GB2206908A

GB2206908A - Metal framed building with panels

Info

Publication number: GB2206908A
Application number: GB08816172A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen Robert Tilsley
Original assignee: Voestalpine Metsec PLC
Current assignee: Voestalpine Metsec PLC
Priority date: 1987-07-10
Filing date: 1988-07-07
Publication date: 1989-01-18
Anticipated expiration: 2008-07-07
Also published as: GB2206908B; GB8816172D0

Abstract

A metal framed building and a method of construction thereof wherein a structural frame including vertical stanchions 11 and horizontal floor and/or roof beams 12, 23 are clad with wall panels 13 carried by the structural frame, said wall panels 13 each being in the form of a rectangular metal frame constructed from perpendicularly arranged metal channel members 14, 15, and a rectangular board (17 Fig 7) of thermal insulation material, the size of the rectangular board 17 corresponding to the size of the rectangular frame, and the board being secured to the frame. <IMAGE>

Description

BUILDING This invention relates to a metal framed building, and to a method of constructing a metal framed building.

A known metal framed building comprises a plurality of vertical steel stanchions anchored at their lower ends by respective foundations, and interconnected at appropriate locations by parallel horizontal steel floor and/or roof beams. Usually the stanchions and beams are of I-shaped cross section, and the array of stanchions and beams defines the metal, load bearing frame of the building. The metal frame provides the structural strength of the building, and the frame is clad with precast concrete panels which, at their ends, overlie and are bolted to, the stanchions.

At desired locations the precast panels are dimensioned, and arranged in relation to one another, to permit the inclusion of door and window frame units. Conventionally the precast panels constitute the interior skin of the building, and an exterior cladding is provided outwardly of the panels. The exterior cladding can take a number of different forms, ranging from a brick-built skin spaced from the concrete panels by an approprite cavity, to a simple rendering provided on the outer face of the concrete panels.

Such a mode of construction is advantageous in that it is possible rapidly to construct the basic weather proof structure (sometimes referred to as a dry shell or dry envelope) whereafter internal works can proceed irrespective of the ambient weather conditions. However, the mode of construction is disadvantageous in that the precast concrete panels are relatively massive, necessitating the use of lifting equipment both for loading and unloading the panels during transportation, and on site for the positioning of panels relative to the stanchions during construction of the dry shell. It is an object of the present invention to provide a metal framed building, and a method of constructing a metal framed building, wherein the above disadvantages are minimised.

A metal framed building in accordance with the present invention comprises a structural frame including vertical stanchions and horizontal floor and/or roof beams, and wall panels carried by the structural frame, said wall panels each being in the form of a rectangular metal frame constructed from perpendicularly arranged metal channel members, and a rectangular board of thermal insulation material, the size of the rectangular board corresponding to the size of the rectangular frame, and the board being secured to the frame.

Desirably where the horizontal spacing between adjacent stanchions exceeds the width of a wall panel, then two or more wall panels of appropriate width are secured together side-by-side to bridge the adjacent stanchions.

Conveniently said panels are secured by way of cleats to said beams and/or said stanchions.

Preferably the interface of adjacent wall panels, between adjacent stanchions, is supported by a vertically extending steel bracing spar anchored to the structural frame of the building.

Conveniently said bracing spar is of T-shaped cross-section, the wlegw of the T-shaped cross-section extending between the mutually presented sides of the two wall panels.

Desirably the two wall panels are bolted together by bolts which pass through the 'leg1 of the T-section spar.

Preferably a sealing member is interposed between the mutually presented edges of the thermal insulation boards of the two panels.

Conveniently said sealing member is carried by one of the two wall panels.

Conveniently, in the absence of a suitably positioned floor and/or roof beam extending horizontally between adjacent stanchions, there is provided a horizontal metal bracing beam extending between adjacent stanchions, and providing a support for said wall panels.

Preferably said bracing beams support vertically extending bracing spars.

Preferably each wall panel carries a sealing member along one horizontal edge, and one vertical edge.

Desirably the or each sealing member comprises a deformable rubber tube with an integral, substantially tangentially extending web, the web providing a means of anchoring the sealing member to the wall panel.

Conveniently each wall panel includes a rectangular heat-sink member corresponding in rectangular dimensions to the thermal insulation board and the metal frame, and interposed between the thermal insulation board and the metal frame.

