Structural steel

Steel structural elements are relatively rare on the reclamation market. On the one hand, because these materials can easily be sold at a good price to scrap dealers, who dispose of them for recycling. On the other hand, because their reuse for structural applications requires specific procedures to be followed to prove the suitability of the elements for such use, and because the design process is different from usual, as it depends on the elements that are found. Nevertheless, steel structures are usually easy to dismantle and rebuild, and the production of new steel elements (even when containing reclaimed steel) has a very high environmental impact. In addition, a number of example projects have shown that working with reclaimed steel is not necessarily more expensive than working with new steel.

The elements that can be found on the reclamation market generally come from industrial typologies such as demolished hangars and production halls. The elements can be offered separately, but it is not uncommon for reclaimed industrial buildings to be sold as 'building kits'. For companies active in this field, see the material category “Hangars, greenhouses and barns”.