Pre-Engineered Steel Barn Kits
Universal Steel of America engineers metal barns built to outlast wood and light-gauge tube structures. As a pre-engineered metal building manufacturer founded in 1995, we design every barn around your span, your loads, and your local building codes, then ship the framing direct to your site from the closest plant. We serve the US and internationally across the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, South America and Africa.
Whether you need a clear-span livestock barn, a raised center aisle horse barn, hay and equipment storage, or an agricultural workshop, our red-iron framing carries the snow, wind, and seismic codes engineered for your county. No interior columns in the way, no termites, no rot, and a 25 to 40 year finish warranty on the panels.
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- Frame
- Pre-engineered red-iron (I-beam) steel, bolt-together primary framing
- Construction
- Clear span, column-free interior
- Roof styles
- Vertical roof, monitor (raised center aisle), and gable profiles
- Configurations
- Fully enclosed, open lean-to, or enclosed with lean-tos
- Eave height
- Engineered to your needs, typically 12 to 16 ft and taller for equipment
- Loads
- Engineered to local snow load, wind speed, and seismic category
- Panels
- Long-life steel roof and wall panels, insulated or non-insulated
- Doors
- Overhead, sliding, and walk doors sized for livestock, hay, and equipment
- Interior options
- Stall partitions, liner panels, tack and feed rooms, insulated quarters
- Ventilation and light
- Ridge vents, cupolas, skylights, and wall lights
- Finish warranty
- 25 to 40 year finish warranty on panels
- Coverage
- Manufactured and shipped across the US and, internationally, the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, South America and Africa
Pre-Engineered Steel Barn Kits options
Livestock and horse barns
Clear-span shelter for cattle, horses, and other livestock, with room for stalls, a tack room, and feed storage under one engineered roof. The column-free interior makes stall layout and equipment access easy. For dedicated equestrian builds, see our steel horse barns.
Steel Horse BarnsRaised center aisle and monitor barns
The classic barn silhouette: a raised center section flanked by lower lean-tos. The monitor profile adds clerestory height for ventilation and natural light over the aisle, ideal for horses and for stacking hay. We engineer the raised span column-free so the drive aisle stays fully open.
Hay, feed, and crop storage
Tall, wide, weather-tight bays keep hay, feed, and grain dry and protected from the elements. Generous eave heights let you stack high and run elevators or conveyors, and the sealed steel envelope keeps pests and moisture out.
Farm equipment and machinery storage
Shelter tractors, combines, trailers, and implements in a clear-span building with oversized door openings and no interior posts to maneuver around. A larger footprint such as a 60x100 metal building suits full-line equipment fleets.
60x100 Metal BuildingRiding arenas and covered riding areas
Wide clear spans cover a riding ring or combine a barn and a covered arena under one structure with no columns in the work area. See our steel riding arena buildings for dedicated arena spans and footing clearances.
Steel Riding Arena BuildingsFarm workshops and shops
Add a heated, insulated workshop bay for repairs, welding, and projects, or build a standalone farm shop. Our steel shop and workshop buildings detail the same frame with shop-ready power and door options.
Steel Shop and Workshop BuildingsBarn with living quarters (barndominium)
Combine a working barn with insulated living space for a barndominium-style build. The barn portion stays column-free for stalls or equipment while a finished section adds an apartment or office. Explore barndominiums for living-quarter layouts.
BarndominiumsRV, boat, and trailer storage
High-clearance bays and tall doors store RVs, boats, horse trailers, and oversized equipment alongside your agricultural use. See our RV and boat storage buildings for door-height and drive-through options.
RV and Boat Storage BuildingsWhy a steel barn over wood or a pole barn
A traditional pole barn or wood-frame barn relies on buried posts and dimensional lumber that rot, twist, attract termites, and need ongoing maintenance. Our metal barns are framed in solid I-beam (red-iron) steel, anchored to an engineered foundation, and sheathed in long-life metal panels. The result is a barn grounded against lightning, sealed against pests, non-combustible, and engineered to meet and exceed the building codes and loads for the life of the structure. Because the primary frame carries the load, you get a fully clear-span interior, which matters for equipment turning radius, loafing space, and arena work.
