Category Archives: Architecture

Register Now – Earn CE Credits!

Register Now – Earn CE Credits!

Building Sustainably with Metal Roofs and Walls

Tuesday April 6 @ 2pm EST
This live webinar, presented by Robert Zabcik, will discuss how metal roofs and walls can reduce energy consumption in buildings and how they can help you comply with energy codes.
Sign up > https://continuingeducation.bnpmedia.com/courses/petersen-aluminum/building-sustainably-with-metal-roofs-and-walls-web-live/&Affiliate=Apr6Social
#buildingdesign #architecture

Christmas City

Bethlehem – also known as “Christmas City” – is home to the Bethlehem Visitor’s Center. The site once was home to Bethlehem Steel, which helped create the steel used in many famous buildings and bridges, as well as the ships that helped win both World Wars. After the mill closed, the rubble masonry structure was transformed into the City’s new Visitors Center topped with a new metal roof.@atas.intl S-5! Attachment Solutions
#roofinglife #metalroofing #metalroof #metalconstruction

Tune into the next MetalCon Live this week!

Nearly 300 metal industry professionals tuned in last week to METALCON’s first live “Town Hall” event when METALCON Co-Founder and CEO, Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA,  in partnership with the Metal Construction Association, and Rob Haddock, CEO and Founder of S-5! Metal Roof Innovations, led an engaging and honest conversation about the current status of the industry amidst the current pandemic crisis. Along with providing practical tactics that companies can do right now, they mixed in live polling questions that added to the overall content.

Tune in THIS Wednesday, April 8 at 1:00 PM EST for the second METALCON Live and another chance to get practical advice from these two industry titans, along with participation from metal construction colleagues from around the world.

YOU can participate in advance by sending topics and/or questions that you would like covered by emailing them to JUDY@METALCON.COM.

Give us 60 minutes and we’ll give you clear no-BS answers and practical steps you can start using immediately!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR FREE

Why You See Christmas Trees Atop Construction Sites

tree 1 This time of year, it’s common to see Christmas trees. But why do you see them on top of commercial construction sites all year long? These trees are a tradition in commercial construction. But do you know where the tradition comes from, or what it means?

Topping Out Ceremonies
Prior to adding the metal panels and metal roofing, a building’s framing is completed by placing the last beam at the highest point of the building. To commemorate this accomplishment, crews have a Topping Out ceremony: a party to celebrate those who made the building possible. They hoist an evergreen tree attached to that last beam for all to see. Often an American flag is also put on the opposite end of the beam. Sometimes the last beam is painted white and signed by the members of the crew, contractor, architects, and owner. But where did this odd tradition come from?

How It Started
Immigrants to the U.S. brought the tradition with them from Europe and Scandinavia, passed down from early pagan and Christian traditions. It’s believed that as early as 700 A.D. Scandinavians began topping out structures with a fir tree to signal those nearby that it was time for the celebration to start. Others believe the tradition of an evergreen atop a structure was started to represent new birth, as the Christmas tree represents the birth of the baby Jesus. There are many tales how the tradition started, and so the specific origin is murky.

tree2The Building Is the Gift Under The Tree
While Grand Opening festivities introduce a new building to the public, the Topping Out ceremony uniquely honors the accomplishments of the construction crew, architect, building owner and other key people who made the building possible. Reminiscent of a party at the end of an old-fashioned barn raising, a Topping Out ceremony gives credit to those who do the actual work of designing, planning, and constructing buildings.

Celebrate Your Own Metal Construction
The Topping Out ceremony is a wonderful celebration for any construction project, whether low-rise, high-rise, commercial, residential, or other. On your next construction project, take the time to celebrate what’s been accomplished and the people who made it happen with a Topping Out ceremony. It’s a little bit of Christmas that you can look up and experience year round!

New Study Verifies Steel Roofs Can Last As Long As The Buildings They Cover: Typically 60 Years Or More.

Low-Slope-Galvalume Roof

By: John Ryan, Metal Construction Association

The cost of replacing a roof can be one of the most significant maintenance expenses in the life of a building. USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design building rating program (version 4) assumes a building service life of 60 years. With most types of roofing, building owners can expect to replace the roof once or twice in that amount of time, incurring significant expense to do so.

Many buildings are The Metal Construction Association (MCA) is proud to announce a new study that verifies that coated steel roofs can last as long as the buildings they cover. The research study concluded that the expected service life of an unpainted 55% Al-Zn coated steel standing seam roof constructed today in a wide range of environments using best practices can be expected to be in excess of 60 years.

Learn more about the study here, and access the full study and executive report in MCA’s Technical Resources  library.

MCA’s New Metal Roof Installation Manual: An Essential Tool for Anyone Working with Metal Roofs

Using the Right Methods, Materials and Tools is Essential to Installing Your Metal Roof Properly
Using the Right Methods, Materials and Tools is Essential to Installing Your Metal Roof Properly

By: John Ryan, Metal Construction Association

Using the right tools is key to getting any job done correctly. Contractors and installers who work with metal roofs know how important it is to have the right seamer or a quality screw gun. And architects and specifiers know how important it is to have a good architectural scale and the most current reference manuals.

MCA Metal Roof Installation Manual
MCA Metal Roof Installation Manual

If you work with metal roofing, MCA has another essential tool for your toolkit: the new Metal Roof Installation Manual. Now available at MetalConstruction.com in the Technical Resources section, this new manual offers 20 chapters of best practices, tips and training for installing metal roofs. The manual covers a full range of useful information about installing metal roofs, including:

  • Introductory information about roofing materials
  • Panel types, attributes and profiles
  • Roof deck substrates
  • Safety
  • Sealants and Fasteners
  • Maintenance
  • Re-Roofing

Download your copy of the MCA Metal Roof Installation Manual today, and keep the document handy as a reference as you come across questions with your metal roof project. It’ll soon become an essential tool in your toolbox.

And the best part about this tool? It’s free!

When in Denver, Check Out These Cool Metal Construction Projects

Denver Art Museum
Denver Art Museum

By: John Ryan, Metal Construction Association

And for those of you heading to METALCON 2014 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver next week (October 1-3, 2014), be sure to check out the great examples of metal construction that Denver has to offer. Here are a few of our favorites that we highlighted in this blog in 2013. Click the links to view the full blog posts:

Invesco Field at High Mile Stadium
Invesco Field at High Mile Stadium

Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium -Features insulated metal panels (IMP) from Centria, as well as Reynobond aluminum metal composite material panels (MCM) from Alcoa.

Denver Art Museum – Clad in titanium panels, the Frederic C. Hamilton Building reflects not just the Colorado sun, but also the shapes and angles found in the most prominent part of the Denver landscape–the Rocky Mountains.

Denver Police Crime Lab – Features 30,000 sq. feet of Reynobond® aluminum composite panels in six different colors.

And the Colorado Convention Center (below) even sports some cool metal work of its own on its facade. Be sure to take a walk around Denver while at METALCON 2014 and take note of these and many more examples of stunning architecture and metal construction.

Colorado Convention Center 3