Steel vs. Concrete Availability/Scheduling and Design
The material availability, construction scheduling factors, and design capabilities are compared between two premium building materials - steel and concrete.
There has recently been a shortage of cement, the primary bonding material in concrete, in many states. The South’s hurricanes have also resulted in greater demand and shorter supply. Shipping rates and the limited availability of transport ships has also impacted supply. The use of imported cement and higher shipping rate to supplement supply have resulted in higher costs and less availability. Smaller builder and contractor companies are most affected. The good news is that capacities are increasing with cement company expansion.
The expansion of the Chinese economy has been blamed for the lack of availability of steel recently. Many argue that there is in fact no shortage. They point to the adequate production capacity of steel to meet any construction growth in the near future.
The construction scheduling factor is also a consideration for both steel and concrete. Buildings utilizing concrete can go up fast. Some cast-in-place reinforced concrete buildings can rise one complete floor every other day. Developers can finish projects faster, earn profit, regenerate capital, and move to the next project quickly. Utilizing the popular “2 day cycle” up to 20,000 square feet of floor space can be poured every two days.
Steel provides many construction scheduling benefits of its own. The use of steel results in an accelerated construction schedule. The quality of steel is enhanced because of off-site fabrication, and productivity opportunities are real with less on-site labor time. The advancements in steel building technology have blended the design, pre-engineering, and fabrication of steel, resulting in an accelerated process. This process can shorten some construction processes by 40%.
There are many design possibilities with the use of concrete. Concrete construction can offer unique aesthetics and space advantages. The use of cast-in-place reinforced concrete to frame an office building will yield more rentable space because of lower floor-to-floo9r heights. With the application of proper engineering a concrete building can also offer uninterrupted floorplates.
Steel is an excellent design-friendly material for building. Steel has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any construction material in use today. With the utilization of new construction techniques, steel buildings have become a popular choice for both office and multi-family developments. Steel can also provide extremely long spans in structures and open-bay footprints without the need for interior load-bearing columns. Steel remains a very flexible material in terms of offering a multitude of design opportunities along with inherent strength and durability.