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This topic has been discussed before, but I thought was worth addressing again. Choosing the correct steel building panel is important to the integrity of any steel structure. Most manufacturers and suppliers of steel buildings provide Galvalume® roof panels. Galvalume® sheets are manufactured by coating steel with an aluminum-zinc alloy that gives the product more than double the corrosive resistance of galvanized steel. Most steel building manufacturers and suppliers utilize Galvalume Plus® sheets for any unpainted steel panels and Galvalume® sheets for any colored panels.
Manufacturers and suppliers include unpainted Galvalume® PBR (purlin bearing rib) roof panels in their standard steel building offerings. Galvalume®, incidentally, has a natural dull metallic finish color. A colored steel roof is available to order at a slightly higher price than the uncolored version. Colored roofs consist of a Galvalume® sheet that has been prepped and coated with a silicon polyester paint before the building is fabricated.
Both Galvalume® and Galvalume Plus® are extremely durable and siliconzed polyester paint warranties are very lucrative. The choice of what type of roof to order for your steel building is a matter of price and pitch. For steeper pitched roofs (3:12 pitch and higher) you may want to choose a colored roof simply for aesthetic reasons. Conversely you may not want the added expense of a colored roof on lesser pitched structures as you do not get line-of-sight “credit” for this enhancement as it may not be visible at street level. Higher pitched roofs are more prominent and better for drainage and the building’s overall look. You can see almost the entire expanse of a 3:12 pitched building by standing only a few feet away from the structure.
Some of the most popular available options for any steel roof include skylights and wall lights. Both of these options are translucent panels and are available in the standard profiles. Both wall and skylights simply replace the steel panels where they are installed. Skylights and wall lights allow for a lot of natural light to enter the interior of any steel building. Some people do not require any additional lighting in their building because the building is only occupied during daylight hours and the skylights and/or wall lights provide more than adequate interior illumination on their own. Use of only natural light can obviously reduce electrical energy expenses. Most people choose to configure steel buildings with either skylights or wall lights by placing one translucent panel on either side of each bay. Consider all of the abovementioned panel options both for design and budgetary considerations before ordering your next steel building from a quality manufacturer or supplier.
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