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Iron columns were first used in a British textile mill late in the eighteenth century and consequently the growth, economy, and technology of steel buildings has progressed. The first metal structures in our country were assembled with metal frames and beams during the latter part of the 1800’s. The introduction of steel and metal as a supply for a basic building component is due in large part to its fire resistant character. The ushering in of the earliest pre-fabricated structures of metal also happened during this time.
When automobiles were in their early stage at the beginning of the 20th century, steel and metal construction was largely used for auto garages. In order to increase fire resistance and lower price, total metal configuration for automobile garages soon replaced the first styles. One of the early fabricators was the Butler Manufacturing Company.
Pre-engineered assembly, as applied to steel and metal framing, was initiated in the early 1900’s by an Ohio firm known as the Austin Co. This was soon succeeded by Star Building during the 1920s with their capacity to supply low cost all-metal buildings for petroleum exploration in the Midwest.
All-metal construction was chosen for aircraft hangars during the early 1940s and helped propel the need for metal structure construction. Around this time, Quonset huts came into common use. Many of these structures were manufactured and required only the assistance of a small labor force and hand tools to assemble, and they could easily be disassembled, trucked, and moved elsewhere. The Quonset hut saved money, but was unpleasant in appearance. These structures became popular in rural communities as agricultural storage buildings as well as with the Armed Forces for use as motor pools and barracks.
In the mid 1940’s, corporations that made pre-fabricated steel buildings underscored cheap prices and quick assembly benefits, without beauty, to increase sales. The buyers of these steel buildings weren’t so anxious about how the external look would be ““ they were concerned about what would be sheltered on the inside. A standard 4:12 roof slope came with this second generation of pre-fabricated, pre-engineered steel building blueprinting, but its look was very bare. There was distrust in many buyers’ minds about the strength and durability of these pre-fabricated metal buildings since they were left to corrode on our country’s landscape for decades. However, enhancements in pre-engineered steel building systems swiftly caused a second wave of construction that became highly favored.
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