Pre-engineered Building (PEB) - Components, Advantages, Disadvantages

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What Is Pre Engineered Building (PEB)?

Pre-engineered buildings are modern adapted systems where the building’s structural members are manufactured at the factory and assembled at the site. When these buildings are built with great efficiency, they can be 30% lighter than conventional steel buildings.

Generally, Pre-engineered buildings are steel structures; these are built according to the structure’s exact requirements, such as its size, height, and width.

Then these built-up sections are transported to the site and assembled with bolted connections. This type of construction method is widely adopted in industrial buildings, warehouses, and metro Station.

Components Of Pre-engineered Building

Pre-engineered buildings consist of different members, which are discussed below:

1. Primary Frame

Primary frames consist of trusses, column or castellated beams, etc. These are built up of I-shaped steel members. All the load of structure members passes to the base and consists of end wall frames.

These end wall frames are either designed with rigid frames or with economic bearing frames. These frames are reinforced with wind bracing and connecting bolts. Sometimes with anchor bolts.

2. Secondary Elements

Secondary elements are cold-formed structural members, available in different shapes like C, Z, etc.—commonly known as “Purlins.” For overall structure stability, these purlins transfer force from one frame to another.

These purlins are resistant to corrosion, robust, lightweight, and they are easy to mount. Purlins come in various lengths and thicknesses.

3. Roof And Wall Panels

Some of the pre-engineered building components like roof and wall panels, come in tin shades and curtain walls made of glass and roll-formed steel sheets. Some special roofing sheets are used to minimize energy usage.

4. Sandwich Panels

These panels are made in three-layer, where one non-aluminum layer is placed in between two aluminum sheets.

Some other components of sandwich panels are bolts, insulation, mezzanine floors, skylight sheets, flashlights, cage ladders, cable trays, ducts, cranes, etc.

Advantages of Pre-Engineered buildings

1. Quality Control

The quality of pre-engineered building materials is easy to manage as they are manufactured in a factory under controlled conditions.

2. Low Maintenance

The maintenance cost of pre-engineered buildings is significantly less, as they are manufactured with high-quality paint for steel and cladding.

3. Flexibility Of Expansion

The pre-engineered building has flexible expansion options, which means we can extend a building’s length, height, and width in the future.

4. Energy Efficient

These buildings can be customized with polyurethane insulated panels or fiberglass blankets to make them energy efficient.

6. Versatility

The pre-engineered building systems come in various types of fasciae, canopies, and metal wall panels, designed according to the requirement.

7. Require Less Time To Construct

Construction of a structure using a pre-engineered building method consumes less time than the conventional method.

Disadvantages Of Pre-engineered Building

1. Insulation Cost

Insulating the whole pre-engineered building can cost you much.

2. Appearance

These buildings are steel structures that are not much attractive as they are left exposed.

3. Prone to Corrosion

As we know, these are steel structures, and they are prone to corrosion if the material or paint used is not of good quality, which may reduce the life span of the steel structures.

Application

Pre-engineered buildings can be adapted for different construction.

Labour Camps
Office Buildings
Workshops
Schools
Community Centre
Factories
House living shelters
Aircraft Hangers
Supermarket
Sports Halls
Petrol Pumps
Service Buildings
Warehouses

Difference Between Pre-Engineered Building & Conventional Steel Building

Properties	Pre-Engineered Building	Conventional Steel Building
Design	An easy and quick design, as these are framed sections and connection designs, and it is less time-consuming.	The conventional building has to be designed from scratch with only fewer aids available to engineers.
Duration of Construction	Construction with a Pre-Engineered Building system usually takes 6 to 8 weeks.	Construction by the conventional building method usually takes 20 to 26 weeks.
Foundation	Simple and easy design and quick construction as they are lightweight.	A large and heavy Foundation is required in a conventional building.
Seismic Resistance	In Pre-engineered buildings, the lightweight frames offer higher resistance to seismic forces.	Rigid Heavy frames in conventional building systems are less resistant to seismic forces.
Future Expansion	Any expansion in the future is very easy and simple.	Here future expansion may cost you more and it is more tedious.
Erection Time and Cost	The erection procedure in a pre-engineered building system is very quick, easy, and requires less equipment.	In a Conventional building system, the time and the cost cannot be estimated accurately, but it is 20% more expensive than PEB’s. The process is very slow and more equipment is required.
Overall Cost	The overall cost of the Pre-Engineered Building will be 30% lesser than the Conventional Building.	The conventional building cost more
Architecture	With the help of standard design details, an outstanding architectural design can be achieved.	Special design must be done for different projects, which results in high costs.
Structural Weight	Pre-engineered buildings are 30% lighter in weight than conventional buildings.	In a conventional building, the structural members are heavier in weight.