An aluminium framed industrial building is modular, strong and can be built without foundations. It is delivered to site in prefabricated frame sections with wall and roof panels ready to be installed onto the assembled frame.
With a suitable base, the process of installing ground fixings, frame, roof, walls, doors and windows to produce a building ready for internal fit-out can take as little as a week for a smaller structure.
Once the shell is complete, mezzanine floors, warehouse racking, heating and cooling systems and much more can be installed inside the building.
Compared to traditional building methods, erecting an aluminium framed modular building is dramatically faster, requires less equipment and is much cheaper.
Traditional buildings vs aluminium framed modular buildings
Traditional industrial buildings are steel framed structures or those built using concrete blocks or even bricks. These both need foundations which are costly and take time. The site needs to be prepared and concrete foundations laid with any rebar reinforcement and pilings that are required. It then needs time to cure before it’s ready for building to start.
Steel Framed Buildings
Steel framed buildings can only be erected with lifting gear and cranes capable of moving the weight of large sections of heavy steel frame. It’s harder to position these heavy sections correctly to bolt to each other and to ground anchoring points on the foundation pad. This delicate and skilled operation can also be affected by the weather and needs time to be carried out by an experienced team.
By comparison, aluminium building frame profiles are much lighter but still structurally strong. Lifting them into position and manoeuvring them, so bolts can be inserted, is much easier and faster. It requires less powerful lifting gear, less space and can be carried out in more weather conditions.
Block Built Buildings
It obviously takes much longer to assemble a building from individual blocks or even to lay a block wall around the bottom few metres of a steel framed structure. Blocks and mortar may also need to be stored on site for some time before they can be laid. Typically, aluminium frames are installed as soon as they are delivered.
Modular aluminium buildings have the advantage that their light weight means that they don’t need foundations. This opens up the possibility of installing these buildings on existing concrete car parks, tarmac and even grass. Specific ground anchoring systems have been developed for mounting to different ground surfaces and all sites are assessed for what level of anchoring will be required before buildings are erected.
Does A Modular Building Need Planning Permission?
Any building over 200m2 that will be up for more than 28 days needs planning permission. This applies to all construction methods and locations in the UK. Typically, planning permission can take between 8 and 13 weeks depending on the complexity of the project. Applying can be simplified by using a specialist partner to do it for you. We work with a firm of town planners that have yet to fail in getting planning permission granted for our UK customers.
How Long Does It Take To Manufacture These Buildings?
Typical delivery times from date of order vary between approximately four and six weeks depending on the complexity and size of the structure. They are manufactured in our factory at our HQ in Germany and shipped directly to site. This means that it can take longer for building components to arrive at some locations in Europe. For the USA, Asia and Australasia, we maintain stock supplies locally.
Once They’re Up, How Long Can Temporary Buildings Be Used?
As ‘temporary’ industrial buildings need planning permission their use isn’t temporary. It might be short term if the structure is needed to store promotional items, provide storage while buildings are upgraded, replaced or repaired, or to accommodate business growth. However, aluminium framed buildings can be, and often are, used for many years with only regular maintenance requirements.
Once they are no longer needed, aluminium framed modular buildings can be taken down and sold or recycled. During their operational lifetime they can also be extended, moved or reduced in size.
Aluminium framed modular buildings for industry are lightweight, can be installed quickly without foundations, can remain in use for many years and cost much less to own and install than the more traditional alternatives. They can be rented or leased if they are only needed for a short time or they can be sold on or recycled when no longer needed after longer term use. In short, the benefits of choosing this type of structure to give you more space on site for industrial storage, production, materials handling, workshop or other use are substantial.
To find out more about industrial, aluminium framed buildings, call our UK expert, Leigh Middleton on 07355 063543 or email him at l.middleton(at)hr-structures.com.