Popular Steel Furniture Designs

There are a lot of different ways that people use steel, and it is found in so many different aspects of our lives today, including our vehicles, small appliances, and the support structures for everything from tall skyscrapers to bridges and roads.

In addition to these functional applications for steel many people like to use it as a decorative metal for various different artistic applications. One such instance is the use of steel to create furniture for your home. Here are some popular ways that people use the steel they purchase from Wasatch Steel to create beautiful and lasting designs for home furniture.

Tables & Chairs
Steel can be a popular choice to create tables and chairs for your home, providing you with a sturdy material that will be able to withstand a significant amount of force and pressure. That makes it a great choice for furniture that you plan to use a lot, such as the chairs in your kitchen or the coffee table in your family room. The great thing about steel is that you can create more contemporary or modern looks, or you can use ornamental steel from Wasatch Steel to create a classic look for your home. If you’re worried that chairs will be uncomfortable or hard, add cushions and other decorative pillows to soften the look and make it more appealing.

Patio Furniture
Since patio furniture is going to be outdoors, it needs to be something that can withstand all that Mother Nature brings, whether it’s wet, cold weather during a Utah winter, or the hot, dry heat of a Utah summer. Steel is often chosen for outdoor applications because it is extremely durable and can withstand the forces of nature. If you purchase galvanized steel from the steel supermarket, you will get building materials that include an extra layer of protection to prevent steel from the oxidation process (exposure to moisture and air) that accelerates rusting.

Desks & Entertainment Centers
Your home office and entertainment needs are also something that you can satisfy with steel furniture. Many beautiful minimalist designs can be created using steel to build either entertainment centers for your television, movies, and other electronics, or desks that will house your computers and important files. The great advantage of building your own steel furniture versus purchasing it from a home furnishing store is that you can build something that is completely customized to fit your exact needs, and it will still be functional and beautiful at the same time.

Steel is even a metal that can be painted, which means you can go for the “industrial” look of unpainted silver steel, or you can go with a more “polished” look of painted steel to match any décor in your home. You can also add curves to any metal piece to make it more visually appealing if you prefer that look over a more boxy, industrial appearance.

Bookshelves & Storage
Finding a convenient and sturdy place to store your books and other storage items requires furniture that is high quality and functional. Fortunately steel in your home in the form of bookshelves or other storage spaces can be both of these things. You can create shelves and other storage spaces from materials at Wasatch Steel that will go in your basement or storage areas, or you can create something that is beautiful and meant to be displayed in your home.

Steel furniture can be a great way to make a bold statement in style and function. Find what you need to create steel furniture at the steel supermarket of Wasatch Steel today.

The Basics on Steel Grades

The term “steel” is used to describe a very wide variety of products—the World Steel Association identified that there are actually 3,500 different steel grades that you can select from when using this kind of metal. Steel grades are assigned based on the different properties of steel, including chemical, environmental, and physical properties.

The most basic form of steel is a combination of iron and carbon, then from there the different levels of carbon and other impurities or additives determine its grade. Steel can be broadly categorized into four groups:

• Carbon steel
• Alloy steel
• Stainless steel
• Tool steel

Here’s a brief overview of steel categories and grades to help you sort through the information next time you plan to buy some from Wasatch Steel.

Carbon Steel
This is the most popular type of steel used, and accounts for about 9 out of 10 tons of steel produced worldwide at steel mills and sold in places like the steel supermarket at Wasatch Steel. It ranges from containing about 0.3 percent carbon to over 0.6 percent, and contains only trace amounts of alloying elements.

Alloy Steels
These types of steel contain some additional elements, the most popular being:

• Manganese
• Silicon
• Nickel
• Titanium
• Copper
• Chromium
• Aluminum

By adding these different elements you can change the property of the steel to make it harder, more corrosion-resistant, stronger, more malleable and formable, more weldable, and more ductile. Alloy steels are commonly used for things like building pipelines, parts for automobiles, and power generators.

Stainless Steel
This is a commonly known type of steel because it is used in many consumer products, such as small appliances. It has chromium added to make it better able to resist corrosion—the amount of chromium is between 10 and 20 percent, and determines its corrosive resistance levels. For example, steel with about 10-11 percent chromium is 200 times more resistant to corrosion than regular steel. The most commonly used stainless steels worldwide are Austensic, meaning they are non-magnetic and cannot be treated with heat. Other stainless steel alloys include Ferritic (which include nickel and molybdenum, aluminum, or titanium) and Martensitic (which include a small amount of nickel).