Conveniently the heat sink member of each wall panel is formed from a mineral based composition, conveniently G.R.C. (glass reinforced concrete) or the like.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of constructing a metal framed building comprising, erecting a plurality of vertical metal stanchions at predetermined relative locations, interconnecting predetermined pairs of stanchions with respective horizontal floor and/or roof beams, said beams being parallel, and, cladding the metal frame defined by said stanchions and beams with prefabricated wall panels, each wall panel comprising a rectangular metal frame constructed from perpendicularly arranged metal channel members, and a rectangular board of thermal insulation material, the size of the rectangular board corresponding to the size of the rectangular frame, and the board being secured to the frame.

Desirably where the horizontal spacing between adjacent stanchions exceeds the width of a wall panel, then the method includes the step of securing together two or more wall panels of appropriate width side-by-side to bridge the adjacent stanchions.

Conveniently said panels are anchored to said stanchions and/or said beams by way of cleats.

Preferably the method includes the step of anchoring a vertically extending bracing spar to the structural metal frame of the building to provide support for the interface of adjacent wall panels between adjacent stanchions.

Conveniently each bracing spar is of T-shaped cross-section and the method includes the step of bolting adjacent wall panels together by bolts passing through the Wlegw of the T-section.

Preferably the method includes the step of positioning adjacent wall panels so that a vertical gap exists between their mutually presented edges, said gap being narrower than the thickness of an elongate sealing member interposed between the said edges so that said sealing member is compressed.

Conveniently the method includes the step of bridging adjacent stanchions with respective horizontal metal bracing beams, to provide a support for said wall panels, in the absence of appropriate floor and/or roof beams in the metal frame.

Conveniently said beams provide support for vertical bracing spars.

Preferably the method includes the step of cladding the interior faces of the wall panels, after assembly to the metal frame of the building, with plasterboard or like facing boards.

One example of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein, Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective representation of the structural steel frame of a building, Fig. 1A is a complete sectional view of a stanchion of the frame, Fig. 2 is a rear elevational view of awall panel, Fig. 3 is an enlarged view, partly broken away, in the direction of arrow A in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a partially exploded perspective view of part of the panel of Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is a sectional view illustrating the fixing of a bracing member to the structural steel frame of Fig. 1, Fig. 6 is a view in the direction of arrow B in Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic sectional view of the arrangement whereby a pair of adjacent wall panels are secured together, Fig. 7 being to a greatly enlarged scale by comparison with the remaining views.

Referring to the drawings, the building includes a plurality of vertically extending stanchions 11 each of which is in the form of a hot rolled steel beam of I-shaped cross-section. Each stanchion is mounted on a concrete pad foundation, the concrete pad foundation forming part of, or being associated with, a concrete floor slab. The manner in which the stanchions are anchored to their respective pad foundations is conventional, and can take a number of forms. For example the stanchions may be set into the pad foundations, or more preferably are secured to the pad foundations by anchor bolts.

The stanchions 11 are positioned at predetermined spacing relative to one another, and extending transversely of the building, at predetermined heights on the stanchions 11, are horizontally extending floor/roof beams 12. The beams 12 are also in the form of hot rolled steel beams of I-shaped cross-section, and extend parallel to another, transverse to the notional length of the building.

Figure 1 illustrates beams 12 at first floor level, these beams being floor beams and supporting precast concrete floor units which extend in the same direction of the notional length of the building. It will be recognised therefore that there is no necessity to provide equivalent beams extending in the direction of the length of the building since the precast floor units are supported at their ends by floor beams 12.

Spaced further up the height of the stanchion there will be a similar set of floor beams at second floor level, and so on up to the maximum height of the building. At the top ends of the stanchions 11, and parallel to the floor beams 12 there will be equivalent beams constituting roof support beams.

The stanchions 11 and beams 12 constitute the metal frame of the building, and thus constitute the load supporting structure of the building. In effect the metal frame is a plurality of parallel grid arrangements, each grid arrangement being defined by spaced stanchions 11 and interconnecting beams 12. The beams 12 are conveniently secured to the stanchions by high tensile bolts, and when necessary the ends of the beams, and the open webs of the stanchions will be provided with fixing plates to facilitate bolting of the beams to the stanchions. It is to be recognised that the positioning and dimensions of the stanchions 11 and beams 12 is determined by the design of the building.

The metal frame of the building is clad with wall panels (best seen in Figures 2, 3 and 4) which in effect fill the voids in the exterior faces of the metal frame 11, 12. As mentioned previously the structural strength of the building is derived from the stanchions 11 and beams 12, and although the cladding of the frame with wall panels 13 imparts some bracing to the metal frame, it is not intended that the wall panels 13 shall carry significant structural loadings.

Each wall panel 13 is preformed, conveniently in the factory, and then assembled to the metal frame of the building on-site. Each wall panel 13 includes a metal frame consisting of at least four elongate studs, preferably of cold formed steel, each stud being of rectangular channel section and being suitably surface treated to resist corrosion, for example by being galvanized. The two horizontal studs 14, and the two vertical studs 15 of each frame are secured together with their open faces presented towards one another to form the rectangular frame, and in Figure 2 it will be noted that the frame has an intermediate vertical stud 15a which is provided where the horizontal studs 14 exceed a predetermined length.The studs are secured together by welding or by riveting, the ends of the horizontal studs 14 being swaged to fit within the channels of the vertical studs 15, and the ends of the vertical studs 15a being similar swaged to fit within the channel of the horizontal studs 14.

A wweather-boardZ panel 16 is secured by self tapping screws or the like (not shown) to the face of the studs of the frame which will be outermost in use.

The panel 16 is rectangular and is of dimensions equal to the frame 14, 15, thus overlying the frame. A thermally insulating board 17 equal in sizes of the panel 16 overlies the outer face of the panel 16 and is secured through the panel 16 to the studs 14, 15 by means of self-drilling, self-tapping screws 16, load spreadings plates or washers being interposed between the board 17 and the heads of the screws.

Conveniently the panel 16 is formed from a GRC material (glass reinforced concrete) such as "TUNNEL IMPACT" board However, other mineral based boards (Tt1 such as wTEMEC"lboard, wMINERITL board, wSUPERLUXw board and plasterboard would be suitable. All of the above boards have a thermal capacity and conductivity which ensures that the panel can act as a heat sink for the studs 14, 15. Thus an important function of the board 16 is to enhance the fire rating of the wall panels by absorbing heat from the studs. It will be recognised therefore that where fire rating of the wall panels is not of importance in the building then the panel 16 can be omitted from the construction of the wall panels 13.

The thermally insulating board 17 of each wall panel 13 can take a number of forms but is conveniently IRTn,) 'CELOTEX R.R.\ thermal sheathing board. The presence of the board 17 is important to provide the wall panels with an acceptable thermal insulation value (U value) to conform to Building Regulations, and to minimise condensation within the wall panels 13. The risk of such condensation (known as interstitial condensation) is significant with metal framed wall constructions since the metal studs give rise to extensive "cold-bridging' and of course interstitial condensation carries with it the risk of corrosion of the metal studs. CELOTEX R.R. thermal sheathing board carries a vapour barrier on both front and rear faces in the form layers of aluminium or aluminium alloy foil.It will be appreciated however that other forms of thermal sheathing could be used in place of CELOTEX R.R.

The wall panels 13, which, as mentioned above are factory assembled, are constructed to a height and width determined by the chosen spacing between stanchions 11, and between beams 12. Thus the height of the panels 13 will conform to one of the series of standard floor to floor heights, and the width of the panels 13 will be chosen so that wherever possible part panels are not needed to span the gap between adjacent stanchions. In the example illustrated in the drawings the panels are equal in height to the spacing between the center line of the beams 12 and the upper surface of the foundation floor pad of the building, for example 3.0 metres, and their width is 1.2 metres, the spacing between the center line of adjacent stanchions 11 being 3.6 metres.

It will be recognised therefore that in a building having the dimensions mentioned above then three wall panels 13 are positioned side by side to fill the void between a pair of adjacent stanchions 11 and a floor beam 12. Wall panels 13 are secured inposition by bolting through the web of the studs 15, the bolts extending parallel to the plane of the wall panels. Thus it will be recognised that the wall panels cannot be bolted directly to the stanchions 11 since the wall panels overlie the stanchions 11.

