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There are three main frame types available for steel building construction. Choose the right one for your particular application. The “clear-span” rigid frame building is, by far, the most popular frame type. There are also two other frame types to consider - modular and single slope. This article will point out the distinct features of all three systems.
The rigid I-Beam clear-span frame system is a very strong and durable system. This design requires no interior support columns there can be vast amounts of unobstructed interior space for virtually any application. Most steel building manufacturers or suppliers can provide a clear-span building of up to three hundred feet in width. Clear-span frame designs are used for manufacturing facilities, warehouses, sports arenas, agricultural facilities, and storage for commodities and/or heavy equipment. With clear-span construction rooms can be created in the interior with partition walls. The partition walls are not load bearing a multitude of floor plans or compartmentalized sections of the building are possible. The only drawback to clear-span construction is that as the width of the building increases the frames have to become heavier in order to sustain the greater loads. This can cause the purchase price in cost per square foot to increase. However, clear-span buildings can still be your most cost effective option.
Modular frames are dissimilar from clear-span construction in that they do employ interior load-bearing columns. Modular frames use the interior columns to more evenly distribute the load of the entire building. If you are needing an extremely wide building (greater than 300 feet in width) than a modular frame system can greatly reduce the cost of both the foundation and the frame. However, substantial cost savings can start to be seen at only eighty feet in width. The wider the building will be the greater the potential savings of using a modular frame system can be. Almost all buildings in excess of one hundred and fifty feet in width have interior columns. Factories, and any other extremely large structures, find the modular frame system most accommodating.
The single slope frame incorporates different eave heights on each sidewall which results in the roof of the building sloping from the front to the back. When ordering a single slope system from a company you need to indicate the eave height of the lower side and then decide on the pitch of the roof for your particular application. The roof pitch is the number of inches a roof rises vertically for every twelve inches that it runs horizontally. The majority of single sloped buildings use a �:12 pitch but steeper pitches can be designed for if necessary. You will find single slope frame systems used for mini-storage facilities, office complexes, and strip-mall shopping malls. Single slope frame systems are also used for many agricultural applications.
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