Tool Steel
This type of steel includes tungsten, molybdenum, vanadium and cobalt in different quantities that help the steel become more durable and better equipped for cutting, drilling, hammering, and more. They are very resistant to heat and extremely durable, which is why they make such a great material for tools. You can find a wide variety of tool steels at Wasatch Steel.

Steel is further divided into categories based on its shapes, including tubular shapes (rectangles, circles, squares, rods, and rails), flat products (coils, sheets, and strips), and miscellaneous products (piping materials, fittings, flanges, etc.).

Beyond these broad classifications, steel is further divided into smaller categories depending on its specific properties and what is added. When you have questions about the type of steel you might need, or you’re not sure what might work best for your next project, talk to the experts at Wasatch Steel to get some guidance and assistance.

What is Galvanized Steel?

When you need steel, there are many different options that you can choose from, and getting the right one is a matter of knowing what the benefits are of each different type. One such type of steel that you may come across at Wasatch Steel is galvanized steel, and here’s a brief overview of what it is and why you might use it in your steel projects.

What Does Galvanized Mean?
The process of galvanizing steel means to apply a coat of zinc oxide, which serves the purpose of preventing it from corroding or rusting. The name comes from the man who discovered this process, Italian Luigi Galvani.

Galvanization Methods
Hot-dipped galvanization, one of the most popular methods, is a process that involves submerging steel in zinc that has been melted, which allows them to bond permanently through a chemical reaction. It’s more than just a coating or a cover on the steel, it’s a permanent part of the new galvanized steel. On the outer layer you find zinc, the innermost layer is pure steel, and the layers in between are a mix of the two.

Other galvanization methods include continuous sheet galvanizing, where steel is run through molten zinc to create a very thin layer of protection; painting or spraying on the zinc, which doesn’t have as strong a bond; or electrogalvanizing, which uses electricity to bond the two metals. To find out what kind of protection the galvanized steel has when shopping at Wasatch Steel, you will often see a measurement of the zinc’s weight per surface area, so you know how thick it is coated on the steel.

Why Choose Galvanized Steel?
The main reason that many people use galvanized steel is for its durability and resistance to rusting. Iron, which makes up a significant portion of many types of steel, reacts when it is exposed to oxygen and moisture by disintegrating. A layer of zinc on the outside keeps the oxygen and moisture from getting to the steel as quickly as it would without the coating. The patina that it creates on the outside of the steel offers another layer of protection that makes it resistant to scratching, particularly hard, and gives it a shiny satin finish, which is why many people like the look of galvanized steel.

Where is Galvanized Steel Used?
Because it is so versatile and durable, galvanized steel is extremely popular and can be found in many different places throughout the world. Steel-framed houses and commercial buildings are often made with galvanized steel, metal roofing, vehicle parts, marine applications, and more. Like all steel, galvanized steel can be recycled and reused indefinitely without losing its strength, which makes it a popular choice for being “green” as well, and helps to keep the costs low.

While not all steel at Wasatch Steel is galvanized, you can find a wide selection at the steel supermarket to meet your needs. Come talk to use today about what you plan to do in your next project and we can help you find the right galvanized or non-galvanized steel to meet your needs.

The Benefits of Buying from Steel Wholesalers

There are a couple of different ways that you can purchase steel, and whenever you are in the market for any kind of steel, you can decide whether you want to buy from a steel mill (often just called a mill) or a steel wholesaler like Wasatch Steel. Here are some reasons you might prefer to buy from a wholesaler over the mill.

Steel Mills
Steel is made in mills in large quantities every day, and if you are in the market for a really big order of steel, this might be your best option for purchasing it. Going directly to the mill means you can cut out any “middleman” in the process, which might save you some money.

However, since they do produce a significant amount of steel every day—even small steel mills ship about 1 million tons of steel every year, which amounts to about 150 truckloads every day—you better be ready to buy it in big quantities. For the most part, steel mills only allow you to buy steel by the truckload, which will be the equivalent of about 20 to 24 tons, or 40,000-48,000 pounds of steel.

