Mark walked into his 50×80 warehouse on a February morning and stopped dead. Water dripped from the ceiling onto his inventory below. The metal walls glistened with moisture. His “maintenance-free” steel building had turned into a rain forest overnight. “I thought these buildings didn’t have moisture problems,” Mark told his contractor. The answer wasn’t what […]
Tom walked into his newly erected 80×120 warehouse in Atlanta and saw potential everywhere. The steel frame stood strong, the roof was weather-tight, and the concrete floor gleamed. But the exposed metal walls and open ceiling made the space feel cold and unfinished. “I need this operational in six weeks,” Tom told his contractor. “Office […]
Sarah’s 60×80 equipment storage building was three weeks from delivery when her contractor called with bad news. The foundation they’d planned wouldn’t work. The soil report revealed expansive clay requiring a completely different approach, adding $18,000 to the budget and delaying the project by six weeks. “Nobody told me I needed a soil test,” Sarah […]
Two business owners, same industry, same building size. Jim chose pre-engineered. Sarah went custom. Both got exactly what they needed, but their journeys couldn’t have been more different. Jim runs an equipment rental business and needed a 60×100 storage building fast. His requirements were straightforward: weather protection, vehicle access, and minimal cost. He selected a […]
Three rejections. That’s what happened to Mike, a contractor from Tennessee, when he submitted his first steel building permit application. The project? A straightforward 40×60 equipment storage building. Nothing fancy. Nothing complex. Yet every submission came back with red ink. The first rejection cited “incomplete structural documentation.” The second flagged “insufficient wind load calculations.” The […]
Is your building ready for winter’s worst? With temperatures already dropping and forecasts calling for a harsh winter ahead, now’s the time to take an honest look at your facility. These five warning signs could mean the difference between a smooth winter and costly emergency repairs when it’s 20 below zero. Last winter caught many […]
Cold weather steel building design requires three critical considerations: engineered snow loads of 40-60 PSF, insulation packages with R-19+ values, and completely sealed building envelopes to prevent moisture infiltration. When these elements work together, steel buildings outperform traditional construction in harsh winter climates. Last February, Jake, who owns a mechanical repair shop in Duluth, Minnesota, […]
After three decades in the metal building industry, I’ve reviewed more facility plans than I can count. But few projects are as personally rewarding (or as complex) as animal shelters, clinics, and boarding facilities. These aren’t just structures. They’re places where scared animals find safety, injured pets receive treatment, and families trust someone else to […]