might not hold forever.

You should also think about how your internal beams and posts would cope in an emergency situation. For example, if you have a serious fire in your home, then wood beams might ultimately start to burn even if they contain fire-resistance treatments. You could lose the whole structure of the building.

If you install steel beams and posts, then you don't have to worry about environmental damage. For a start, steel is completely unattractive to termites and other wood-boring insects. If termites were to get into the structure of your home, they couldn't do anything to harm your beams and posts.

Plus, steel gives you more internal protection against fire damage. Steel doesn't burn like wood. Even if it is exposed to direct flames, it usually holds its shape. So, the structure of your home should stay intact.

To learn more about these and other benefits, contact steel beams manufacturers or suppliers.


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