Free up time: Steel farming buildings require less maintenance

Agricultural buildings made from steel save money over the long term because of lower maintenance and operation costs.

Farming is time consuming work. It’s a lifestyle that requires an immense amount of obligation to care for everything required by the operation, whether it’s livestock, field crops or market commodities like eggs or fruit. Your commitment to running a successful business takes up a lot of time and attention. You don’t want to be distracted by unnecessary repairs or maintenance on equipment and structures.

Respecting valuable time is one reason why more farmers are choosing to build with steel instead of other traditional materials like wood or brick. Because a future building is going to have to serve an operation for decades as a valuable investment, choosing the type of construction is not a small decision. Regardless of the building’s purpose, farm managers can choose from a variety of materials and engineering systems for their farm buildings, which can include:



• Wooden beam and plank barns 
• Pole barns 
• Canvas or fabric structures 
• Metal shells (open-ended, arch or shed types)
• Brick and mortar houses
• Pre-engineered steel buildings

Each of these types of building structures offers their own set of features suitable for specific situations. For large commercial farm operations, only protective and cost-effective steel buildings offer the strength, durability, clear spans and engineering to maximize your operation’s efficiency. 

Pre-engineered metal structures start with a solid concrete foundation to support and strengthen the load-bearing beams supporting the roof – especially in harsh climatic zones where wind and heavy snow loads really test engineering. 

Another significant advantage is that steel requires little to no maintenance. Summit Steel Buildings pre-engineered metal structures offer are built affordability and quickly yet last a lifetime with little extra costs after they’ve been completed.

Even though agricultural buildings can be built from a wide variety of materials, read why farmers quickly realize the long-term benefits of choosing steel.

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Steel means more maintenance savings over time

Of the overwhelming number of building systems that can be used to construct agricultural structures, steel is your material of choice due to its strength, durability and its resistance to daily wear and tear, natural elements and destructive pests. Steel’s galvanized finish provides complete rust protection, reducing maintenance costs for steel buildings over the long run. Imagine the savings. 

Sometimes wood seems like a way to save money on building costs. Even when we exclude how expensive wood prices have become over the last few years, steel results in similar building costs on larger projects yet save you considerably more over time. Everything is out to destroy wood: insects, moisture, mold and weather all cause wood to lose its strength and become distorted or break. Within a few years, most wood structures need to be repainted or have some portions replaced. 

Secured by its solid concrete and steel beam foundation and a wide range of attractive and permanent finishings, steel buildings won’t warp, twist or split and stand strong, looking as good years later as it did on the day it was built. Learn more about our steel agricultural buildings.

One industry calculation is to take maintenance costs as a percentage of the building’s estimated replacement value. Buildings made from traditional materials (e.g., wood or brick) can run as high as 5% (giving the building a 20-year lifespan, with at least $5,000 per year in routine care) while operations using regular maintenance programs are in the 3% range. Unexpected repair and replacement costs drive those totals much higher. Unplanned repairs often take 3 to 9 times longer than a scheduled job to perform and the costs to do so (materials and labour) are equally as high. 

Steel buildings practically eliminate these costs since no upkeep is required. The major consequence of both regular and unexpected maintenance costs is the hit to profitability twice: once for the cost of repairs, and again for loss of revenue during downtime. And the cost of doing nothing when it comes to ongoing maintenance to wood structures is not only more expensive in the long run, but it also becomes both a direct cost and opportunity cost to your time. 

Spend your time wisely, not painting and repairing

At the end of the day, farm managers build a better operation if they’re spending their time doing what they do best rather than losing time to building maintenance, such as painting, repairs and going to the builder’s supply store to find the right components. Over time, the costs associated with maintaining a wooden structure – both in terms of time and money – considerably outweigh the expenditure of a building made with steel.

Not only will you get a final price that’s comparable (or less) to wood or timber, but you’ll end up with a building with more open space and fewer supporting columns to obstruct space and traffic flow. Steel provides better protection against the outside elements (pre-engineered steel panels allow you to choose from a wide variety of insulation, such as R-30 or R-50 to save further utilities costs), will not rot or be damaged by pests and gives you protection against fire that your production inventories and insurance companies will like.