Steel Equipment Storage Buildings

When it Comes to Building a SteelMaster, There is No Place Like Home.

Smack dab in the middle of the United States is Kansas, which is often called the Heart of America. When many Americans think of Kansas, most likely two things come to mind: the movie "The Wizard of Oz" and tornadoes. But for Robert Williams and his wife who currently live in Olathe, KS, this Midwestern state is their home, so much so that they purchased a 10 acre plot of farm land in Pamona, KS (about 45 miles from Olathe) on which they intend to live out their retirement years.

After the Williams family bought their acreage in Pamona, they decided to build a shop on the property for equipment storage. "Before we bought our storage building, we kept our tractor and other equipment outside in the weather," says Robert.

Kansas is situated in what many consider to be "Tornado Alley" - an area where 90 percent of tornadoes spring to life because it is where cold, dry air from Canada and the Rocky Mountains meets warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and hot, dry air from the Sonoran Desert. The combination of these conditions along with atomospheric instability produces intense thunderstorms which can lead to tornadoes. Ninety-four tornadoes were reported in Kansas during 2010, and the record year for tornadoes in the state was in 2008 with 187 tornadoes confirmed.

With this information in mind, the Williams had to make sure that the storage building they bought could withstand the high winds that come with tornadoes.

"I saw a [SteelMaster building] and liked what I saw, so that is what we purchased to use as our farm storage building," says Robert.

For more than 28 years, SteelMaster Buildings, which is located in Virginia Beach, VA, has manufactured, designed, and supplied pre-fabricated arched steel structures to 40,000 customers located in every state of the United States, in 40 countries, and on seven continents around the world.

"SteelMaster Buildings are engineered for life," says Michelle Wickum, the company's director of marketing. "Our steel buildings are also built to meet the wind loads of their destination whether that's in Kansas or on the coast of Florida. They remain maintenance free for a lifetime thanks to the company's use of Galvalume Plus Coating which offers strength, superior corrosion resistance, and an attractive bright appearance that provides excellent heat reflectivity." Each SteelMaster Building also comes with a 30-year mill-backed warranty by ArcelorMittal (NYSE MT).

Along with the help of his wife and two friends, Robert erected the steel building in November 2009 and finished by building the end walls in June of 2010. "I built the end walls using 2×6 lumber and red metal siding," says Robert. "The floor was poured as a monolithic 6? slab with thickened sides that sit on piers that are 12? diameter and 5 foot deep. The piers are placed every 6 foot around the perimeter of the building. I am pleased that all the material supplied with the building fit as designed, and I am pretty sure it will stand up to most of the weather Kansas can throw at it."

 Robert has this to say to others who are about to begin construction of their own SteelMaster building. "Read the construction manual, and then call the technical department at SteelMaster and tell them the size of your building and question them about the best method of putting the arches together. Also ask them to explain why it is so important to put the small angles on the curved sections to keep the curved sections from growing as you erect it."

In addition to storage buildings, SteelMaster's steel and metal pre-engineered buildings are designed for a broad range of residential and commercial applications including Garages, Workshops, Carports, Quonsets, Airplane Hangars, RV Storage, Military Buildings, Commercial Warehousing, and Industrial Storageas well as a wide variety of Custom Building applications including Athletic Facilities, Retail Stores, Churches, Bus Stops, Smoke Shacks, Doggie Dorms, and Correctional Facilities.

Visit us for more information at SteelMaster Buildings