Figure 1A is a composite sectional view of a stanchion 11 showing a first T-section connecting member 18 secured to the web of the stanchion and a second T-section connecting member 19 secured to the flange of the stanchion. The leg of the T-section member 18 protrudes beyond the flanges of the stanchion to provide a support member to which the stud 15 of a panel 13 can be bolted. Similarly, the leg of the T-section 19 protrudes outwardly from the flange of the stanchion again to provide a support member to which a stud 15 of a panel can be bolted. Conveniently the sections 18 and 19 extend over the full length of the studs 15 secured thereto.

In order to provide support for the interface of adjacent panels 13, intermediate stanchions 11, there is provided, at appropriate locations, vertically extending bracing spars 21 similar to the members 18, 19. Thus the spars 21 are T-shaped in cross-section, the spars extending vertically. At their lower ends the spars are anchored in any convenient manner to the foundation floor pad of the building, and at their upper ends the spars 21 are secured, as shown in Figures 5 and 6 to the lower web of the floor beam 12.

As is clear from Figures 5 and 6 an L-shaped bracket 22 has one limb bolted to the flange of the floor beam 12, the other limb extending downwardly and having bolted thereto the upper end of the spar 21.

The stanchions 11 which are aligned in the direction of the notional length of the building are not interconnected by floor beams 12, and thus in order to provide a support for the bracing spars 21 bracing beams 23 are incorporated in the frame of the building. The bracing beams 23 are conveniently hot rolled I-section beams, but since they do not need to carry the floor load they can be of smaller dimensions than the floor beams 12. The bracing beams 23 are positioned substantially co-planar with the floor beams 12 and bracing spars 21 are anchored at their upper ends to the bracing beams 23 in the manner described above in relation to their anchorage to the floor beams 12. It will be recognised that in respect of the second floor and above then the spars 21 will be secured at both ends to respective beams by means of brackets 22.

Figure 7 is a composite cross-sectional view illustrating the securing together of a pair of adjacent wall panels 13. It will be seen that the wall panels 13 have their mutually presented studs 15 facing opposite sides of the outwardly projecting leg of a spar 21 or support members 18, 19. In order to seal the mutually presented faces of adjacent wall panels, each wall panel carries a sealing strip 24 along its left hand (when viewed from the front) vertical edge, and its top edge. Each sealing strip 24 is in the form of an elongate rubber tube of circular cross-section having an intergral tangentially extending flange 24a.

The flange 24a of each length of sealing strip is trapped, during construction of the wall panel in the factory, between the board 17 and the panel 16 so that its integral tube lies in contact with the edge of the board 17. In the event that the panel 16 is not included in the wall panel construction then of course the flange 24a is trapped between the board 17 and the respective stud of the wall panel 13. The flange 24a of each sealing strip 24 can be secured in position by means of an adhesive, or by means of the screws which secure the board 17 to the studs 14, 15.

During construction of the building a panel 13 is introduced to the left hand face of the leg of a spar 21 or support member 18, 19 and working from the interior of the building a respective high tensile steel bolt 25 is introduced through each of a plurality of apertures in the web of the stud 15 of the panel.

The bolts 25 extend through the stud, and through appropriately positioned horizontally elongate slots 26 in the leg. Working now from the front of the panel 13 the sealing strip 24 is manually flexed to one side and a C-shaped spacer 27 is engaged around each of the bolts 25, the spacer thus lying between the leg and the stud 15. A similar spacer 28 is then engaged on the protruding portion of the shank of the bolt 25 at the opposite face of the leg, and the next panel 13 to the right is offered to the right hand face of the leg, to abut the spacer 28. The shank of each bolt 25 extends through a corresponding aperture in the left hand stud 15 of the right hand panel, and working again from the rear of the panel, that is to say the interior of the building, a washer 29 and nut 31 are engaged with the shank of each bolt 25.The nuts and bolts are tightened to clamp the studs 15 against the spacers 27, 28 and the leg, the thickness of the leg and the thickness of the spacers 27, 28 being so chosen that when the nuts and bolts are tighened then the tube of the sealing strip 24 of the right hand panel 13 is compressed between the boards 17 of the two panels, thereby sealing the interface of the two panels. The thickness of spacers 27, 28 and the intervening leg is taken into account when determining the appropriate panel width to accomodate a given stanchion spacing.

The elongate nature of the slots 26 permits forward or rearward movement of the panels relative to the metal frame of the building to achieve alignment, and to ensure that the free edge of the leg does not displace the tube of the seal 24.

