From offices to restaurants and warehouses to shopping malls, structural steel has played a crucial role in the construction of our modern landscape. Until the development of Structural Steel Construction, most places in Kerala didn’t have large commercial buildings. The reason is plain and simple – it requires a large number of skilled laborers and a huge investment to build tall concrete buildings.
The last decade saw a rise in the number of
commercial buildings in Kerala. Large construction companies in Kerala are promising cheaper construction for commercial buildings like restaurants, warehouses, shopping malls, factories and more. All this happened due to the development of Structural Steel Construction.
As more and more entrepreneurs are learning about pre-engineered buildings and their advantages over traditional construction, they are specifically demanding prefabricated steel construction for their projects.
One of the biggest advantages of Structural Steel Construction is the radical reduction in the cost of construction. This article will cover the reasons why you should use structural steel construction for your building project and will also explain how steel structures manage to be stronger, efficient and more reliable than concrete all while keeping the costs down to a minimum.
Why is Structural Steel Construction better?
Kerala is only a recent witness to the
development of structural steel construction and most people in Kerala are still not aware of the benefits of using prefabricated steel in their construction. Read on to learn why you should consider steel structure construction for your building project.
Reduction in Construction Costs
Traditional methods of construction are only viable for small residential projects. Imagine how much labor it would require to construct a huge commercial building. Not to mention the sheer amount of time and money required. Structural steel construction has drastically reduced the labor and cost of materials, thus reducing the overall construction by a large margin.
High Quality Construction
It is easier for architects and engineers to use steel in their construction projects, because of its predictability. Also, the use of prefabricated steel components avoids the variations that may occur due to manual labor on the construction site. Over the years, factories have perfected the construction of steel structures and this gives it an edge in quality.
The tight control over environment is practically impossible for onsite construction whereas there are various internal quality control programs in the case of prefabricated buildings that ensure high quality and adaptability even in the harshest of weather conditions that may occur onsite after construction.
Future Modifications
Commercial buildings require expansion from time to time to accommodate a larger working force or to get extra storage. Either way, the immense adaptability of steel structures makes it the perfect choice for industrial and commercial buildings. The high tensile strength of steel allows more stories to be added on top of it without compromising on durability.
Skyscrapers would not have been a thing if steel construction was never invented. As companies grow, the buildings should also grow and using steel structure in construction is like a precaution that we take in case we want to expand it in the future. The modularity of steel structure is truly a remarkable innovation.
Safety
Safety is always a critical factor while constructing a building. During its inception in Kerala, most people in the business field were worried about the potential compromises of steel in regards to safety. But this was later realized to be a misconception and people understood the fact that steel was safe as concrete.
Steel is non-combustible and does not spread fire. It is not brittle and therefore will not have cracks like concrete. With the right coating, it can even be resistant to rust. Also, steel construction is much safer than concrete construction because the chances of accidents and mistakes are quite negligible.
Why is Structural Steel less expensive?
When compared to buildings made of concrete, steel buildings are less expensive both at the time of construction and in the long run. Here are a few reasons why prefabricated buildings are cheaper than concrete buildings:
Efficient Construction of Steel Structures at the Factory
The construction of steel structures for a building takes place inside a factory. This factory might have constructed thousands of steel structures and will have perfected the process of making prefabricated steel structures. This way, there will not be any wastage of materials since the engineers can closely monitor the process. Also, the time it takes to complete the making of pre-engineered steel structures is way less when compared to concrete onsite construction and so the labor required is minimum. All this makes steel structure construction cheaper in the factory itself.
Fast Assembly of Steel Structures at the Construction Site
Commercial buildings need to be constructed fast because the faster the occupancy, the faster will be the return of investment. This is another reason why most businesses prefer pre-engineered steel construction. After all the required steel structures are designed and constructed in the factory itself, all that is left to do is to transport it to the site and assemble it. For experienced construction companies, all it takes is a fraction of the time taken for traditional construction to complete the full assembly. This means that the amount of labor required is significantly less and thus a lot of money can be saved with structural steel construction.
Steel Structures require less maintenance
Concrete buildings require constant maintenance in the form of regular painting and checking for cracks. It can retain moisture to an extent and this can cause leakage overtime, if not maintained properly. If wood is used in construction, there is a high chance of early decay especially in a place like Kerala that receives high rainfall. Unlike concrete or wood, steel is not affected by weather conditions like extreme heat and rain. Steel is not easily impacted by rust nor does it break easily like concrete. This makes it the best contender for
large commercial buildings where regular painting and maintenance requires a large sum of money. Since steel requires such less maintenance, you can overcome that cost over the years. Thus making steel construction cheaper in the long run.
Steel has good resale value
Concrete is not something that we can reuse easily. It can be reused for foundation and fillings but concrete will most definitely lose its real purpose if you have to demolish a building made with concrete. This is not the case with steel buildings, because steel cannot only be reused, it can be recycled indefinitely. In fact, there are many companies dedicated to recycling steel. Steel will not lose its quality or strength or reliability no matter how many times you recycle it. Therefore steel does not lose much of its value if you resell it even after many years. This means you can get back some of the initial investment if you are planning to decommission your commercial building in pursuit of a new building at a new location.
Final thoughts
All this makes the use of steel structures a no brainer for construction of commercial buildings. Steel structures are safer, more durable, more adaptable, and less susceptible to damage when compared to concrete. And the best part is that structural steel construction is cheaper than traditional concrete construction. Recently construction companies in Kerala have started using steel structures for residential projects too. Other developed nations have already started this trend and with the recent spike in the cost of land, construction materials and skilled labor, it is wise to move to steel for your construction needs.
Now you know exactly how steel construction manages to be cheaper than concrete construction and if you are looking for a construction company in Kerala for your construction needs, we are here to help you. We have a consistent track record of keeping high standards in construction for both commercial and residential projects. Feel free to contact us for anything related to construction.
