GALVANISING FOR ARCHITECTS

Architects and Engineers specify galvanizing because it’s the most effective corrosion system with a long, maintenance-free lifespan. Buildings constructed with steel framing and galvanized steel elements enjoy a number of benefits other materials cannot provide.

Design Freedom: Due to the lighter, stronger members which mean less supports, steel designs are often more open providing endless design options. Steel is also easily curved, arched, and manipulated for architectural visual interest. Finally, lighter members allow ease in expansion later, as you can easily weld and bolt on new material often in the same footprint.
Aesthetics: The lightness of steel members, and the ability to bend, curve, and roll the pieces as a visual element is highly desirable. The structural steel addressing functional demands can also become part of the exposed beauty and uniqueness of a project.
Sustainable: Steel is the most recycled material in the world, with nearly 90% of all structural steel coming from recycled sources and the reclamation rate (amount of steel available for recycling that is in fact recycled) is 100%. (Similarly, 30% of all zinc comes from recycled sources, and 80% is reclaimed.) Furthermore, in the past 20 years, structural steel has reduced its carbon footprint nearly 50%, and the energy used in the production of structural steel has decreased 30%, and the conservation of water used in the closed-loop recycling has improved. Coupling the advances of structural steel with the longevity of hot-dip galvanizing enhances the sustainability even more.

Areas of particular consideration include:

Duplex Systems
Galvanising vs Paint Systems

Contact Sperrin Galvanisers with any questions or concerns you may have.

HOT DIP GALVANISING – SPECIFIER CHECKLIST

The achievement of a quality hot dip galvanized coating, for general and architectural use, is dependent on many issues, some controllable and some not. This checklist addresses the issues that can be controlled by the designer. Read more…

DUPLEX SYSTEMS

A duplex system is the combination of two protective coating systems: a hot-dip galvanized coating followed by a topcoat of paint or powder coating. When used together, duplex systems provide a life expectancy that’s approximately 1.5 to 2.3 times greater than either protection method applied independently. Read more…

GALVANIZING VS. PAINT SYSTEMS

Hot dip galvanizing is often perceived to be more expensive than it is. There are two reasons for this: Firstly, that such a high performance coating is automatically assumed to be expensive. Secondly, the initial cost of galvanizing relative to paint has changed significantly over recent years. Painting costs have steadily increased whilst galvanizing costs have remained stable. Read more…

For more information, please download the following resources: