Structural Aluminium for Outdoor Structures
Why use aluminium over steel?
The main benefit of aluminium is that it is corrosion resistant without any further treatment after being made. Steel typically needs to be needs to be painted or treated to protect it from rust and corrosion, especially if the steel will be used in a wet, or damp environment.
A second benefit is that aluminium is light and therefore easier to transport, move around onsite and install.
There are two main negatives of using aluminium for outdoor structures:
- Steel is 2.5 times more denser that aluminium which makes it stronger and able to tolerate higher loads without less deflection.
- Aluminium is typically 2 to 3 times more expensive for the same section.
For the above reasons, aluminium is typically used in lighter structures such as pergolas, louvred pergolas and smaller verandahs.
Aluminium Sections
Like steel, aluminium comes in a variety of sections including:
- RHS, rectangular hollow section.
- SHS, square hollow section.
- C channel.
- Angled steel.
- T sections.
For more information on aluminium, see the following resources:
