For many of us who live in an urban area it’s getting harder to find parking nowadays, which means often driving around for 15-30 minutes trying to find that last space near your home. With that in mind, and the safety of your vehicle as well, it’s worth building a garage -provided of course you have the space and access on your property.
There are many options for building a garage, depending on your personal needs and constraints in terms of time, money, and size. For example, you might want somewhere to park, as well as additional storage.
What are Metal Garages?
A metal garage is an enclosed structure that you can add to your property to protect your automobile, truck, or even boat from being damaged by inclement weather or even by the hands of other people. You can use the space in your garage to protect your vehicles, but it also has the potential to function as a workshop, which requires protection.
Why Are Metal Garages So Popular?
The abundance of options and features that can be added is one of the main factors contributing to the popularity of metal garage buildings. The result is that metal garages can comfortably satisfy almost every user’s needs and demands, including those who have particular needs.
No matter what other choices to make about your garage, one of the first things to decide will be whether to build it in brick or steel. And even though brick might seem preferable, here are the best reasons to opt for a steel garage instead:
Cost-Effective
Building a steel garage works out at a much more reasonable cost than traditional brick buildings for three main reasons:
- Material costs
- Labour costs
- Repair Costs
A metal garage will (roughly) comprise of six metal sheets and a metal door or two, meaning that the initial cost of materials is quite low.
Then, because the sheets come pre-cut to your measurements, it can be built in a matter of hours (over two separate days to allow the concrete floor to set), so the costs from hiring a builder will reduce dramatically. Depending on your personal DIY skills, you might even be able to build it yourself over a long weekend.
Steel garages don’t require a lot of maintenance throughout their lifetimes. It would only be extreme circumstances that would lead to your garage needing any repairs at all.
Compare this to brick garages, which are made with expensive materials and are incredibly time-consuming to build because they have to be put in one tiny piece at a time. Most people don’t have the skills or the tools to build a brick garage from scratch and would have to hire a professional, which increases the cost.
On top of that, brick garages are susceptible to cracks because of moisture, freezing, and thawing, and roofs and windows are often weak spots that require maintenance and more repairs.
Build no matter the weather
The British weather is tempestuous at best, which is not great if you’re building a brick garage because bricklaying in the cold and the rain can cause serious problems if your builder doesn’t know exactly what they’re doing.
If you don’t have all the time in the world, a metal garage can be put up without waiting for the sun to come out.
Sustainability
It was already noted that metal garages are less susceptible to the elements, which makes them a winner environmentally, but there are plenty of other reasons that they are more eco-friendly than brick ones. Let’s look at just a few:
- Most metal used today has been recycled from something else
- Steel is easy to recycle at the end of its life
- The construction requires fewer materials and therefore fewer transport miles
- Heat-deflecting and weather-resistant finishes can make it more energy efficient
Durability
We’ve touched on this before, but as steel sheets stand up better to the cold, rainy weather that is typical in the UK, a metal garage will stand the test of time, especially with the right finishes. This means that you won’t have to live with (or expensively repair) a damaged building. And whereas the actual brick walls will often keep well, over time maintenance will be needed on the roof and (if there are any) on the windows.
With durability, sustainability, cost-efficiency and accessibility on its side, the steel garage makes for a more accessible choice when adding a garage to your property. And just imagine, no more driving around your neighbourhood looking for that last parking space either!
Moveable
The fact that metal garages can be disassembled, relocated to a different spot on the same property, or even moved along with the owner when they move is something that a lot of people aren’t aware of. Because of their simplistic construction, these buildings can be moved with relative ease, which cannot be said for the vast majority of other types of structures.
Facts About Metal Garages
- Metal can be recycled an infinite number of times without suffering any degradation in quality, steel has come to be known as the Enviro-Metal over the course of its history. More steel is recycled than the total amount of other materials that are recyclable combined.
- Approximately 40–50 trees, or about an acre’s worth, are needed for a typical 2,000-square-foot home. With steel, only the equivalent of six abandoned cars is required.
- Steel has a high strength-to-weight ratio, which implies that it gives structures strong self-supporting capabilities. Any project that is focused on structural steel has a sturdy sufficient main framework and foundation to support the entire structure.
- Brick structures were once common, but these days people are more likely to use steel for their construction needs.
- Structures made of metal are often designed with pre-fabricated parts that are produced away from the construction site. The fact that this work is done off-site results in a reduction in the amount of labor required as well as the overall cost. Steel is a material that is not only more durable but also saves money over its lifetime because it requires less maintenance than other materials.