Construction

Steel: A big part of summer construction season

Summer is construction season and this is definitely the case in Hamilton, which is experiencing a development boom. And where there is construction, there is steel. Read on to learn about some of Dofasco's largest construction applications for our flat steel products, including roofing, cladding and siding panels for building exteriors.

Summer is not only the season for backyard barbecues, beach days and bike rides. It’s also construction season. And this summer, construction is booming in Hamilton.  

According to the Hamilton Economic Development Corporation, the city hit a record $2 billion in building permits in 2021 and has experienced an unprecedented highrise building boom in the downtown core over the last five years. Since 2017, 19 major building developments have been completed or are under construction from Queen Street to Wentworth Street and Barton Street to Aberdeen Avenue. 

And where there is construction, there is steel. Some of the largest construction applications for our flat steel products include roofing, cladding and siding panels for building exteriors. These products are commonly manufactured from pre-painted Galvanize or Galvalume™. ArcelorMittal Dofasco customers, including Agway MetalsIdeal Roofing and Vicwest, will cut and roll-form the pre-painted steel from Dofasco into panels with a variety of styles and colour selections and will offer a corrosion warranty of up to 40 years for Galvalume™.  

What is pre-painted steel? 

Pre-painted steel is used in cladding and roofing, residential and garage doors, ceiling grid systems, containers and major appliances. Pre-painted steel is painted before forming, using the coil coating process— a continuous and highly automated process for coating metal in coil form before fabrication. In one continuous process at ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s paint facility, Baycoat (in Stoney Creek), a steel coil up to 60 inches wide is unwound and both the top and bottom sides are cleaned, chemically treated, primed, oven cured, top coated, oven cured again, rewound and packaged for shipment. All at up to 480 feet per minute! 

What is GalvalumeTM steel?

GalvalumeTM steel is used for industrial and commercial roofing, agricultural buildings, quonsets, light steel framing, construction tubular and pre-engineered buildings. It is produced by the continuous hot dip coating process, in which the steel strip is fed through a bath of molten aluminum-zinc alloy.  

It combines the best qualities of aluminum and zinc, offering superior corrosion resistance and heat reflectivity. The smooth, silvery metallic spangle appearance makes it attractive in unpainted applications. It is also available in pre-painted form and can be readily post-painted in the field or at the fabricating plant. 

What is Galvanized steel? 

Galvanized steel is used in the manufacturing of exposed and unexposed automotive parts, culvert, cladding, light steel framing, decking, HVAC systems, pools, appliances, and commercial doors. Galvanized steel is produced by the continuous hot dip galvanizing process, in which the hot roll or cold roll strip is fed through a molten zinc bath. The zinc coating improves the corrosion resistance of the steel substrate thanks to the barrier protection and sacrificial characteristics of the coating.   

To learn more about how steel is used in building design and construction, check out the latest issue of Steel Design magazine, which features amazing design and construction projects that feature steel. Launched in 1968, the magazine has been a resource for architects, engineers, specifiers, building officials, contractors and others involved in the building design and construction fields for 54 years. A showcase for steel in construction, the magazine was relaunched in 2020 in a digital format. Check it out to read stories about how the steel we make is used to make high performance and stunning buildings.  

Steel Design magazine

  • Steel Design magazine is a great resource for the architects and specifiers that conceive of and design all of the buildings that we see going up in Hamilton and beyond.