How to Make your Building not look like a Steel Building? 

A pre-engineered metal building system may offer your preferred structural components but may not initially fit with your architectural vision. Thankfully, modern pre-engineered building systems can be customized to meet your structural and aesthetic requirements. 

With product offerings from leading manufacturing brands like Cascadia Metals, you can be assured that you are getting a quality product that delivers high performance and value. Modern metal cladding can offer a realistic woodgrain, gloss finishes, or textured styling. 

Cladding reveals, shadow lines, or architectural ‘Accent Fins’ by Kingspan offer a high-end architectural look. Other cladding options like IMPs (insulated metal panels) may offer textured impressions for a traditional stucco style appearance while provided first class R-value ratings to meet or exceed your building’s energy performance requirements. Smoot faced IMPs may also be used to achieve a look like concrete tilt-up. 

If you wish to ditch the idea of metal cladding or roofing all together, your building can feature an endless array of architectural elements that will make your ‘steel’ building stand-out or blend in on the block. A modern pre-engineered metal building system from Liberty Steel Buildings can be design to allow integration of almost any envelope type including Hardie planks or panels, stone, brick, glass, or translucent panelling. 

The most popular way of customizing the exterior of your pre-engineered steel building is by adding a colour, texture, mix & match cladding profiles, or decorative veneers. Colour choices and specialty paint coatings are now almost endless. If your budget is tight, even standard colour selections can present an eye-catching dynamic design. If you dare to dream of something different, signature colours, printed panels, perforation, standing seams, and even vinyl graphics can be used to transform your steel building away from an ordinary tin box. * 

*Suggestion: change your PBR wall cladding profile to Shadow Rib or a Designer Series concealed fastener panel. 

Stucco Finishes 

This type of finishing is affordable, and you can customize it to fit any kind of environment. 

You can apply stucco finish in different methods: 

•  Stucco panels. You add them like siding. They provide insulation and come in various colors. 
•  Traditional stucco. You have to build these into the building, and you may need a spandrel beam to hold up the wall. 
• Stucco flex. It comes as a spray. You spray it onto the steel and give it a flat finish. It’s the cheapest option of the three. 

Decorative Veneer 

Veneer also comes in various decorative options: 

• Natural wood or cementitious (Hardie) siding. It gives a traditional look but requires waterproofing and maintenance after some time. Expert opinion: a printed series metal panel can be used instead of wood or Hardie planks. Printed metal panels come in a variety of colours and widths. Printed metal panels achieve a wood grain look while being non-combustible and can come with integrated perforations for soffit applications. Printed metal panels can offer reduced labour costs for installation and long-term benefits of being maintenance free. 
• Natural or faux stone veneer. These look like real stones and give a great natural look. 
• Brick veneer panels. The panels are made of polyurethane. They provide insulation and are soundproof. They are also fire-resistant and waterproof. 

How to Accessorize a Pre-engineered Steel Building 

Accessorizing the exterior of your steel building is not the end of making your building more stylish and captivating. You can add decorative touches to every part of your pre-engineered steel building. 

• Windows: Windows have a decorative effect on buildings and are available in many glazing options, sizes, styles, and design pressures. Choose either the self-framing, self-flashing, or immediate installation designs. 
• Doors: Just like windows, doors will add aesthetics to your pre-engineered steel building. You can choose from a wide range of walk doors; from sliding doors, double doors, french doors and traditional doors–if that’s your style. 
•  Insulation: There’s a misconception that steel buildings can be too hot or too cold. That is not true. You can add insulation to steel buildings, making the temperature of the building comfortable. 

There are various materials you can use for insulation. The most affordable option is fiberglass. It is non absorptive and can prevent rust and mold. Other options are spray foam and foam boards. You can use a banded system to cover the steel frame with the insulation providing better coverage. 

• Colours: Add a splash of colour to give your pre-engineered steel building some personality. Accentuate the design by adding colours to the roof, wainscot, walls, and trim. 
• Ventilation: Add HVAC components to your steel building to keep the air in your interior clean tempered and clean. Wall-mount louvers and fans can be designed to control the movement of fresh air while removing contaminated, hot, and stagnant interior air from the structure. 
•  Interior lighting: This is a unique initiative in construction design that allows natural light distribution, for example, through light-transmitting panels and a prismatic skylight that lowers energy consumption and reduces operating costs. 

• Ceiling: A dropped ceiling in your steel building will give it a traditional feel particularly in commercial or office spaces. 
• Customized floor: You have many options to choose from; tile, wood, laminate, carpet, and more. You can choose something that suits your style. 

Want to Construct a Steel Structure? 

Our construction professionals at Liberty Steel Buildings transform metal boxes into showcase buildings. We use a creative design process that blends modern architectural styles with cost-efficiency, and we will work with you and your architect from the early stages of design and planning to the completion of your project. 

Liberty doesn’t build the ordinary, we can, but we will build it to be extraordinary!