Clear-span widths and eave heights
Light-gauge tube barns from carport sellers typically top out around 60 to 64 feet wide and 14 to 16 feet of leg height. Our pre-engineered frames clear-span far wider and taller, so you can run a center drive aisle, stack hay to the rafters, or fit a covered riding area under one roof with no interior posts. Eave heights are engineered to your needs, from a standard 12 to 16 foot livestock barn up to taller clearances for equipment, hay elevators, or RV and tractor doors. Every width, bay spacing, and door opening is detailed to your layout before fabrication.
Built for your climate and your county
A barn in a Gulf hurricane zone, a barn under a heavy Northeast snow load, and a barn on an open Plains wind exposure are three different engineering problems. We engineer each metal barn to the specific snow load, wind speed, and seismic category for your site, and the engineered structural stamped drawings reflect those local requirements. That is the core difference between a manufacturer-engineered barn and an off-the-shelf carport kit.
Steel barn vs pole barn and wood frame
The most common question buyers ask is whether a metal barn is better than a pole barn or a stick-built wood barn. Steel wins on durability and lifetime cost: it does not rot, warp, or feed termites, it is non-combustible, and it needs almost no maintenance. A wood pole barn is cheaper to put up but burns, rots at the post line, and sags over decades. Our framing is engineered to local snow and wind loads, where a basic pole barn often is not. For a full side-by-side, see our steel vs wood comparison, and remember that a clear-span steel frame gives you a column-free interior a post-frame barn cannot.
Customizing your metal barn
Every barn is configured to the operation it serves. Choose enclosed walls, open lean-tos, or a mix, and add insulated or non-insulated overhead and sliding doors sized for tractors and trailers. Inside, liner panels and partition walls divide horse stalls, a tack room, a feed room, or a heated office and living quarters. Skylights, ridge vents, cupolas, and wall lights bring in natural light and airflow. Finish the exterior in your choice of panel profiles and trim colors, with stone, brick, or wood accents available where you want the barn to match a home or farm aesthetic.
Pre-Engineered Steel Barn Kits questions
Are metal barns cheaper than wood?
Up front, a basic wood pole barn can be cheaper to build than a steel barn. Over the life of the building, steel usually costs less because it does not rot, warp, attract termites, or need repainting and structural repairs the way wood does, and it is non-combustible. A pre-engineered steel barn is also engineered to your local snow and wind loads, which a basic pole barn often is not. For pricing on your size and configuration, ask us for a quote.
How much does it cost to build a metal barn?
The cost of a metal barn depends on the size, the eave height, how much of it is enclosed versus open lean-to, your local snow and wind loads, insulation, doors, and site preparation such as the concrete slab. Because every barn is engineered to your project, the best way to get an accurate figure is a quote. You can also read our metal building cost and pricing guide to understand the main cost factors before you request pricing.
What is the difference between a steel barn and a pole barn?
A pole barn is a post-frame structure: wood posts are set in the ground and the building hangs off them. A steel barn from Universal Steel uses a pre-engineered red-iron I-beam frame anchored to an engineered foundation. The steel frame gives you a fully clear-span, column-free interior, carries engineered snow and wind loads, and resists fire, rot, and termites. Post-frame barns are quicker and cheaper to erect but use interior posts and are vulnerable to rot at the post line and to fire.
How wide can a clear-span metal barn be?
Light-gauge tube barns from carport sellers usually top out around 60 to 64 feet wide. A pre-engineered red-iron barn clears much wider spans with no interior columns, which is why steel is the choice for riding arenas, equipment buildings, and large livestock barns. The exact maximum for your barn depends on the loads engineered for your site, and we confirm the clear span on your engineered structural stamped drawings.
Can a metal barn have living quarters?
Yes. You can insulate and finish part of the barn as living quarters, an office, or a tack and rest area while keeping the rest of the building as a working barn. A barn that combines a shop or storage with a finished living space is often called a barndominium. The living section can be climate controlled while the barn portion stays open and column-free.
Do you build metal barns to local building codes?
Yes. Every metal barn we engineer is designed to meet and exceed the building codes and the snow, wind, and seismic codes for your specific site, and the drawings are stamped to reflect those local requirements. This is a core difference between a manufacturer-engineered barn and an off-the-shelf kit. We ship from the plant closest to your site across the US and, internationally, the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, South America and Africa.
Request a Pre-Engineered Steel Barn Kits quote
Pre-engineered, code-stamped and shipped from the closest plant, across the US and internationally.