You will also need to plan ahead, since a steel mill often requires at least four weeks of lead time, and sometimes as long as 10 weeks to fulfill your order. Finally, mills often have only a small range of sizes available, which means you will need to be able to cut the steel to your preferred sizes.

Steel Wholesalers
Most people who aren’t buying steel for commercial construction purposes will instead purchase from a steel wholesalers, like the steel supermarket at Wasatch Steel. These wholesalers often carry a wide range of sizes and shapes to choose from, including some odds and ends that you might never find at a steel mill. In fact, large wholesalers like Wasatch Steel have a product line with several thousand different options available.

Along with a wide range of basic steel, such as sheet metal, beams, pipes, and more, places like Wasatch Steel offer additional services such as balusters for your next staircase project, ornamental steel, and tools that you might need when working with steel. Wasatch Steel also offers customers the opportunity to get any piece of steel cut to your exact specifications, and can often do it while you wait.

Finally, at places like the steel supermarket there are also plenty of opportunities to find special deals. Customers can often find excess prime and used steel in addition to brand new steel, giving you a choice of different price ranges and different aesthetic appeal for whatever your needs. These advantages give you many reasons to consider purchasing from a wholesaler instead of a service center or a steel mill.

Next time you are in the market for steel, consider the benefits that you get when purchasing from a wholesaler like Wasatch Steel. Not only can you find one of the largest selections of different shapes and sizes, you’ll also get top-notch service from the friendly staff at the steel supermarket.

Shopping for the Right Steel Beams

Steel is one of the most common materials used for creating structural support in buildings today, helping to create everything from small single-story offices and residential homes to the tallest skyscrapers in the world. If you are in need of steel beams for your next construction project, here are the basics that you should know about steel beams and what to look for when shopping at Wasatch Steel.

Types of Steel Beams
The most common types of steel beams that you can purchase today include I-beams and H-beams.

• I-beams are named for their shape as a capital “I”, which short flanges and a longer cross-section through the middle. These are one of the most common beams used in construction today, helping to build tall skyscrapers, offering support for highways and freeways, and creating the backbone for heavy machinery like industrial cranes. 
• H-beams, like I-beams, resemble the capital letter “H”, with longer flanges and a shorter cross-section. This type of steel beam from Wasatch Steel is often used when you need to minimize the side-to-side bending that occurs. 

Getting the Right Grade
Steel comes in many different grades, which is a measure of how steel is manufactured with metal alloys. The different metals mixed with steel create many different properties, and the steel grade that you need will depend on what you are using the steel beams for, the specific structural needs of your building, and any building codes or requirements that are in place.

Building Adequate Support Structures
Steel beams help you create the “backbone” for your construction project, whether it’s a tall building that will house thousands of offices or a freeway that will support the weight of thousands of cars every day. The strength and durability of steel make it an ideal material for a wide array of different projects, but it’s important to calculate the strength requirements in order to get the right steel for each different kind of job, whether it’s heavy duty, light duty, or even prefabricated steel. You have to identify what kind of compressive, tensile, and shear stresses a beam will encounter when a load is applied in order to find the right beam and the right specifications to withstand bending and breaking.

Get Help on Your Analysis
If you’re not sure what kind of steel beams will work best for your next project, there are a wide variety of tools that you can use for analysis. There are structural analysis software tools available that allow you to plug in the information for your design and layout and discover which steel beams are right for the project. You can also work with a building engineer before you get started to ensure you have the right beams to support your construction project.

When you need to find the right I-beams or H-beams for any construction project, whether it’s a do-it-yourself weekend adventure or you are working on it as part of your day job, you can find the biggest supply and lots of great people ready to help you at the steel supermarket at Wasatch Steel.

Benefits of Steel-Reinforced Concrete

Steel has long been a popular material for use in various different types of construction because of its strength, durability, and affordability. When you’re building with concrete, steel can also play a big role by helping to strengthen the concrete through the use of reinforcing bars (also called rebar) embedded throughout the concrete structure. Concrete has a relatively low tensile strength and is not generally very ductile, but steel helps to create higher tensile strength and better ductility to allow the use of concrete in a variety of different construction settings, from roadways and bridges to buildings and homes. Here are some of the benefits steel-reinforced concrete offers.

