Production of pre-fabricated steel building systems in the mid-1940s featured the quick erection advantages and inexpensive prices instead of any aesthetics to market the product. The purchasers of these structures were less concerned with the external appearance than what would be stored inside. A regular roof pitch of 4:12 was used with this group in all-steel structure system approach, although its look was very ordinary. The doubtful durability and quality of these early pre-fabricated metal structures planted misgivings in consumers’ minds as these uninviting structures were left to corrode on the landscape of America. Fortunately, a new wave of construction that is very popular and widely accepted highlighted the noticeable advancements in steel structure systems and they are continuously gaining popularity with each passing year.

Great attention to metal building construction began during the Second World War, when airplane hangars were fabricated utilizing metal construction for military use. Recognizable buildings, then known as Quonset huts also came into general use during this period. These structures required only the assistance of a limited labor force and common tools to erect them and because of this; tens of thousands of these buildings were produced. The Quonset hut was singled out for being economical, but unfortunately unattractive in appearance. The armed services acquired these arched rooftop huts for their specific use as barracks and machine shops. When the public got wind of this inexpensive building structure, the farming community began using them as agricultural buildings.

At the beginning of the 20th Century, the use of cars was on the brink of becoming widespread. Steel and metal construction was called upon to construct car garages. These were first produced by the Butler Manufacturing Co. In order to improve on the fire resistant elements of the garage and decrease the costs, total metal assembly soon replaced the original styles that incorporated a blend of metal and wood.

In the initial stages of the 20th Century, the Austin Company started using pre-engineered construction as it is applied to steel framing. The capacity to offer cheap metal driller buildings to oil ventures working in Oklahoma gave prominence to a corporation called Star Building.

We here at Discount Steel Buildings wanted to take time to go over the history of pre-engineered steel buildings. The innovations that have been developed over the last few decades are simply amazing!

The changes in metal and steel buildings have indeed been significant in the past two-hundred years in terms of both cost-efficiency and technology. Metal, as a natural resource for a building material, has become valuable due to its noninflammable characteristics. Use continued into the late 19th century when the very first buildings in the countryside of America were constructed with metal beams and framing. The introduction of the original pre-fabricated metal structures also came about around this time.