TYPES OF STEEL BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONThere are several types of steel building construction. Steel construction is also called steel  fabrication.

Conventional Steel Fabrication is when teams of steel fabricators cut members of 

steel to the correct lengths, and then weld them together to make the final structure.

This can be done entirely at the construction site, which is labour-intensive, or 

 partially in a workshop, to provide better working conditions and reduce time.

Bolted Steel Construction  occurs when steel fabricators produce finished and painted steel

components, which are then shipped to the site and simply bolted in place. This is the preferredmethod of steel construction, as the bulk of the fabrication can be done in workshops, with the

right machinery, lighting, and work conditions. The size of the components are governed by the

size of the truck or trailer they are shipped in, usually with a max length of 6m !"ft# for normaltrucks or $!m %"ft# for long trailers. Since the only work to be done at site is lifting the steel

members into place with cranes# and bolting, the work at site is tremendously fast. Pre

en!ineered buildin!s are an example of bolted steel construction that is designed, fabricated,shipped and erected by one company to the owner.

Li!"t Gau!e Steel Construction  is a type of construction that is common for residential and

small buildings in &orth 'merica and parts of (urope. This is similar to wood framed

construction,  except that light gauge steel members are used in place of wood two-by-fours.

)ight gauge steel is steel that is in the form of thin $-*mm# sheets of steel that have been bentinto shape to form +-sections or -sections.

#EIG$T OF STEEL FR%&E STRUCTURES+onsider a single storey building measuring x m $6 x !6ft#. )et us first construct this in

concrete, with four columns at the corners, beams spanning between the columns, and a $"mm6/# thick concrete slab at the top. Such a structure would weigh about "" kg0m!, or *! Tons

*!,""" kg# in total. 1f we build this of steel instead, with a sloping roof covered with corrugated

metal sheeting with insulation, this would weigh only about 6 kg0m!. The steel framed buildingwill weigh only !.6 Tons !,6"" kg#. So the concrete building is over 12 times heavier! This is

for single storey structures - in multi-storey structures, the difference will be less, as the floors in

multi-storey steel buildings are built of concrete slabs for economy - but the difference is stillsignificant.

This low weight of steel frame buildings means that they have to be firmly bolted to the

foundations to resist wind forces, else they could be blown away like deck umbrellas2