Regular Steel for Outside? Use the Right Stuff

Here’s why you don’t want to use regular steel for exterior applications: it’ll fail. Yes, you can zinc or red oxide prime it, then powder-coat it, etc., and sure it’ll last for a while, but ultimately, it’ll fail. Any tiny little scratch will end up being a disaster. And yes, you can hot-dip galvanize the steel after fabricating and prior to powder-coating, but by the time you’ve paid for that whole cumbersome process, you may as well use a base material that will never fail and won’t have a ridiculous weight to it. Outdoor structures like pergolas should not be made from hot-dipped steel. We won’t do it anymore. It makes those structures prohibitively heavy, difficult to maneuver and install, and quite frankly, they don’t coat as well with the industrial paint.  Aluminum is a far better material to use for this. And for items going into the ground or sitting on top of it (planters, edgings, retaining walls), Corten steel (weathering steel), stainless, aluminum, brass are all ideal materials. Definitely DO NOT use regular steel. Why? It’ll fail.