The Benefits of Clear Span Structures vs Beam-Supported Buildings
By Carol Fontius | November 22, 2017 | Web TrafficStructures can benefit from being designed and built with safety and flexibility in mind. There are many safety regulations that are in place in the construction industry. These regulations govern what needs to be done but despite these regulations, there are two basic styles of buildings. These include clear span structures and those that are built with beam supports.
There are many benefits to building clear span building structures instead of beam supported structures. The information provided in this article will illustrate what the benefits of clear-span designs are.
Beam-supported buildings have been in place for decades. In the United States, this type of design was popular in the construction of subdivisions where houses were being built in large quantities. Each had to be sound in its construction, but it also had to be practical to build such a structure. This was done using the post and beam construction process.
For houses, this meant using vertical wood beams placed about eight feet apart along with horizontal beams placed above them for support. These horizontal beams would form either a second floor or a roof. A different type of construction comes in the form of clear-span design.
This is done with tension fabric. This style of building is also referred to as truss-arching or free spanning. These buildings do not need any interior beams or supports or posts. They are built using strong but lightweight aluminum and galvanized steel. They are erected from the ground up and have open spaces in between the building’s arches.
With the difference in design, it may not seem obvious what the benefits are to using clear-span architecture. With this design, you get the biggest benefit of more space because there are no columns to obstruct the floor area. You can use the space for storage or to place inventory for retail use. Because there are no ceiling beams anything that you store in a clear-span building can be stacked to the ceiling.
The building is completely sound, and it is also highly economical. You get much more space inside for a building that costs a lot less than a traditional structure does to build. This means that one of the other benefits of having a clear-span building is that you can reduce operating costs in the future. Initially, the investment will be less and the return on that investment will be greater because of the amount of stock or inventory you can store in the building.
It is easier to move your inventory to such a building because there are no pillars on the ground. These buildings are cost-effective, versatile and safe. For warehouses, they cannot be matched in value. They are excellent for storing equipment that is oversized or oddly shaped.
It should be noted that with all the benefits in the open design, the building does need to be carefully designed to avoid collapse. The steel or other metal also needs to be protected from corrosion and the elements. Other than these factors, there are far more benefits to clear-span buildings.
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