What Are The Options When You Need More Space On Site?

At times, any business or commercial entity may need more space on site. And when they do, they have a number of options available to them. They can choose a building built from ‘bricks and mortar’ or a steel-framed building. In both cases, foundations are laid and services installed.

This structure is both permanent and relatively fixed in terms of footprint and dimensions. Any changes to the actual structure of the building would require significant redevelopment work. Internally, these buildings provide whatever space they’ve been built for.

Also, to remove these buildings requires demolition and the subsequent removal of the concrete, bricks, blocks, steels, broken glass, wood and plasterboard this produces. You then work out what to do with the foundation pad and the building services laid into it.

At the other end of the spectrum, additional storage can be supplied by moving shipping containers onto site. As these are less than 50 square metres in size, they don’t need planning permission but they’re also not really buildings.  Off-site storage can be considered but it usually adds travelling time and security issues.

Prefabricated buildings are more often used for additional office space and as classrooms for schools and colleges. These are craned onto supports on site and can be used for many years but are limited in size and use.

 

How Are Industrial ‘Temporary Buildings’ Constructed?

The happy middle ground is an aluminium-framed modular building. Aluminium framed buildings do not require foundations and can be taken down (demounted) after a period of use. They can even be moved and their length extended or reduced.  Such a building can be up to 30m wide and any length you have space for in 5m increments. Wall heights can be up to 8.3m making these structures ideal for warehousing, workshops, manufacturing and production, processing, recycling, sports halls, entertainment venues, exhibition halls and much more.

These structures often use industrial strength PVC roofing. This can be single sheet PVC for uninsulated buildings. Double sheets can be used to control condensation, and sealed air-filled PVC sections provide roofing for temperature-controlled buildings.

 

What Is A Temporary Building?

Some believe that the use of the materials a building is constructed from make it temporary. However, any structure larger than 50 square metres is only considered to be temporary if it is taken down after a maximum of 28 days. The construction method used is not what makes it a temporary building. If it remains standing and in use for more than 4 weeks, it is permanent even if it taken down after only 29 days. And if it’s a permanent building it needs planning permission.

When the need for a new structure is short term and planning permission isn’t required, a temporary building can be rented. This may be needed to maintain business continuity while repairs are undertaken, or to facilitate seasonal demands. However, it needs to come down within 28 days if it doesn’t have planning permission.

So, the general use of the term ‘temporary building’ to describe these aluminium-framed buildings is inaccurate. Not only do these buildings have planning permission but they should also be built to withstand the forces of high wind and heavy snow loads possible in the area where they are erected.

The aluminium frame profile specified for the chosen building width is designed to support the structure under potentially severe local weather conditions. It provides support for the roof in such a way that there is no need for additional pillars or posts inside the building. All the weight of the cantilever roof is carried through this frame. This means that specifying a thinner profile is a highly unadvisable and potentially dangerous money-saving strategy.

The strength in a correctly specified temporary building means that they can remain in use for many years.  As they are modular, any damage caused by careless drivers or mis-use is easily dealt with using replacement sections of wall, roof or frame.

As we’ve seen, ‘temporary buildings‘ are also suited to a wide range of uses. They are ideal as warehouses, workshops and canopies for covered loading and unloading. They make great production, manufacturing, materials handling/recycling or assembly facilities. Exhibition halls, temporary classrooms, retail buildings, garden centres, sports halls and much more have all been successfully built from these aluminium-framed structures.

 

What Should These Buildings Be Called?

So, if ‘temporary building’ is at best misleading and at worst wrong, what other terms can be used more accurately for these structures? ‘Modular buildings’ works well but is often used for prefabricated structures that aren’t industrial or built around aluminium frames. ‘Demountable’ also describes these structures well as they can be taken down or ‘demounted’ after they have fulfilled their purpose. Unfortunately, ‘demountable buildings’ is a relatively unfamiliar description despite being more accurate than ‘temporary buildings’. We could suggest ‘semi-permanent’, but this is just a more positive way of saying ‘temporary’.

Do any of the descriptions used in other territories work? Well, ‘clearspan’ does describe the absence of pillars or posts within the building but it is also a brand name in the US. ‘Industrial halls’ may be an alternative as long as we can associate halls with industry rather than the space just inside our front doors at home, or village halls or similar meeting spaces. And ‘industrial tents’ just isn’t enough. These are not fabric assemblies for short term storage of non-perishables. These are very strong, long-lasting and immensely flexible structures with a potentially huge range of industrial and commercial uses.

So, what do you think they should be called?