Tag Archives: Metal Buildings

NEW TECHNICAL BULLETIN JUST RELEASED!

Fastener Compatibility with Profiled Metal Roof and Wall Panels

Profiled metal roof or wall panels rely upon mechanical fasteners to secure the components to a structure. It is very important to select the correct type of fastener for metal construction in order to ensure a strong and weather-tight attachment. This Technical Bulletin serves as a guide for the selection of exposed fasteners used with metal roof and wall panels.

Download The Tech Bulletin > http://www.metalconstruction.org/download.php/education/user_file_2

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!

Trade Associations with Ties to Metal Discuss Collaboration

By Jane Martinsons, Metal Construction Association

2014SummerMeeting-OpeningSession3 croppedLet’s assume that collaboration among trade associations whose members work with metal building materials, including wall and roof panels, will help them thrive in a construction industry marked by consolidation. The question is, where should collaborative efforts start?

The answer appears to be education, according to a panel discussion held at the MCA Summer Meeting on June 23–25, 2014, in Rosemont, IL.

Leaders from six trade associations met with MCA members and guests to discuss where best to pool their resources to help grow the metal construction market, and possibly their own memberships. Time and again, the discussion turned to education.

Panelists included leaders from the Door and Access Systems Manufacturers Association (DASMA), the Metal Building Contractors & Erectors Association (MBCEA), the Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA), the National Coil Coating Association (NCCA), the National Frame Building Association (NFBA), and the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA).

MCA Board Member Roger Sieja, director of market development for Wismarq Corporation, moderated the discussion.

During the discussion, several panelists and attendees pointed to the need to educate the building community—particularly architects, specifiers, engineers, and board members of local municipal commissions—on current codes, regulations, and design trends.

Some panelists pointed out that, currently, education is done on a project-by-project basis, so having readily available, widely accepted educational tools on these issues would be useful to their own association members and the entire industry.

“Once [city commissioners]learn what they can actual do [with metal], they are more agreeable and realize that they have been too strict” in limiting the use of metal  in building exteriors in their areas, said Lee Shoemaker, director, research and engineering,  MBMA. “If [the issue] came up more often, we would probably come up with a program to address it more directly, but it happens only occasionally. We give members tools to help address it locally, but it is hard to do from a national trade association vantage point.”

MBMA promotes the design and construction of metal building systems in the low-rise, non-residential building marketplace. According to Shoemaker, MBMA devotes half of its budget to addressing technical issues of building systems.

Ken Gieseke, chair-elect of NFBA, agreed that broader education on the local level is needed.  “We’ve done one-on-one education with [our own city commission], taking pictures of jobs that show that metal is attractive and pointing out [limits to] their codes,” he said. “Getting tools to help us as an industry would be huge.”

NFBA has more than 700 members, including contractors, suppliers, and design professionals. The association seeks to expand the use of post-frame construction, educate builders and decision makers on post-frame construction, provide technical research, and market the benefits of post-frame construction.

The panelists also stressed the need to promote the benefits of using metal on building exteriors to the entire industry, including consumers.

Tom Wadsworth of DASMA said that, “thanks to coil coaters,” highly durable steel and aluminum garage doors now resemble wood ones, but are less expensive and easier to maintain on the part of consumers. DASMA works to create a unified force among its memberships of manufacturers of door and access systems, develop standards, influence building codes, expand its market, and educate the door systems industry.

Likewise, MBMA’s Shoemaker noted that metal buildings with wide clear spans offer superior durability to other construction types, particularly in adverse weather conditions. Getting out messages like this to influencers of construction and consumers is key to growing the industry, he said.

2014SummerMeeting-OpeningSession4croppedThe groups represented at the meeting vary greatly in size and educational offerings, with the 128-year-old NRCA being by far the largest with 3,500 members in the U.S. and abroad   and a $12 million annual budget, a vast array of training and educational programs, and its own Political Action Committee.  NRCA helps its members contend with government regulations and is active in the codes arena.

However, all the groups represented on the panel promote professionalism and provide education and training to their members, and some provide accreditation.

The 52-year-old NCCA, which has about 100 members, promotes the growth of pre-painted metal.  It serves as the voice of the coil coating industry for technical, promotional, education, and regulatory matters.

The 46-year-old MBCEA provides, among other things, national standardized testing and apprenticeship and accreditation programs. It has seen a 30% jump in its membership of metal building contractors and erectors over the past year, according to MBCEA President Gary Smith.

As the panel concluded, it was clear that this discussion was, itself, only a start. Sieja said that MCA would welcome an opportunity to discuss collaboration further at meetings sponsored by these groups.

