Stepping into the 30 foot by 30 foot steel building owned by Preston
Wells III is like taking a step back in time. The space serves as a
personal museum which houses his collection of farm antiques and early
Americana that he has repaired and restored as a hobby for most of his
life.
His pride and joy is his grandfather's 1932 Case tractor
which was used to farm the family's 1,300 acres of land in St. Cloud, FL
for many years.
"I was raised in the citrus and cattle business
on land that has been in my family for six generations," says Wells.
"Farming is what we do, and I learned to drive a tractor well before I
learned to drive a car. I appreciate the quality and craftsmanship that
went into creating the many antiques that I own."
While Wells
already had a machine shop/mechanic building on his property, it was in
February of 2009 that he decided to build a museum for showcasing the
antiques that he didn't want to part with, including his grandfather's
tractor, a 1937 Harley Davidson WL 45, and a 1923 Ford Model T.
"St.
Cloud is located in hurricane country, so I had to have an affordable
building that was incredibly strong and could withstand the kinds of
storms that blow through here," says Wells. "I did a search on the
Internet and found SteelMaster Buildings."
For more than 28 years, SteelMaster Buildings,
which is located in Virginia Beach, VA, has designed and produced steel
and metal pre fabricated buildings for a broad range of residential and
commercial applications.
"SteelMaster buildings
have been used by all types of hobby enthusiasts including wood
workers, metal shop owners, classic car professionals, as well as
numerous types of businesses around the globe," says Michelle Wickum,
the director of marketing for the company. "Our building is the perfect
place for Mr. Wells to house his valuable antiques because it is
completely resistant to fire and hurricane-force winds. Rust isn't a
factor either because we use a Galvalume Plus coating on all of our
buildings as well as top-of-the-line steel that is made through complex
chemistry. Our customers are working with 100 percent usable space
because of the arch design, so they have the flexibility to truly
customize the inside of their building, which can include hanging
lighting, running conduit, building shelving, adding a loft, insulating
and/or heating/cooling the environment - the sky is the limit."
Wells
says he was able to construct the building himself in a short period of
time with the help of family and friends and couldn't be happier with
his decision to build a steel building as his museum. "I have invested a
lot of time and energy into restoring what is in that museum, and there
are many memories associated with all of the pieces that I cherish,"
says Wells. "Knowing that everything is safe and secure in my
SteelMaster building means a lot to me, and I have enough room to add to
my collection in the future."
With thousands of satisfied
customers, including buildings located in every state in the United
States, on six continents, and in more than 40 overseas countries,
SteelMaster takes pride in knowing its steel buildings have earned the
favor of people like Martinez.
SteelMaster's steel and metal
pre-engineered buildings are designed for a broad range of residential
and commercial applications including homes, farm buildings, garages,
workshops, agricultural storage, Quonsets, airplane hangars, RV storage,
roofing systems, carports, military buildings, commercial warehousing,
and industrial storage as well as a wide variety of custom building
applications including athletic facilities, retail stores, churches, bus
stops, smoke shacks, doggie dorms, and correctional facilities.
