Erectors

Do I need a professional erector to put up my metal building? - A majority of our clients choose to erect the metal buildings themselves. Your package includes detailed erection drawings and an erection manual with every metal building shipped. We design every metal building to be erected easily. If you do not feel comfortable erecting your own metal building, a local contractor can do the job for you at a relatively low cost.

What if I have questions during the erection of my metal building? - We're here to help. We have professional metal building erectors on-staff and they will always be available for your questions.

Do you recommend erectors? - No. Recommending metal building erectors is difficult because we cannot guarantee the quality of their work as we do our own. Check around and you should be able to find a qualified metal building erector in your local area.

How long does it take to erect a metal building? - The time it takes to erect your metal building will depend on the size of the metal building, the size of your crew, and the skill of the workers in your crew. It can take as little as a few days.

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.

Insulating Against Radiant Heat

Traditional forms of mass insulation, like fiberglass, are effective in preventing heat transfer by conduction and convection, but they less effect on radiant heat. Between 80 and 90% of the radiant heat striking fiberglass will pass through or be "emitted". Radiant transfer typically has as much impact on the temperature in a building as conduction and convection. For more information on radiant barrier facings click here.

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.

Ceiling & Wall Liners

29g low rib panel applied to the interior of the building providing a clean protective covering over insulation or girt/purlin cavity.