 

 

 

 

3 Reasons Why Facebook Chose Perforated Metal Panels

Facebook Data Center, Prineville, OR

By: Jane Martinsons, Metal Construction Association

There are three very good reasons why nearly a quarter of the 65,000 square feet of metal wall panels on Facebook’s new data center in Prineville, OR, are perforated panels. Foremost, the screen metal walls secure the center’s sizable generator yard and help ventilate its diesel-fueled backup generators.

The metal panels, including the perforated metal panels, also are customized by Metal Sales Manufacturing Corporation  to allow the entire structure to meet strict LEED® Gold certification standards. More than half of each perforated panel—52.94%, to be exact—is open area for ventilation.

Last is aesthetics. The metal panels perfectly complement the simple and minimalist design of the neutral-colored center. But don’t let the Facebook data center’s understated façade fool you; inside the center is a powerhouse. The energy-efficient structure houses tens of thousands of Facebook’s servers containing information for its 800 million users. The only hint that the building serves one of the busiest websites in the world is the blue flag with the iconic ‘Facebook’ logo.

To recap, those three reasons are –

1. Superior ventilation
2. LEED® Standards
3. Aesthetics

Want to learn more about the role metal has played in Facebook’s new data center? Metal Sales has the full story.

Metal Construction in Denver: Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium

Sports Authority FieldBy: John Ryan, Metal Construction Association

We promised to share some of our favorite examples of metal construction in Denver as we get closer to the AIA National Convention from June 20-22 at the Colorado Convention Center. Here’s our first:

Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium

Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium opened in September, 2001, and features insulated metal panels (IMP) from Centria, as well as Reynobond aluminum metal composite material panels (MCM) from Alcoa.

Best known as the home of the NFL’s Denver Broncos, Mile High Stadium has been home to the likes of Peyton Manning and Tim Tebow. The metal stadium also was the venue for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, as well as concerts from bands including U2 and the Eagles.

Formerly known as Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium, Sports Authority signed a 25-year agreement for the naming rights in 2011. That should be a safe investment because the metal wall panels on that stadium will be looking great and performing well for many years to come.

Got Metal Construction Questions? We’ve Got Ask-The-Experts Answers

When it comes to new commercial construction, it’s helpful for architects and engineers to have reliable resources at their disposal for questions related to planning, designing, and building. The Metal Construction Association’s Ask The Experts is an online discussion forum for exchanging technical information concerning the use of metal in commercial construction, including general material and metal installation questions.

This spring has been a big season for new commercial construction projects and MCA has seen some trends with forum questions and discussions related to the following topics:

• Choosing Metal for Commercial Construction: New commercial construction can take a lot of building research between owners, architects, and engineers. For questions related to ‘choosing metal’, this topic is great for viewing previous discussions on metal being the best solution for commercial construction, types of metal, and more.

• Metal Installation: Installing metal for commercial construction can be a complex task for all engineers and contractors involved. For questions related to ‘metal structure installation’, this topic is great for viewing previous discussions on metal wall and roof installation.

• Metal Construction Engineering: Commercial engineering is a major part of the construction process with technical and strategic planning. For questions related to ‘metal construction engineering’, this topic is great for viewing previous discussions on testing, metal application, and diaphragms.

• Metal Maintenance: Building commercial structures with any material leads building owners to speculate on life expectancy, maintenance, and upkeep. For questions related to ‘metal building maintenance’, this topic is great for viewing previous discussions on common maintenance issues and weather myths.

• Metal Wall Panels: A popular commercial construction addition is metal wall panels. For questions related to ‘metal wall panels’, this topic is great for viewing previous discussions on Insulated Metal Panels (IMPs), manufacturers, and alternative wall solutions.

Find helpful metal construction discussions and create new topics for our expert panel. For more information related to these popular topics this season, please visit the Ask The Experts forum today.

What’s in a Tagline?

By: John Ryan, Metal Construction Association

Nike says “Just do it.”

Timex states “Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.”

DeBeers claims “A diamond is forever.”

These are some of the most recognizable taglines, and they all have a few things in common. Each supports the essence of its’ respective brand. Each appeals to the emotions of its audience. And each differentiates its brand from its competitors.

Earlier this year, the Metal Construction Association underwent an exercise to develop its own tagline. In addition to considering the qualities listed above, we considered a few additional key criteria: the tagline had to be short, memorable, and actionable.

After a rigorous brainstorming exercise in which member volunteers and staff reflected on the core values of the association and its members, MCA is pleased with where we landed.

MCA - Build Legacies Metal

MCA member companies make a host of amazing metal products that are used on many beautiful, high-performing buildings. These products are some the best performing, most technically superior, and most aesthetically pleasing metal buildings available.

Most of all, however, MCA recognizes that what we do is about more than just the metal construction and outcomes that our member companies make and the services they provide. These metal buildings become part of our culture and landscape. Because of the many performance and aesthetic characteristics inherent in metal roofs and preformed walls, they create a legacy that can last for generations.

