Hurricane Force Winds are No Match for Florida Steel Buildings

Floridians know the drill. From June to November, it’s Hurricane Season in the Sunshine State. You plan, prepare, stock up, and monitor the latest storm tracking news. During this time, our team at Probuilt Steel Buildings gets flooded with questions from customers about the strength and protection of a Florida steel building.

When facing a Category 3, 4, or 5 hurricane that brings rain, wind, and destruction, you want assurance and the hard facts. With deep concerns for your family, home, and personal property, protecting them is a priority. To better help you, let’s review the safety and protection one gets from prefab steel buildings.

What Makes Florida Steel Buildings Safe During Hurricane Season?

With an annual hurricane season, research and innovation into strengthening new building construction never stop. There are various groups and organizations continually searching for ways to improve safer living conditions using steel buildings. Those involved include steel manufacturers, hazardous building experts, government research groups, and many more. Below are some of their findings.

1. Life-Long Toughness

With metal building components, a Florida steel building becomes a permanent structure instead of the standard block, stem wall, or wood frame construction. Season after season, high impact winds from hurricanes cannot penetrate the extra-strength metal design.

2. Non-Flammable

When a hurricane passes over, it is common for lightning strikes from the storm to start fires, but not with steel. It contains fire-resistant materials. Unlike fire-retardant products that burn slowly, a non-flammable steel building can withstand heat and resists burning.

3. Rust-Resistant

Along with heavy winds, hurricanes bring torrential downpours, which causes flooding. Should a Florida steel building be submerged in water, rust-resistant bolts and fasteners secure it to the concrete foundation.

4. Prevents Wind Lifting

With hurricane sustained winds, gusts can range from 95 mph at a Category 2 level to a Category 5 at 157 mph. Prefab steel structures can withstand being lifted by hurricane-force winds as high as 180 mph due to metal building components.

5. Buckle-Resistant

Once a hurricane has passed through, there is always the aftermath of fallen trees and projectile debris that crushes buildings. With the design and construction of a steel building, these structures do not buckle or cave in from fallen trees or other debris.

6. Mold & Mildew Deterrent

Unlike drywall, wood panels, or wood studs, Florida steel building structures do not use porous materials when constructed. Those metal building components cannot hold or retain mold or mildew commonly discovered after a flood. That type of building material helps prevent the transfer of any fungal contagion.

7. Affordable and Easy to Maintain

After a hurricane has passed through, it is time to assess the damages a metal building may have sustained. Commonly the damage found is only to carpeting, cabinets, furniture, and drywall. As for the steel building itself, the structure is still intact, reducing reconstruction costs.

8. Manufacturer Paint Application

The steel building components are coated with a paint application and baked into the material at high temperatures. That outer protection is embedded deep into the metal. Should a steel building get flooded, any contact with moisture cannot remove the paint layer.

Unique Features of Hurricane–Resistant Buildings

Every square mile across Florida has experienced the outer rain bands, destructive winds, lightning strikes, flooding, or tornadoes from a hurricane. Due to the nature of this annual 6-month threat, there are two key areas continually getting updated to protect the public’s safety.

- Building Code Updating

Before 1992, the year of Hurricane Andrew, building codes for new construction in Florida didn’t get updated regularly. Since then, the storms have gotten bigger and devastated many areas not traditionally prone to hurricane weather conditions. For those reasons, there is a hard push in all 67 counties for more hurricane-resistant building construction that has proven to reduce loss of life and minimize property damage.

- Water and Flood Prevention Building

During hurricane season, the coastal areas, Central Florida, the Florida Keys, and the Panhandle have seen more water and flooding damage in recent years. Those locations continue to proactively implement three highly effective prevention building construction for new hurricane-resistant buildings.

● Elevated Structures

Instead of installing a Florida steel building on the natural grade, the slab is raised to a minimum height of 18 inches above the ground level.

● Waterproof Building Materials

Using more non-paper-faced gypsum board, foam plastic boards, rock wool, or semi-rigid fiberglass, combined with exterior installation for easy ventilation and airflow.

● Designed for Quick Drying

Ventilation is the key to evaporating moisture quickly. Avoiding the use of absorbent insulation provides good airflow, permitting a faster drying process.

Importance of Certified Metal Buildings in Florida

As in any industry, you can buy certified or non-certified products. That also applies to any metal building you’re researching to buy. On the surface, side by side, it’s hard to tell the difference. With our annual 6-month long hurricane season, not having a certified Florida steel building installed is very risky. What’s the difference, and what questions should you ask?

The first thing you want to note is the building’s structural integrity. By its design, can it handle our seasonal hurricane weather, e.g., Category 3, 4, or 5 storm systems? Next, you also want to ask if the structure was designed and engineered to withstand hurricane-force winds. Not knowing that piece of information in advance could be costly should it get damaged beyond repair.

Another critical point, certified prefab steel buildings come with a higher quality of engineering built into them. As for the non-certified buildings, they lack in many areas. For instance, they don’t have extra support braces, screws, or anchors required to meet certified structural standards and, in some communities, will not meet or exceed building code.

Buy a Metal Building in Hurricane Times from Probuilt Steel Buildings

Hurricane-force winds are no match when you have a certified custom-made Florida steel building installed at your location from Probuilt Steel Buildings. With long-life toughness, resistance to rust, affordability, and ease of maintenance, you won’t go through another hurricane season worried about your property.

As the leading manufacturer of metal carports, steel garages, RV and Motorhome covers, metal barns, and other custom metal buildings, we only use the best US steel. If you have more questions about pricing and finance options, call and speak to one of our steel building experts today at (877) 754-1818!