Steel is the Real Deal for this Arizona Man

Dan Falcone leads a very full life. At 59 years old, he works long hours and many days in a row to be able to take three months off every year to spend time working on projects and being with his family in Arizona. Why did Falcone decide to build a SteelMaster Building, and what is he planning to do us the building for?

Brenda Welch, a freelance writer who writes for SteelMaster Buildings in Virginia Beach, VA spoke with Falcone to learn his motivations behind purchasing the building, and his future intentions for the space.

BW: Why did you decide you needed a building?

DF: When I retire I plan on having my own machine shop.

BW: Why did you decide to build with steel as opposed to wood or another material?

DF: In Arizona, wood takes too much maintenance.

BW: What led you to SteelMaster?

DF: I saw [the company] on the Internet and contacted a sales representative (Bonnie Kaufman) who was very helpful in answering my questions.

BW: Why did you choose SteelMaster’s product as the one that you wanted to build with?

DF: [SteelMaster] provided me with all that I asked for at what I thought was a reasonable price for the size building that I purchased.

BW: When did you begin building your SteelMaster, and when did you finish?

DF: I started in February and finished in March as I had other things to do also. I had help standing up the arches, but did all the rest myself including the end doors, windows, and turbine vents on top. It was quite a challenge by myself as a 59 year old guy, but was very satisfying when I saw what a quality building I had and that it sealed up so well from the elements.

BW: What are the things that you are most impressed about with the building?

DF: The building is very structurally sound, it seals up so well, and it is easy to add accessories. Also, there is so much space inside without any inner trusses or braces that are on a conventional building. I had one rain storm right after finishing with 40 mile per hour winds, and the direction was coming in towards the overlap. I didn't have a single leak except for one where I was missing a nut on a bolt. Then I found after checking that I was missing three other nuts on the bolts, but they were not even leaking. I choose this type of building because I knew that I would have minimal help and was able to accomplish most of it on my own, plus it is a very secure building. I think the only way people could get into it when it is locked up would be to take a large machine or a gas powered chop saw—both of which would alert the neighbors. Wind is the biggest issue where I am located, and the building seals it out completely—except of course where I have purposely ventilated it for circulation to the turbine vents.

BW: Is there anything that you wish you had known before you started this process that you know now?

DF: I wish that I had read the directions more carefully without thinking that I was a know-it-all, as they were very precise. I just sort of skimmed over them because looking at the building, it looked pretty basic. Only what I didn't realize was the importance of keeping the building plumb and in its exact shape as I put it up. I ended up spending extra time putting it to shape and peak plumb to facilitate ease of putting in the end walls.

BW: How often do you use your building?

DF: I use it every day.

BW: Have you received comments from other people about your building?

DF: I have received comments from all my neighbors, some who were even skeptical until they saw and experienced the structural integrity of it and the amount of space inside because you don't need all that inner bracing like you do on a wood building.

BW: What surprises you the most about your building?

DF: Besides all the functionality and no maintenance (like painting and all the things that go along with a wood structure) it has a very clean and attractive look to it. I am pleased all around and look forward to my retirement and using it as my hobby, plus all the storage I can have on a building this size (30'x40'). When you look in a conventional structure you don't have that extra ceiling space for lighting or whatever a person might want to use it for. The other thing I want to mention is your excellent customer service that I received whenever I had a question or wanted an accessory. I had someone on the phone always—if not immediately, then in less than 10 minutes when I would get a call back from your construction specialist Richard Merrill.

In addition to steel building applications such as Falcone’s, SteelMaster’s steel and metal pre-engineered buildings are designed for a broad range of residential and commercial applications including homes, farm buildings, garages, workshops, agricultural storage, Quonsets, airplane hangars, RV storage, roofing systems, storage buildings, carports, military buildings, commercial warehousing, and industrial storage as well as a wide variety of custom building applications including athletic facilities, retail stores, churches, bus stops, smoke shacks, doggie dorms, and correctional facilities.

Brenda comes up with an exclusive solution of Steelmaster Complaints questionare. Also the broad range of Steelmasters' steel buildings is discussed with examples.

Steel Barn Means No Horsin’ Around with Typical Wood Problems

Evalynn Hyra was in a bit of a bind.

It was 1994, and construction on her house in Tryon, NC had just been completed. Her next project was to build a barn for her horses, but money was tight.

“When the house was built, I didn’t have the money for a stick-built barn or for one of the very fancy horse barns you see around here,” says Hyra, who now owns four horses and five barn cats.

It was during a visit to her local feed store that she literally walked in on a solution to her problem.

“The owner of the feed store had just put in a SteelMaster building for his equipment with a small area closed in for an office,” says Hyra. After seeing the versatility of the building, she contacted the company.

Located in Virginia Beach, VA, SteelMaster Buildings has manufactured, designed, and supplied pre-fabricated arched steel structures for more than 28 years to 40,000 customers located in every state of the United States, in 40 countries, and on seven continents around the world.

“Farm buildings are one of the most common and popular uses for our structures, as well as the top substitute for traditional pole barn applications,” says Michelle Wickum, the director of marketing for SteelMaster. “Our build-it-yourself buildings are affordable and offer 100 percent usable space with a clear span design that eliminates beams and trusses. They are easy to construct and provide maintenance-free use for a lifetime.”

In addition to being maintenance-free, they are also nearly indestructible, which is an important feature when it comes to housing horses that are prone to kicking and biting.

“A wood barn can crack, splinter, rot, and become infested with pests,” says Wickum. “None of those things occur with a SteelMaster building. Steel’s inherent strength resists fire, earthquake, and hurricane damage as well.”When Hyra found out that SteelMaster buildings are customizable, she included features that gave the steel building a typical wood-barn feel.

“The SteelMaster rep suggested that we enclose the ends with wood for looks, and I’m very happy that we did,” says Hyra. “It was installed by a team recommended by the SteelMaster rep, and a friend did the interior work and wood ends. The barn is 30 x 40. There is a center aisle. On one side I’ve created a stall and a large hay room. The other side has a stall, a tack/feed room, and a small area for brooms, etc. The far end, crossing the aisle, is a run-in for the horses, who have access to the barn and pastures 24/7. There is a window in each stall as well as on each side of the run-in end. The stalls are a convenience and there in the event that a horse has to be locked in, but the run-in was the more important area for me. We used double folding doors at each end rather than sliders, which would have been much heavier.”

Just before Christmas of 2008, eight inches of snow fell on Tryon, followed by very heavy winds. The SteelMaster barn got through it just fine, but the same could not be said for Hyra’s carport.

“I had the kind of carport that you see all over,” says Hyra. “After the snow and the wind, the carport roof caved in on my truck and tractor, causing about $5,000 damage to the truck. Since the barn building has convinced me that it’s not going anywhere, and I have never worried about its structural safety, I decided to buy a SteelMaster carport.”

In addition to farm buildings and caports, SteelMaster’s steel and metal pre-engineered buildings are designed for a broad range of residential and commercial applications including garages, workshops, agricultural storage, Quonsets, airplane hangars, RV storage, roofing systems, storage buildings, military buildings, commercial warehousing, and industrial storage as well as a wide variety of custom building applications including athletic facilities, retail stores, churches, bus stops, smoke shacks, doggie dorms, and correctional facilities.