Increased Flexibility for Designs
By adding rebar from Wasatch Steel to a design, it enables architects to create better and more flexible spaces. Steel-reinforced concrete allows for open designs and long-span layouts so building owners have the flexibility to change and update space as needed based on their tenants. This is particularly helpful in the construction of large office spaces and other similar buildings—the ability to install equipment quickly, change and update space as needed to meet the demands of each unique tenant can make a big difference in a landlord’s ability to lease empty space.

Energy Efficiency
When you design buildings using Wasatch Steel rebar to reinforce the concrete, you can create more energy efficient floor designs that allow you to fit more space into each building without worrying about zoning restrictions. Since steel is a lightweight material, it also improve the efficiency of delivery, cutting transportation costs and reducing the carbon footprint of your construction project.

Buildings with Benefits
There are many benefits that steel offers to the occupants of buildings—everything from increased fire resistance to lower vibration levels and reduce noise transmission from the outside in. These comfortable, secure, and safe buildings are ideal for tenants in a wide variety of industries. Steel-reinforced concrete also allows you to improve indoor air quality and reduce wind resistance for a comfortable and quiet office environment. These environmentally-friendly buildings help boost employee productivity and boost your “green” credentials.

Minimized Costs

Using steel-reinforced concrete instead of more expensive stone means you can save money on transport and materials costs without giving up any of the aesthetic benefits or strength that you would get from more expensive materials. If you are working toward LEED certification but also need to keep costs down, finding steel reinforcing bar fabricators nearby (such as Wasatch Steel, which is conveniently located right in Salt Lake City) is an important step is reducing material transportation costs, which can help build up LEED points. Steel is also beneficial in these cases because it is often made from 100% recycled material, which lowers energy costs to produce the steel and increases your LEED score.

When you need a material to help you build strong, durable, and long-lasting structures, look at the benefits that steel-reinforced concrete can provide.

Winter Olympics: A Look at Steel's Role

Many of us have watched the Sochi Winter Olympics these past couple of weeks, marveling at the athletes and all they have accomplished in some amazing sports. At Wasatch Steel, we decided to take a look at how steel plays a role in the Olympics, in everything from the venues that they use to compete in each sport to the infrastructure and the equipment that athletes use. Without steel, the Olympics would look much different. 

The Venues
While there is not any specific data publicly available about all of the Winter Olympic venues that were built for the events in and around Sochi, we do know that steel plays a huge role in any architectural building, creating the backbone of the structure and allowing for some amazing designs to be built.

Just looking at the venues for the 2014 Winter Olympics, from the Iceberg Skating Palace to the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park and everywhere in between, steel plays a big role. It allowed for some amazingly beautiful designs in the structure that held the Olympic flame, and helped athletes perform incredible tricks in disciplines from freestyle skiing and snowboarding on the rails to the ski jumps and bobsled, skeleton, and luge track where athletes flew over 300 feet in the air or slid down a track at speeds nearing 100 mph.

The Transportation
Another area where steel, like what you can find at Wasatch Steel, plays a big role in any major event is the transportation. It has been reported in the media that much of the area around Sochi was undeveloped prior to the Winter Olympics, so over the past few years Russia has spent a significant amount of time and money constructing highways and roads to accommodate the vast influx of fans expected for the games. Steel is one of the most effective materials for infrastructure projects like roads and bridges because it is extremely durable and strong, but also very lightweight, making it easier to transport to building sites, and easier to build with.

The Athletes’ Equipment
Many of the athletes in the Winter Olympics also have steel as part of their equipment or uniform. Ice dancers and hockey players have skates with blades made of steel, bobsleds, skeletons, and luges rely on steel runners to get them down the ice safely and securely, with as little extra weight as possible in the equipment. In fact, USA skeleton athlete Noelle Pikus-Pace from Eagle Mountain, Utah was widely reported to be sliding on a sled made by her husband, who works for a steel fabrication company. Equipment from speed skaters’ skates to ski bindings might be made of different steel or steel alloys. The durability, strength, and lightweight nature of steel makes it a versatile choice for many different sporting applications.

Even if you’re not part of the Winter Olympics, come down to Wasatch Steel to check out our selection of steel and find whatever you might need for your next project—and Go Team USA!