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
