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The Complete Guide to Purchasing a Metal Garage: Everything to Know
Purchasing a Metal Garage
It’s hard to imagine a home these days that doesn’t include a garage. But garages have only been around for as long as cars. In homes, the first car garages appeared sometime around the 1920s.
Now, garages come in all shapes and sizes, with plenty of features. Double-door garages, detached garages, you name it. But what about purchasing a metal garage?
Most garages have insulated walls with metal or wooden doors. Now imagine if it was all steel. Metal garage features might be enough to sway you into looking at options for metal garages.
Keep reading for a complete guide on building your garage out of iron and steel.
Before Purchasing a Metal Garage, Check Local Regulations
Anyone who works in construction–or has dealt with the HOA–knows the hassle red tape can be. And nowhere is this red tape more apparent than in building codes. If you want a doorstopper of a read, check your city’s building codes.
Building codes may seem onerous, but they’re good at the end of the day. They ensure buildings are safe to use, have the right preventative features, and so on. Which, unfortunately, means your city may not allow a metal garage builder to set to work.
It’s unlikely that there is a sweeping prohibition on using a metal garage. However, it’s likely that there are limitations to metal garage design.
Granted, there may be a lack of regulations in some instances. Metal garages are less prone to fires and less prone to pest invasions. In any case, you can never go wrong with doing your research.
Consider the Steel Gauge Size of Your Garage
Steel gauge refers to the thickness of the steel. It usually goes in even numbers, and the two most common gauges for a metal building are 10, 12, and 14.
Gauges are somewhat counterintuitive. The lower the number, the thicker the steel is. So 10 gauge steel is much thicker than 14 gauge.
Before you build your garage, you need to be sure that you are choosing the proper thickness. The thickness will affect the overall strength, obviously, but you will need a certain thickness for certain applications.
If you are building any metal buildings over 10 feet tall, then you will need at least 12 gauge. Further, you will need a thicker gauge if you plan to have a loft storage area, an arched roof for snow, and other major structural designs.
Something else to consider is the weather. Extreme weather conditions such as rain and snow can tear down a metal garage that does not have the proper thickness.
Make Sure to Get Steel With the Proper Coating
Modern steel is an incredible technological marvel, but it doesn’t come without its weaknesses. Steel, like any iron-based metal, will rust. You need to make sure that you get steel that is resistant to rust and corrosion and can last for years.
In most cases, you will be getting stainless steel. This is similar to the steel you may have seen with your knife set or your refrigerator. Stainless steel is an alloy that contains at least 10% chromium, which forms a protective outer layer.
In some cases, you may have steel that uses a different type of coding. This is steel that is more durable, but more expensive. It requires several treatment processes to protect it from environmental degradation.
Decide if You Are Going to Get Insulation
Insulation can make a huge difference in metal buildings. If you weren’t already aware, metal is a terrible insulator. It tends to absorb heat rather than cold, which means your garage will be freezing in the winter.
While it’s not ideal, you can add bubble insulation to your metal garage. This allows your garage to keep a decent internal temperature through the winter months.
If you only plan to use this garage in the summer, then insulation is less useful. In fact, the metal walls will actually help to remove a small portion of the heat by absorbing it.
When comparing metal garage costs, this could make the biggest impact. Insulation requires the expert installation and will require a day alone to inject.
Decide in Advance on Any Openings
When purchasing a metal garage, you have to decide on the design beforehand. Once you do, it’s very difficult to make any changes.
Take the time to consider what entrances and openings your garage needs. Do you want one single entrance door or a backup one? Contemplate if only one or two windows are really enough.
Perhaps in the future, you might decide to add some type of outbuilding. For example, a storage shed that connects to the garage.
If you change your mind later, it will be very difficult to make the change you want. Cutting holes in steel will require heavy-duty equipment which will ruin the steel in the process. Doing so good also compromise the structural integrity of the garage overall.
Get Someone Who Knows How to Install it
It goes without saying that metal buildings require a very different construction process. As we’ve mentioned before, parts will be pre-fabricated. A metal garage builder will bring the walls piled up on a truck, and then weld them together one by one.
Only someone who has experience installing metal buildings should be doing this. You can do it yourself too, but we only recommend this for people who really know what they’re doing.
Install Your Own Metal Garage Today
Purchasing a metal garage is often an affordable alternative to a standard brick-and-mortar garage. They can be just as durable, and include insulation as necessary. However, you need to be 100% sure about the dimensions and the openings and purchase the right thickness for your needs.
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