Choosing A Metal Barn

Why a Metal Barn?
Barn construction using metal has increased rapidly over the last decade. Actually the use of metal has increased in many types of storage units, both commercial and domestic, like  garages, workshops, barns and sheds.

A few years ago, a barn (agricultural shed) would have been traditionally built from wood but it is now steel that holds up most modern barns. Barn construction has seen the the widespread use of steel because of it’s easy availability,  immense strength, flexibility and speed of construction and it’s low relative cost.

Advantages of a Metal Barn

Availability
Both metal supports and sheeting are readily available both as prefabricated kits and made to measure for your design. Although specialist tools are required like oxyacetylene cutters and MIG welders, you can also tailor metal to your own requirements with relative ease.

Ease & Speed of Construction
Many companies offer prefabricated metal barns, which can be erected and assembled in a very short time. A huge range of designs and sizes are available to suit almost any requirement. Often these can also be ordered to a specific specification for very little (if any) extra money.
A metal barn can also be modified quickly and easily so adding an extension, more height or removing a corner to suit your location is pretty straight forward

Strength
Metal barns are stronger than those with traditional wood construction. Easily withstanding extreme weather conditions, physical force and  heavy loads. If metal sheeting is used for the walls and roof then the overall strength can be very impressive.

Minimal Ongoing Maintenance
Rust is, of course, the main enemy of any ferrous metal and a metal barn is no less an exception. Most prefabricated kits and even made to measure units will have suitable rust prevention coating. That and the heavy gauge of the metal ensures that most constructions will long outlast the builders!
A coating of rust preventing paint every few years will be all the maintenance you will probably need.

Green & Eco-friendly
As any metal barn can be easily re-used or re-assembled (recycled) and ferrous metal will eventually deteriorate into non-poisonous rust it is considered a green construction as it will not pollute the planet in the future.

Fire Resistance
A metal barn in itself is very fire resistant which minimises the risk to accidental damage by fire much more so than a traditional wooden barn.

Aesthetics
Modern metal barns have come a long way since the simple corrugated iron constructions of a few years back. Advances in commercial metal building construction and design has fed over into the metal barns giving them style, pleasing looks and even ‘camouflage’ into the surrounding landscape and other structures.

Considerations When Deciding on  a Metal Barn

We’ve discussed the advantages of a metal barn but like all things there are pros and cons. Or at least things you should consider when considering buying or building a metal barn.

When considering the roof and sidings you need to look at the gauge (thickness) of the steel. This should be at least 26 gauge or even 29 gauge.  The gauge itself is not the only criteria though as the rustproof coating combined with the gauge will primarily define the life expectancy and guarantee. Depending price you can get anything from 10 to 40 year plus guarantees (which realistically means a lifespan of probably twice that) and this should be your guide as to durability.

If you are considering building a bespoke metal barn yourself then specialist tools and skills may be needed. Welding and cutting of steel is not that difficult but may require some instruction and possibly professional help. Prefabricated kits avoid this problem so that simply bolting the whole structure together is all that may be required.

We mentioned that a metal barn is eco friendly. However steel does use a large mount of energy to be extracted, created and forged originally, and so many people do not consider it a green material.
Also the asthetics may not be to everyones taste. If you are thinking of building in a preservation area or area of special interest you may find strict rules applied to the look of your barn as well as it’s construction materials etc.

Although a metal barn is fireproof it does not mean that anything stored in the barn is the same. Straw, hay, feeds, fertilisers, petrol and electrical machinary and  paints etc are all very flamable and even steel will bend and even melt if the temerature gets high enough.

Of course one of the most important reasons for deciding on a metal barn is COST. You can expect considerable savings both in the actual cost and inherent costs such as build time and labour.
All in all if you need a new barn then you should be looking at a metal barn first