Condensation Control

The condensation process occurs when warmer moist air comes in contact with cold surfaces such as framing members, windows and other thermally conductive accessories, or the colder region within the insulation itself (if moisture has penetrated the vapor retarder). Warm air, having the ability to contain more moisture than cold air, loses that ability when it comes in contact with cooler surfaces or regions. When this happens, excessive moisture in the air is released in the form of condensation. If this moisture collects in the insulation, the insulating value is decreased.

In dealing with condensation, air may be considered to be a mixture of two gases-dry air and water vapor. One thousand cubic feet of air at 75°F can hold up to 1.4 pints of water. At 45°F, it can hold only 0.5 pints.

Relative Humidity is a percentage measurement of the amount of water vapor present in the air in relation to the amount it is capable of holding at that temperature. Therefore, 50% Relative Humidity would mean that the air is carrying only one-half of the total amount of moisture that it could be holding at that particular temperature. Cold outside air is usually much drier than warm inside air. Therefore, you can lower the Relative Humidity by bringing in outside air to mix with and dilute the moist inside air. At 100% Relative Humidity, the air is "saturated."

The temperature at which the air is saturated and can no longer hold additional moisture is called the dew point temperature. Whenever air temperature drops below its dew point, excess moisture will be released in the form of condensation. Condensation problems are most likely to occur in climates where temperatures frequently dip to 35°F or colder over an extended period of time.

Wall Installation

Labels on wall insulation rolls indicate the length as well as the number of pieces that need to be cut from each roll. We recommend that all rolls be cut from a clean location to avoid staining the insulation facing.

1) Cut the dimensions of the insulation from the base angle to eave strut or rake plus 6"-12" extra.

2) Attach one end of the insulation to the base angle using double-faced tape.

3) Pull from the other end to stretch the insulation tightly outside the girts to the eave or rake, and attach with double-faced tape.

4) Make sure the facing is toward the interior of the building and attach the panel to the structure.

5) Install the next roll in the same manner, with edges butted snugly. Then fasten the tabs using one of the methods described.

Components/Accessories

Which base trim option should I choose? - The base trim that you choose for your steel building will depend on your building's needs and the type of foundation you use. Although we strongly recommend a notched base, we do offer several additional base trim options to suit your specific needs. Please see base conditions for more helpful information and illustrations.

What type of windows do you offer? - We offer a selection of windows for your building. To learn more about what's available please visit the accessories section of our website.

What comes with the doors and windows? - All of our doors and windows come with the required hardware to install them into your steel building. We provide the framing, trim, and flashing for a proper installation.

How do I know where to place my windows and doors? - Windows and walk doors are generally "field located." You, as the customer, will pick the location, cut the corresponding panel to size and proceed to mount the doors and windows. If you choose to include a large number of windows or doors we may ask you to give us your proposed location to ensure proper building bracing.

How do I attach my doors and windows? - All of our walk doors are self-framing, so they include the necessary items to mount them on your building. Our windows are secured by screwing the window trim directly into the building. This is also known as self-flashing. If you live in a high wind area, please talk to one of our design consultants about additional door and window mounting options.

What is the R-Value of your insulation? - The r-value of our insulation depends on the thickness you choose. It will vary between R-10 and R-19. Please see the r-value section of our website for more helpful information.

Heat Transfer

Effectively controlling temperature in a steel building requires insulation to be present along exterior walls and roof. When a temperature differential is present in an enclosed steel building, heat will work from warmer areas to colder areas until the temperature in the building has stabilized. At the point of thermal stabilization, the cooler (and heavier) air will be present at lower elevations and warmer air will be present at the roofline. The function of insulation is to help stabilize air temperature at more desirable levels. When it is hot outside, preventing heat from transferring into the building is the goal, and of course in the winter we want heat to remain inside.

Heat transfer occurs in three ways:

Conduction : Occurs in a solid or liquid when heat from one object is transferred by touch to another object. An example of this occurs when a pot on a stove will heat up by conductive heat transfer from an electric coil.

Convection : Occurs with the physical movement of air. There are two types of convectional heat movement. The first is natural, where hot air rises displacing the cold air and moving it down. The second type is forced or mechanical convection. This occurs when an object, like a fan, physically moves or "forces" the air to move.

Radiation : Occurs when an object is warmer or hotter than the air around it. For example, the sun, which is hotter than everything around it, radiates heat waves that travel through the air and is either absorbed by or reflected by the surface it comes in contact with.

Our Commitment to Quality

Our vision is to remain the industry leader through innovative, and professionally based services and to provide trusted and practical steel building solutions at competitive prices. Years of research and development, engineering input, computer programming and superior web design have allowed us to provide to you, the most innovative, unparalleled on-line design and pricing system in the world. Organizations large and small look to us for innovative solutions - we provide you with effective solutions to manage costs and promote customer satisfaction with every building. Within the industry, we stand alone in our innovation of design and engineering procedures and our ongoing commitment to customer service. The result? Affordability and an unprecedented ability to meet your specific needs.

Independence and Integrity: How We Conduct Our Business - What we do is important, but equally important is how we do it. From the beginning, we have taken the view that keeping up with our customer's demands requires objectivity, fairness, open processes, an attitude of respect, and adherence to best design and engineering practices. And, in part because we have always been independently owned, these core values remain at the center of our business ethic. In short, we believe integrity and excellence go hand in hand and our autonomy gives us the necessary freedom to put that belief into practice every day.

Knowledge and Innovation: Why We Excel: Year after year, we pursue a rigorous agenda of pertinent, unbiased research, probing the complexities of steel design. As an independent structural fabricator, we have no hidden agenda, no conflicts of interest, and no outside "dealer network" to protect. We objectively analyze patterns of our competitor's sales tactics, and routinely adjust pricing based on current market values. We seek to understand the causes of rising costs. And, most importantly, we use what we learn as the springboard for innovation. Staying in the "technological" front enables us to develop practical, workable strategies that will assure our continued success.

Pricing Excellence: What True Customer Service Means to Us - We think our customers should derive a real benefit from our online "real time" pricing program. That's why we define great service as giving customers what they most need and want. Knowledge empowers we help customers better manage their own needs, make wiser choices and lower their costs. We understand the importance of convenience too, so we made this automated service available to you at your leisure, day in and day out. We make quoting a steel building easy through our on-line pricing system. Make no mistake about it; our system is light-years beyond anything on the market today. Building on customer input, we created a broad range of user-friendly Internet tools that deliver the unprecedented ability to self-manage the design, pricing and purchasing of a new steel building. These tools include online member areas, building-specific accessory information, lease and finance information, our proprietary password protected quote storage, and a customized secure purchase area with multiple deposit payment options including credit card, personal check, and finance options.

Quality Products: Why We Put Structural Integrity First - The reason is simple: Your safety is our highest priority. Nothing illustrates our fundamental commitment to structural integrity and quality building design more clearly than our own proprietary design system. For example, we never consider any design until it has been demonstrated on the strength of clear and convincing scientific evidence to be safe and structurally sound. While cost is an important consideration, we consider the price of a building only after its structural merit has been established. You can be sure that we build our structures around the most advanced engineering practices.

Special Order Buildings: How We Deliver Results - Quality planning planning that begins anew with each customer makes all the difference. Our design specialists know that each customer presents unique circumstances and challenges. So we customize each plan, taking into account all the variables considering the implications from every angle. We also help take the guesswork out of decision-making. Using customer-specific data, our building design team can model results based on past experience and current available options so customer decisions are always well informed. The result is a collaborative solution fine-tuned to address both the customer's need to manage costs and design considerations.