One of the reasons steel building kits have become popular over the years is that you can customize their sizes. Even though the size of a steel building is completely customizable there are certain common building sizes for certain purposes.
These common steel building sizes can help get your imagination going and point you in the right direction. You may also find that steel building manufacturers will have certain sizes on hand due to canceled orders. By choosing one of these, you can often reduce your building cost.
The most popular steel building sizes are:
- 18 x 20
- 20 x 30
- 30 x 40
- 40 x 60
- 50 x 100
- 60 x 80
- 60 x 120
- 100 x 100
- 200 x 200
Steel Building Types & Variations in Sizes
The two most popular types of steel buildings are Arch style steel buildings and rigid frame or red Iron steel buildings. You will find throughout the buying process that each one of these types of Steel Buildings offers slight differences in the sizes that are allowed.
One of the benefits of a Quonset hut steel building is that it is always an entirely clear span as the Arches are self-supporting. A rigid frame steel building, on the other hand, requires an internal steel structure typically comprised of i-beams to support the steel cladding that makes up the walls. Because of this, rigid-frame steel buildings are typically clearspan up to about 40 ft wide. If you go beyond that width, you may require columns to support the additional span.
What are the most popular uses for these common sizes?
18 x 20 Steel Building Uses
18 by 20 metal buildings are a popular choice for residential purposes. 5565 This is often the go-to size when people are looking for a single car garage or a garage with an add-on workshop or storage space.
A standard garage door is typically 8 or 10 feet wide. By choosing an 18ft you are able to accommodate a garage door along with a man door for easy access. 20 ft long is more than enough to accommodate plus additional storage or Workshop space depending on your use.
The most popular uses for an 18 by 20 steel building are:
- Single Car Garages
- RV Garages
- Hobby Workshops
- Storage Shed Buildings
20 x 30 Steel Building Uses
A 20 by 30 steel building is the next most common potential size of building. At this with you could choose to create a two door car garage and if you had two could fit up to four vehicles by parking one in front of the other.
The width of this building can be a bit limiting. Given the length however, you can accommodate surprising amount of storage space in it’s 600 square feet.
A 20 by 30 building is also common for a residential Workshop building. This gives almost all of us space to hold our tools and even a car-lift. You can work on antique cars or whatever your heart desires.
30 x 40 Steel Building Uses
A 30 by 40 steel building can be used for Consumer purposes if you happen to have you land to hold it. This size of building however begins to dip into commercial and agricultural territory. As such, it’s a popular choice for:
- Equipment Storage
- Outbuildings
- Small Warehousing Needs
40 x 60 Steel Building Uses
40 x 60 steel buildings put you firmly into commercial and agricultural uses. This size of building can easily accommodate multiple doors making a variety of uses possible. One thing to keep in mind with a building of this size is that a more substantial Foundation is often required so be sure to check local building codes and speak with your steel building representative.
The most common 40 x 60 Steel building uses include:
- Automotive Garages
- Commercial Storefronts
- Commercial Workshops
- Hay Storage
- Pole Barns
- Airplane Hangars
50 x 100, 60 x 80 and 60 x 120 Steel Building Uses
With the 5000+ square feet that this size of steel building offers, you can essentially do whatever you want to. This size of building lends itself to larger commercial, industrial, and agricultural purposes.
Typically this size of building would be used by a business that requires not only space to operate, also a sectioned off storage or warehousing space.
Common Uses Include:
- Large Pole Barn Alternative
- Heavy Equipment Storage
- Grain or Hay Storage
- Warehousing
- Manufacturing Facilities
100 x 100 and 200 x 200 Steel Building Uses
At 10,000 and 40,000 square feet respectively, these steel buildings are a popular use for heavy industrial use and large-scale commercial purposes. This size of steel building allows you to add on all of the bells and whistles that you can customize a steel building with. This includes not only the common doors and windows, but vents, skylights, overhead cranes, and more.
The most common uses for a 100 or 200 foot wide steel building are:
- Large Warehouses
- Shipping Depots
- Construction Heavy Equipment Storage
- Co-Op Crop Storage
- Large-Scale Manufacturing
Whatever size of steel building you require be sure to ask your building expert about its ability to expand in the future. There are multiple types of Steel Buildings, but one of the benefits of an art style or Quonset steel building is that it’s a relatively simple process to add additional linked in the future. All that is required, is to purchase additional arches which can then be bolted onto the existing structure.
If you’re interested in pricing a steel building for your needs, we’ve made it easy to compare steel building prices from multiple manufacturers here.
