Structural Beam is a steel construction company and general contractor in Chicago, call us at +1 773-917-8998 today for a free estimate for your project!

Steel Construction Company And Contractor in Chicago, Il.

There’s a reason that general contractors are in high demand: they take responsibility for your project and make it all happen. There are many bases for a general contractor to cover in order to bring the project to completion. Our expert spells it out for your benefit.

The great structural steel revolution

The first city, the city of timber and stone

First, it was just masonry and carpentry. And everyone was doing just fine, or that’s what they thought, anyway. If you need a taller, larger building, you just tell masons to build another floor. The land for construction was plentiful and inexpensive.

Iron was already a part of the building construction industry by the mid 19th century. Ferrous metals, imagine that! Wrought iron was used as a construction material right here, in the Windy City, before the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Timber burned and houses came down, hundreds of lives were lost, and the extent of the devastation was truly gruesome. This made the City Council think long and hard before coming up with new regulations for construction.

They came up with the ruling to use more natural stone and brick masonry, to make sure that hundreds of lives wouldn’t be lost, and thousands of buildings wouldn’t be burned again. Wrought and cast iron were integrated into the brick and stone masonry structures. Natural stones like granite, marble, and limestone make for good building materials, and bricks are fine, too. But yet, there was a problem. And that’s how the Second City was born.

The second city, the city of structural steel

The City of Chicago was growing too fast for its own good and by the 1880s the plots for construction in the city’s center were getting really expensive and supply was, for obvious reasons, scarce. A great industrial city, that had steel manufacturing as its main specialty, was a perfect launchpad for construction to be launched upwards, into the sky.

In 1975, Sidney Gilchrist Thomas invented his “basic process”, which allowed removing phosphorus from Bessemer’s Convertor, and the Steel Revolution was about to begin.

The Home Insurance Building was followed by Randy McNelly Building, the first steel-framed skyscraper, and the rest is history. By the mid 20th century, structural steel became the staple of residential, commercial, and industrial construction, and it stays so until now.

As the building construction industry was being transformed, structural steel was making its way in residential and commercial construction, and at some point, it was everywhere, from that lintel beam spanning your window, integrated into brick masonry, to magnificent steel buildings with full steel frame construction. All over the country, local contractors were discovering that bringing together masonry and structural steel required a new level of integration, and that’s how the steel building contractors institute came into existence.

For residential mixed-media projects, involving concrete, structural steel, and brick masonry, there was a need for an integrated approach and an integrating intelligence, that would seamlessly bring together masonry and structural steel, organizing the concerted effort to manage the project resources efficiently and bring the building project to timely completion.

General contractor, making it all happen

So, that’s what the general contractors do: make it all happen, and happen on time. The general contractor has got to cover many bases for the construction project to be a success:

Selecting and hiring contractors

Selects and hires appropriate contractors that do the structural steel fabrication, transportation, masonry, structural steel erection, steel elements installation, insulation installation, etc. Structural Beam works both with general contractors, providing structural steel fabrication, steel erection, and masonry services, and in general contractor capacity, doing all the above.

Machinery and equipment management

The general contractor needs to make sure that all the machinery and equipment are in good working condition and are ready to be used when needed. That way, the smooth flow of the construction process is assured.

Best practices implementation

Steel construction company contractors are to make sure that the best practices of the steel building construction industry are followed throughout the process and appropriate construction methods are used.

Legal and regulatory compliance

Takes care of legal and regulatory compliance policy implementation through all phases of the construction process, full compliance with all the relevant local and federal rules, laws, and regulations

Safety policy

The structural steel construction industry is inherently hazardous, thus a sound safety policy has to be established and strictly followed at all times. At Structural Beam, we are strongly committed to the safety of our employees, and make it our top priority.

Coordinating the contractors

Steel building construction requires the concerted effort of several contractors working together, both simultaneously and in a sequence when the timely delivery of structural steel members from steel fabrication contractor allows for a timely beginning of the steel frame erection process, etc. The general contractor has to plan, organize and facilitate smooth coordination between contractors.

Timely payments flow

The general contractor handles the necessary bank payments and makes sure that the financial resources are efficiently allocated and all necessary payments are processed on time and in an orderly manner.

Takes the responsibility for the outcome of the construction project

Working with a general contractor is perfect for developers, because of the responsibility concentration, it’s always clear “who’s in charge” at all times. There are many factors affecting possible outcomes of a metal building construction project, from the weather to all sorts of real-world circumstances, that can’t be planned for.

At Structural Beam, we care for our reputation, which is hard to win and easy to lose, and take all the projects responsibly and with great care. We’ve got an ever-growing list of happy customers that appreciate us for the professionalism we put in, and the satisfaction with the quality of work and success of construction projects that we deliver to them, again and again.

At Structural Beam, we take all projects equally seriously and with equal care, whether it is a large commercial property development project that we take on or a smaller contract for a private home erection or renovation.

If you are looking to have an addition to your house to be built or to have some renovations done, we’ll do our best to make sure that you are happy with the outcome. Call us today at +1 773-917-8998 and schedule a meeting with our team, for a free consultation for your project!

Frequently Asked Questions

What do steel construction companies do?

Steel construction companies provide structural steel fabrication and manufacturing services, along with steel building erection services. Some companies are capable of handling brick and concrete masonry alongside structural steel construction services. At Structural Beam, we can do both, tell us about your project today, let’s see how we can be of help.

What is a general contractor?

A general contractor is a company that is in charge of the steel construction process, it handles the coordination between contractors, project resources allocation, and logistical and financial support to ensure the timely completion of the construction project.