What are temporary buildings?

Fast, flexible and cost effective.

A temporary building is a hardwearing, long-lasting, highly durable structure. Temporary, refers to the fact that they are de-mountable and moveable buildings that provide the ultimate in durability and flexibility. Our temporary building experts explain everything you need to know here.

A large warehouse building with industrial steel sides. Finance available

Temporary building structures are an ideal alternative to a permanent building. They typically offer cost savings of up to 70% against a traditional building. There is little disruption during installation and the building is installed in a matter of days, providing flexible and high quality space.

Firstly, it’s a common misconception that temporary buildings are not built to stand the test of time. With the right care, temporary buildings have a life span of 20 years or more.  Temporary buildings are built with engineered modular components that are assembled on site to give businesses space, quickly.  

They are generally constructed in “bays” which provide the length. These are typically manufactured in 5m lengths.  Eave heights of up to 10m can be achieved and the span, or width, can reach 40m across.  Larger spans can be achieved by linking buildings together,  or using a steel frame, providing a space solution for everyone.

In terms of quality and durability, you will see from our completed projects that they offer a robust and long lasing solution for a wide range of applications from temporary storage buildings through to fully insulated buildings that can be used as workshops or manufacturing spaces.  Finally, just like a traditional building, our structures meet all UK Building Regulations. 

EXPLORING THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Our temporary structures are manufactured in a ISO environment to the highest of quality standards, using the best materials. This creates a building that is fit for purpose and will stand the test of time.  Our manufacturing partner, Protan Elmark supplies structures around the globe. The materials used to manufacture our buildings meet a wide range of quality marks. The manufacturing process is truly a state-of-the-art operation using the latest robotics, CNC laser cutting and high frequency PCV welding technology.  

STRUCTURE TYPES

The three main types of temporary buildings are non-insulated buildings, insulated buildings and industrial canopies. Insulated buildings will give you a premium, structure with good levels of thermal efficiency. A non insulated building will give you a cost-effective and secure storage shelter, perfect for providing additional storage space.  Finally a canopy will give you a sheltered working environment. These canopies and temporary shelter solutions can be linked directly to your existing loading bays and warehouse buildings or can be standalone shelter structures.  No matter which type of structure best fits your needs, they all offer a flexible solution. In addition, any structure can be hired or purchased outright adding even more flexibility. 

SPECIFICATION OPTIONS

Our temporary building experts will work with you to design and install a bespoke solution to your needs.  There are a number of specification options to ensure your temporary building meets the needs of your business. In our experience, the most popular specification options are vehicle and pedestrian access doors, heating, ventilation and cooling and anti-condensation membranes.  For full guidance on the specification options, our team will work with you to provide a completely bespoke solution. We recommend a free temporary building consultation to explore your options. We can design and manufacture a temporary building solution to fit any application.

customise your temporary building

Building eave heights explained

When exploring your options you may be aware of what height is required. A common term is height to the eaves or eaves height.  

Eave height in temporary buildings is the measurement from the ground to the point where the roof meets the top of the outside wall. It is a key factor in designing a temporary building and is often used to determine interior clearance height. 

Many temporary buildings offer standard eave heights (also called leg height), like 3m to 10m, we can customise the eave height to your exact requirements to ensure you get the right size building for your chosen application.  

 

temporary building eave height

Internal bracing in detail

If you need a large uninterrupted internal space within your building, there are several options to maximise your available space. This flexibility is especially useful if you need to install full height racking or to work on large vehicles in a workshop setting.  

There are three main internal bracing options for a temporary building. Firstly, Eave wires, that run across the structure from frame to frame. Secondly, eave bars, which are larger than wires but provide the same internal clearance. 

Finally, to achieve the maximum internal height clearance, corner bracing can be used. Corner bracing is a strengthening bar fixed at the eaves between the leg and roof beam . This option allows for maximum internal height use.

Sectors and applications

Temporary buildings provide additional space across a broad range of sectors, for a variety of applications. From warehousing to workshops and everything in between, a temporary building provides the ideal solution to maximise your space.

Temporary building components

A temporary building is made up of several modular components that are manufactured off-site.  A modular construction approach means they are fast to install.  In addition, we can control the quality at every step of the process to give you a structure that will stand the test of time. Let’s take a look in detail at the structural elements of our modular buildings. 

ALUMINIUM FRAME​

This is the structural backbone of a temporary building; it supports the other components, such as the roof lighting and HVAC. To add additional strength and security, steel inserts or bracing is used. On large temporary buildings, generally over 40m, a steel frame is recommended.  Our aluminum frames are lightweight meaning there is minimal groundwork required, specifically, no foundations and they can be easily installed on most surfaces. This makes them a popular alternative to a permeant structure.

Anchoring

Depending on the ground conditions and intended use, anchoring is usually achieved by driven, threaded metal rods and sealed with chemical resin. Other solutions are available, such as ballast weights for instances when the ground can’t be penetrated.  Our knowledgeable team, combined with our engineering expertise can install temporary buildings on most ground surfaces, including grass and uneven slopes.  

Roof

The roof is typically made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride), which is durable, weather-resistant and allows natural light into the building whilst providing shelter. Translucent PVC can also be used on the roof for additional natural light. To provide enhanced insulation and thermal efficiencies, a double skin, inflatable roofing system can be specified. To maximise the internal height, different bracing options can provide valuable extra space for roof-height racking, storage and access for machinery. 

Walling

Temporary buildings can be clad in insulated sandwich panels, which slot into the framework. This creates a neat and tidy, professional finish. Insulation levels can be tailored to your needs but in our experience, the most common level if insulation is 60mm as this provides the best balance between cost and insulation performance. Single skin steel walling is highly cost effective for industrial buildings and temporary warehouses

Doors and Windows

Doors and windows can be provided to meet individual needs, from rapid action automated roller shutter doors to simple push bar openings. You can add double or triple glazing to your temporary building when sandwich panel walls are used.  

Flooring

A range of flooring options are available from industrial grade flooring to hard wearing carpet.   We can provide completely bespoke flooring options from steel sub frame with wooden boards and carpeted floors. As the frame is free-standing, you can simply leave the existing ground exposed as flooring isn’t structurally required.   

Flashing

The standard and most common form of flashing is the L” style flashing, typically used to prevent pests, wind and a degree of water ingress. The flashing can be colour and material matched to provide a seamless and professional atheistic for your structure. “Z” style flashing is chemically bonded to the existing base and offers enhanced preventative measures against water ingress. The flashing can be colour and material matched to provide a seamless and professional atheistic for your structure.

Anti-condensation lining

Condensation can occur, usually during the cold winter months when the outside temperature is below freezing.  Depending on the roof system specified and use of the building, an anti-condensation lining will help prevent water droplets forming and any potential damage to stock.

Electrics

Temporary buildings can be set up like a traditional building with lighting and electrical systems, CCTV and alarms.  Lighting plans can be provided and the most up-to-date, energy-saving products are available through Field and Lawn.  Additional heating, cooling and ventilation systems can be installed.

Open roller shutter door on temporary manufacturing building installed by F&L temporary building

Design your building for free

You can take control of the design process.  We have developed a temporary building configurator. This tool enables you to create a custom building design.  Select the type of structure you need, specify the exact size, roof system and walling to start a quote. Our team will provide a tailored quotation and design:

How did IKEA improve their retail operation by using temporary buildings?