At external corners of the structure two panels 13 will be at 900 to one another. The rear flange of the stud of one of the two panels abuts and is bolted to the base web of the stud of the other of the two panels to secure the two together. Naturally this arrangement leaves the base web of stud of the one panel exposed and protection for this is provided by appropriately dimensioned panels of thermal insulation and/or wweather-boardw which are secured in position over the exposed web by self tapping screws, sealing being applied as appropriate at one or more edges of the board.

It will be appreciated that when further wall panels are positioned on top of previously fitted wall panels, then the sealing strip 24 along the top edge of the lower wall panels seals the interface between vertically adjacent wall panels. The lowermost edges of the lowest wall panels can be sealed to the floor slab of the building in any convenient manner, for example by providing compressible sealing strips between the lowermost studs 14 and the floor slab.

It will be recognised that while every attempt is made to ensure a modular construction by relating the dimensions of wall panels to the spacing of stanchions and floor beams, there will be occasions when wnon-standardw wail panels are needed as infill panels. The need for such tnon-standardw panels will be recognised in advance, and thus such panels can be supplied from the factory.

Naturally there will be very few occasions when the whole of the frame of the building is clad with wall panels. The vast majority of the buildings will require window and door units, and usually these will be units the dimensions of which are chosen to suit the modular dimensions of the building. Thus for example, a door unit may replace the center one of three wall panels. Window units may replace one, two or three wall panels and, where window units do not occupy the whole height of equivalent wall panels then corresponding part height wall panels will be constructed to fill the space between the window panels and the adjacent floor beam.

Wall panels 13 constructed as described above have a very significant advantage over concrete panels which have been previously proposed, in that whereas concrete panels are massive, to the extent that their handling requires lifting equipment, wall panels 13 constructed as described above can be handled manually thus providing a saving in the cost of capital equipment, and a saving in building time.

After erection of a "dry-shell" by cladding the metal building frame with wall panels 13, and appropriate window and door units, and by providing a roof, then all interior work can continue irrespective of ambient weather conditions. The inner face of the panels 13 will conveniently be lined with a layer of fire resistant plasterboard, conveniently wFIRELINEw plasterboard on top of which there will be provided a layer of conventional 9mm plasterboard with, if desired, a plaster skim. The outer faces of the panels 13 can be provided with an external skin of any convenient form. For example, where the building is to have a decorative brickwork appearance then an external leaf of brickwork can be built, leaving a 50mm cavity between the inner face of the brick leaf and the outer face of the panels 13.The panels 13 can be provided with tie anchors for securing one end of brickwork ties the other ends of which are incorporated in the brick leaf during its construction. Other forms of external cladding can be provided, for example metal or fibreglass sheets again with a 50mm cavity if required, or as an alternative a rendering can be applied to the outer face of the panels either directly, or on a covering of glass reinforced concrete sheets attached to the outer face of the panels 13.

A convenient sealing strip 24 is available from The Varnamo Rubber Company (UK) Ltd under their designation EPDM.

In a modification of the construction disclosed above the sealing strips 24 are omitted as are the T-section spars 21. Instead panels 13 are butted against one-another and are secured individually to the load-bearing metal frame of the building by respective cleats screwed or bolted to the horizontal beams 12, 23. Where necessary the panels 13 will each include an additional horizontal stud 14, parallel to an adjacent the upper stud 14, to provide a securing point for attaching the panel to the cleat securing it to the beam 12 or 23. In some instances it will be more convenient for a panel fixing cleat to be screwed or bolted to a vertical stanchion 11 and specially shaped cleats will be provided for this purpose. Moreover the lowermost panels may be anchored to a ring beam provided in or adjacent the building floor pad (as may the panels of the construction described above). The close fixing of panels 13 afforded by the use of cleats attached to stanchions or beams provides a type of wdry-shellw with sufficient weather resistance to permit internal work to be done in adverse weather conditions although a suitably weather-proof external cladding is of course needed to complete the building.

In some applications it may be convenient to omit the sealing strips 24 but still to make use of T-sections spars 21 whereas in other applications it may be convenient to omit the spars 21 but still to employ sealing strips 24 between panels.

Claims

Claims:

1. A metal framed building comprising a structural frame including vertical stanchions and horizontal floor and/or roof beams, and wall panels carried by the structural frame, said wall panels each being in the form of a rectangular metal frame constructed from perpendicularly arranged metal channel members, and a rectangular board of thermal insulation material, the size of the rectangular board corresponding to the size of the rectangular frame, and the board being secured to the frame.

