Understanding cold rolled steel grades

1. Understanding Cold Rolled Steel Grades It is a common knowledge that cold rolled steel has better finish than hot rolled steel. You would find well defined corners and edges in cold rolled steel compared to hot rolled steel. Also, the surface has greater smoothness in case of cold rolled steel. Moreover, cold rolled steel is stronger and harder than hot rolled steel. These are essentially the reasons why cold rolled steel is used by engineers for construction of structures in which aesthetics plays a role. Now, if cold rolled steel has so many advantages over hot rolled steel, it might be baffling to you to know that hot rolled steel still find greater usage in the construction industry than cold rolled steel. Engineers certainly find it easier and more satisfactory to work with cold rolled steel grades still they are forced to work with hot rolled steel. The reason behind this is the fact that the cost of procurement of hot rolled steel is much less than that of cold rolled steel. To understand this wide difference in the prices of hot rolled steel and cold rolled steel, one must know that cold rolled steel is manufactured as a result of further processing of hot rolled steel. Hot rolled steel is allowed to cool completely before they are rolled again. The process of rolling steel in low temperature is quite difficult and the machinery used for this purpose increases the cost of cold rolled steel. So, several contractors, despite of choice, fail to afford adequate amount of cold rolled steel in the construction projects.

2. However, contractors can optimize the cost of construction with the procurement of a low grade cold rolled steel. This is actually not a common knowledge to contractors that there are a number of cold rolled steel grades available in the market. The price varies on the basis of the grade. Nevertheless, even the lowest grade of cold rolled steel is better for construction purpose compared to any grade of hot rolled steel. So, it is possible for contractors to include a lower cold rolled steel grade in their budget. Even if the contractor selects one of the lower cold rolled steel grades for procurement, the selection of the brand would also play an important role in defining the budget. This is because different brands of steel maintain different pricing structure for its product line cold rolled steel grades. However, one thing a contractor must keep in mind is that they should not compromise with the quality of the steel by opting for a low cost brand. Good brands might charge a little high for certain popular grades of cold rolled steel; however, they do guarantee on the product quality.