When adverse weather strikes, will your structural and exterior materials hold up, or will they have trouble handling the high winds, extreme cold, icing, and pouring rain?
Stainless steel is notable for its incredible durability, and it is not just a pleasant weather material. It is preferred for architectural products over most other metals, because of its resistance to weathering and damage caused by weather.
Which Is the Better Outdoor Material – Stainless Steel or Aluminum?
While aluminum is widely used in exterior building components because it is cost effective, it may not hold up to severe weather. Aluminum can be flimsy and may bend when exposed to high winds or become damaged with excessive weathering.
Stainless steel makes a much better structural material, as it is very hardy and not bothered by weather, in most cases. It can resist corrosion better than pretty much any kind of building material, and that resistance remains even in seriously adverse weather, like hailstorms, ice storms, torrential downpours, and more. High grade stainless steel, such as grades 304 and 316, are able to handle corrosive environments well (source). This is why this kind of steel is often used in medical or food preparation environments, where durability, cleanliness, and reliability are highly valued.
If you use aluminum instead, your metal could become corroded and galvanized more easily because of corrosion caused by weathering.
Long-Lasting Steel, Even Outdoors
Stainless steel is well suited to outdoor environments and the kind of abuse this material would absorb there. Its durable qualities mean that it can withstand plenty of weathering, high winds, chemical interactions, and other effects that would be damaging to most kinds of metals. Stainless steel can hold up well under these adverse weather conditions and remain strong and stable.
This is why stainless steel components like the stainless weld neck flange are preferred for outdoor environments over other building materials. The strong stainless steel is able to retain its tensile strength and even its original flawless look, even after intense weathering. The same cannot be said for most kinds of structural materials. Part of the reason why stainless steel holds up so well is because of its density and hardness. It takes a lot of effort to cause any kind of visible damage to stainless steel, and even then, the core strength of the metal can still be retained.
This is an exceptional all-weather material, as it has use in extreme heat and cold. The seamless stainless steel tube is often used in high heat locations as well as in cryogenic applications because it can handle these kinds of intense temperature conditions and still remain durable. The level of heat or coldness needed to adversely affect stainless steel is unlikely to occur naturally, making this metal perfect for structural and architectural usage in any environment.