2. A building as claimed in claim 1 where the horizontal spacing between adjacent stanchions exceeds the width of a wall panel, and two or more wall panels of appropriate width are secured together side-by-side to bridge the adjacent stanchions.

3. A building as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein wall panels are secured by way of cleats to said beams and/or to said stanchions.

4. A building as claimed in claim 2 wherein the interface of adjacent wall panels, between adjacent stanchions, is supported by a vertically extending steel bracing spar anchored to the structural frame of the building.

5. A building as claimed in claim 4 wherein said bracing spar is of T-shaped cross-section, the 'leg' of the T-shaped cross-section extending between the mutually presented sides of the two wall panels.

6. A building as claimed in claim 5 wherein the two wall panels are bolted together by bolts which pass through the 'legw of the T-section spar.

7. A building as claimed in anyone of claims 2 to 6 wherein a sealing member is interposed between the mutually presented edges of the thermal insulation boards of the two panels.

8. A building as claimed in claim 7 wherein said sealing member is carried by one of the two wall panels.

9. A building as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims wherein, in the absence of a suitably positioned floor and/or roof beam extending horizontally between adjacent stanchions, there is provided a horizontal metal bracing beam extending between adjacent stanchions, and providing a support for one or more panels.

10. A building as claimed in claim 9 wherein said bracing beams provide support for vertically extending bracing spars.

11. A building as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims wherein each wall panel carries a sealing member along one horizontal edge, and one vertical edge.

12. A building as claimed in claim 7, claim 8 or claim 11 wherein the or each sealing member comprises a deformable rubber tube with an integral, substantially tangentially extending web, the web providing a means of anchoring the sealing member to the wall panel.

13. A building as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims wherein each wall panel includes a rectangular heat-sink member corresponding in rectangular dimensions to the thermal insulation board and the metal frame, and interposed between the thermal insulation board and the metal frame.

14. A building as claimed in claim 13 wherein the heat sink member of each wall panel is formed from a mineral based composition, conveniently G.R.C. (glass reinforced concrete) or the like.

15. A method of constructing a metal framed building comprising, erecting a plurality of vertical metal stanchions at predetermined relative locations, interconnecting predetermined pairs of stanchions with respective horizontal floor and/or roof beams, said beams being parallel, and, cladding the metal frame defined by said stanchions and beams with prefabricated wall panels, each wall panel comprising a rectangular metal frame constructed from perpendicularly arranged metal channel members, and a rectangular board of thermal insulation material, the size of the rectangular board corresponding to the size of the rectangular frame, and the board being secured to the frame.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15 wherein, the horizontal spacing between adjacent stanchions exceeds the width of a wall panel, and the method includes the step of securing together two or more wall panels of appropriate width side-by-side to bridge the adjacent stanchions.

17. A method as claimed in claim 15 or claim 16 wherein said panels are anchored to said stanchions and/or said beams by way of cleats.

18. A method as claimed in anyone of claims 15 to 17 including the step of anchoring a vertically extending bracing spar to the structural metal frame of the building to provide support for the interface of adjacent wall panels between adjacent stanchions.

19. A method as claimed in claim 18 wherein each bracing spar is of T-shaped cross-section and the method includes the step of bolting adjacent wall panels together by bolts passing through the wlegw of the T-section.

20. A method as claimed in anyone of claims 15 to 19 including the step of positioning adjacent wall panels so that a vertical gap exists between their mutually presented edges, said gap being narrower than the thickness of an elongate sealing member interposed between the said edges so that said sealing member is compressed.

21. A method as claimed in anyone of claims 15 to 20 including the step of bridging adjacent stanchions with respective horizontal metal bracing beams, to provide a support for said panels, in the absence of appropriate floor and/or roof beams in the metal frame.

22. A method as claimed in claim 21 wherein said beams provide support for vertical bracing spars.

23. A method as claimed in anyone of claims 15 to 22 including the step of cladding the interior faces of the wall panels, after assembly to the metal frame of the building, with plasterboard or like facing boards.

24. A method of constructing a metal framed building substantially as hereinbefore described.

25. A metal framed building constructed by the method claimed in anyone of claims 15 to 24.

26. A metal framed building substantially as hereinbefore described.