Everything you need to know about buying a Steel Building

To get started working on a quote for a Renegade Steel Building, there are a few pieces of information we need to know.  First up is the Width, Length and Height of the building you want.  Typically the width is on the gable end of the building, the length is on the side where the gutters are located and the height is the measurement at the eave.  Another vital piece of information is the zip code for the location where the building will be located.  The zip code gives us the default values for wind, snow and seismic loads for a building in your location.  We use these values to setup the engineering requirements for your building.  We still encourage our customers to verify their code requirements with the local municipality as some areas may specify different loads.

After getting the basic info for your building, we want to know what size doors you want and where they need to be located.  In order to place openings in the correct place, we refer to walls as indicated on this illustration.  This is the way the walls are setup in the metal building software.  When we have completed your quote, we also typically include a 3D sketch much like this so that you can visualize everything on your building.

Last, but not least, we need to know the pitch you want for the roof of your building.  The most common roof pitch for steel buildings is 1:12.  Now you may be asking, what in the world does 1:12 mean.  So the first number is the rise of the roof across the distance of the second number.  On a 1:12 pitch, that means that the roof rises 1 inch for every 12 inches across the width of the building.  In those terms, a 30' wide building with the peak in the middle would rise 15 inches from the eave to the peak.

If you take a moment to look at the door vertical clearance illustration,  you can see that the brackets place the drum above the framed opening height.  This gives you the full clearance of the opening while accommodating the curtain as it rolls onto the drum.  The larger the door, there is more clearance required.  While this illustration shows most of the considerations, there are other factors that can interfere with the opening and operation of the door whether it is a roll up or panel door.

That's why we like to have conversations with our customers so we can help determine the most economical way to configure your building while giving you the features you want on your building.

The most basic way of bracing a building is with cables or rods that create an X between main structural members.  This option is only available when there are no openings that it may interfere with.

X-bracing doesn't work when you have openings in a wall for doors or windows, so another method of bracing the building is required.  Using a portal frame is useful in this case and provides the bracing needed along with providing space for openings.  This method is more expensive as it uses actual steel I-beams to accomplish the structural requirement for the building.

Another method available to brace the building is called a wind column.  This again allows more clearance for openings to be placed in a particular bay, but does come with some qualifications.  Since the column transfers the load into the ground at a single location, the concrete pier requirements can be hefty.  At times, though, this may be the only option available to be able to fit everything in that's needed.

Bypass Girts run along the outside (or bypass) the I-beam column.  This means that the base of the column is sitting back 8 inches from the outside edge of the concrete or what we commonly refer to as the steel line.  The bracing used is set inside of the girts as well.  This is typical for many of the buildings we do, but there are times when this may not work for your design.

Flush Girts run inline (or flush) with the I-beam column.  This means that the base of the column is sitting flush with the outside edge of the concrete.  The bracing is set inline with the girts as well.  Using flush girts can help when there are going to be interior walls by reducing the amount of the column that needs to be boxed in.

There are several products to insulate a steel building.  One of the most popular is reinforced polypropylene laminated fiberglass insulation in 3" (R-10), 4" (R-13) or 6" (R-19) thick blankets.  This insulation is installed between the wall panel and the girts, or the roof panel and the purlins.

For areas requiring a higher R-value, we can provide a two layer liner system to give you better insulating performance and long term energy cost savings.

For even more info, check out our steel building insulation page.

Some commonly asked for options to customize your steel building are roof extensions and wainscot.  Extensions certainly dress up a building but they can be more expensive than expected.  Adding wainscot is probably the most cost effective way to dress up a building.

A bay is the space between the frame columns.  This can be between the main frame I-beam columns on the side wall or between the "Cee" columns on the bearing frame end wall.

Secondary structural members are used in a variety of places in the building.

"Cee" members are used for bearing frame walls (also known as post and beam) as well as framed openings.

"Zee" members are used for wall girts and roof purlins.

Every building is engineered with wind, snow and seismic loads as prescribed by International Building Codes (IBC).  These IBC codes utilize the specifics of each location to determine the design of the building. While we have guidelines to go by, it is important for each customer to check with the local permit office to verify what specific Code they require along with the wind and snow loads.  Each municipality can require additional loads that may not be accounted without talking to them.