And MCA, as a trade association, has been working for the past 30 years with its member companies to build a legacy of excellence, collaboration and innovation.

Stay tuned for more news about the evolution of the MCA brand over the coming months.

Hail and Metal Roofs: Debunking the Myths

Hail On Residential Metal Roofs

By: John Ryan, Metal Construction Association

As the spring brings severe weather across the country (we’re busy bailing out here in Chicagoland after more than 4 inches of rain the past few days), building performance is top of mind for many building owners. Our friends at the Metal Roofing Alliance (MRA) recently reminded us about the performance of metal roofs in hailstorms. According to MRA, metal roofs perform so well in hailstorms that some insurance companies even provide a reduced rate for buildings with metal roofs.

That said, there are still some misconceptions about how metal roofs perform in hailstorms, so we thought we would take this opportunity to debunk a couple of those myths.

Myth #1: Metal roofs are more prone to damage from hail than other roofing systems.

FALSE. According to a recent article in Metal Roofing Magazine, which cites two hail studies performed by The Roofing Industry Committee on Weather Issues Inc. (RICOWI), “Metal roofing stands up to the forces of nature as well as or better than any type of roofing material.”

Myth #2: Metal roofs are louder than other types of roofing in a hail storm.

FALSE. As detailed in our Ask the Experts Forum, as well as on the Metal Roofing Alliance’s website, under Typical Installation Circumstances with a plywood deck, underlayment, insulation, etc.,  a metal roof is no noisier than any other type of roof.

We hope you stay safe and dry, and we look forward to some good weather.

CENTRIA Stadiums Featured in Final Four (and our unscientific prediction of who will win)

KFC Yum! Center Metal Roof
KFC Yum! Center – University of Louisville

If you’re like us, the brackets you filled out for your NCAA Basketball tournament pool were over long ago. But the tournament continues this weekend with the Final Four, and we need to find a new team to root for. Rather than picking winners by mascots or favorite location (we tried that before and it didn’t work), we thought we’d take a different approach: picking a winner that plays its games in a metal-clad arena!

KFC Yum! Center Design
Formawall Dimension Series Panels

Based on this, our pick to be cutting down the nets Monday night is the University of Louisville, which plays its home games at the KFC Yum! Center. The stadium features high-performance building technology and stunning aesthetics, thanks to CENTRIA’s Formawall Dimension Series panels and a design that focuses on transparent facades and natural lighting. The winner of an AIA Kentucky Merit Award, the new arena was completed in 2010, and has since hosted its share of major college hoops action. Conveniently, the Louisville Cardinals are the only number one seed to make it to the 2013 Final Four, so we like our odds.

Georgia Dome
Georgia Dome Georgia Dome

Worth noting is that Atlanta’s legendary Georgia Dome is the host to this year’s Final Four. This enormous arena is a masterpiece of form and function, sporting over 200,000 square feet of CENTRIA’s Formawall Dimension Series insulated metal panels for the best in advanced thermal and moisture performance (ATMP®). The current home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and the former home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, the Georgia Dome is among the largest domed structures in the world and a staple in the landscape of global athletics—from the 1996 Olympic Games to the legendary Super Bowl XXXIV. Of course, it’s also the home of the 2013 NCAA Final Four!

Regardless of the winner, we’re sure there will be some exciting basketball. We’ll be tuning in to see how our prediction unfolds.

Solar Roofs Revisited: Economic Benefits as well as Green Benefits

Metal Roofing and Solar PanelsBy: John Ryan, Metal Construction Association

The connection (pun intended) between metal roofing and solar (photovoltaic) systems has been a common theme for the Metal Construction Association’s The Metal Initiative these past few months. See some of the latest blog entries from February and December. We also recently hosted a webinar for architects on the metal roofing and solar topic. If you missed us, sign up for our next “Metal Roofing: The Perfect Platform for Solar Technologies” webinar.

And our friends at DesignandBuildwithMetal.com have been covering the story, publishing two stories on the topic recently. Ken Buchinger from MBCI recently wrote an article that shared his perspective about why standing seam metal roofs make the perfect platform for photovoltaic (PV) systems because the roofs have a service life that is likely to outlive the PV system, and because the systems can be mounted to metal roofs without penetrating the roof. Bob Zabcik of NCI Group, Inc. also penned an article that confronts common misconceptions about solar roofing.

We’re used to hearing about the well-established green and sustainable benefits of solar roofing, but Bob and Ken both take the stance that there are significant economical benefits in solar roofing, as well. PV systems can be expensive, but over time these systems can generate significant returns on the initial investment. And to protect that investment, metal roofing is the ideal platform for PV systems.

Solar roofsJoin us for our next “Metal Roofing: The Perfect Platform for Solar Technologies” webinar and earn AIA CES credits, or feel free to visit our event calendar for other events and webinars that may be of interest.

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