Columns/Blogs

As sustainable (or "green") products continue to grow in popularity, the claims by marketers of those products often go a little too far in their boasting of the sustainability of the product. In an attempt to somewhat regulate the green claims being made, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) created a Green Guides document in 1992. The guide has been updated repeatedly with the most recent update taking place in 2012. The Green Guides are designed to help marketing personnel avoid making environmental claims that mislead consumers.

Today, everything seems to claim “innovation” on the label – from the cell phone we choose to the car we drive, and even some of the food we eat. They all tout innovation. But what makes something truly innovative – new, ground-breaking and inventive? In the architectural coating manufacturing industry, it all comes down to the properties of a product and what benefits or services it can provide to the end user.

Are you hearing loud noises coming from your roof? This can be a sign that snow is sliding. Beware the next time you open the door to go outside especially if your door opens where snow falls. Deaths have occurred when snow slippage is imminent and someone slams a door. Just the vibration creates an avalanche.

At DesignandBuildwithMetal.com, we realize that time is a precious asset for everyone so we've kicked off 2017 by introducing Sustainability and Residential Landing Pages that help architects, contractors and building/home owners find the information they need as quickly as possible.

The 800-pound gorilla will be sharing a cage that we call sustainability. For several years the American High Performance Building Coalition (AHPBC) was advocating change in public policy where there was only one green building certification program required for public building construction. For the most part, the sole green building rating system was the USGBC’s LEED building certification program. The AHPBC was promoting choice on the part of local, regional and national green programs.

Exterior architectural coatings serve many purposes, including the protection of a building’s structure from degradation and corrosion. It’s important to note that many times architectural coatings are applied onto a structure’s exterior metal panels as the first step in the metal building product process – before the panels are formed and well before they’re shipped to the construction site. This means that building owners and contractors need to think about the threats these metal panels, and consequently the coatings that protect them, could endure at the very beginning of a project.

Several green building rating programs, including LEED and Green Globes, have begun moving away from materials and items that have single attributes. In their place, a more holistic approach to aspects of green buildings with multiple attributes is in vogue.

Weather is inevitable. And for buildings, there's just no escaping it. Whether subjected to harsh winters, extreme sun, torrential rains or the standard seasonal mix, buildings–including those clad in metal–are under constant assault from the elements. The impact is often most noticeable in the building's appearance.

One of the most dangerous industries to work in is the construction industry. 20% of all employees that died on the job last year (2015) were employed as construction workers. Roofers in particular account for the highest rate of job-related deaths. This has been a pretty consistent statistic over the past few years, so why aren’t these deaths being prevented?

Greenbuild: Iconic took place in October at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The attendance was down a bit from previous Greenbuild conferences. The expo floor had fewer exhibitors and smaller exhibits compared to earlier events. Despite those observations it was clear that there remains a hunger for more information on green building issues. This is not a “movement” that attracts just millennials. Over 100 educational sessions were offered and the attendance at those sessions was very diverse with 100-200 attending most of them.

There’s a reason the word ‘color’ is used to describe more than just the visible pigmentation of an object. Color is a versatile and powerful noun or adjective, and can be used to exemplify the beauty of music, the interesting qualities of an individual’s personality, a dramatic event and even bad language. In essence, color adds excitement and flavor to the mundane elements of our everyday life, and has an immense impact on the way we see the world.

Energy related incentives for homeowners and commercial building owners have been included in federal legislation since the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The good news is that the legislation over the past eleven years created excellent incentives for residential properties and commercial facilities to invest in cool metal roofing, energy efficient windows, insulation, and solar power. The bad news is that the incentives from legislation do not last forever. A recently passed omnibus spending bill eliminates uncertainty...at least for a while.

Countless hours go into the drafting, design and construction of a building. Projects can last a few months or tens of years, but when the final pieces fall into place, a brand new building is left standing and it’s one of the proudest accomplishments an individual or company can achieve. Unfortunately, this achievement can be significantly marred by a simple act of vandalism: graffiti. With one spray of paint, stroke of a Sharpie, or swipe of shoe polish, the exterior surface of the newfound source of pride can instead turn into one of embarrassment.

So, you’re looking into getting your roof repaired….or maybe you’re in the market for a complete re-roof. If either scenario sounds familiar, there are definitely some questions you should ask prospective roofers (notice the “s” on roofers. I added it because you can do yourself a favor by talking to more than one).

Several years ago, a clever financing program was introduced to allow homeowners to lower their energy costs. The program was referred to as PACE – an acronym for Property Assessed Clean Energy. The first pilot programs took place in California around 2007. At that point it was accepted by 24 states in 24 months.

Metal panels are a common building component in athletic arenas across the globe. From exterior façades to structural beams, nearly every stadium relies on metal materials for aesthetic purposes, strength and durability. That being said, sometimes metal needs a bit of help to resist harsh weather conditions and show off a vivid color or specific aesthetic element. Consequently, often times an architectural coating is added to metal panels.

A low-slope roof is the most abused surface on a building. Mother Nature is tough on building exteriors in general, but low-slope roofs – or flat roofs – take the worst of it. Sun exposure is more intense; wind develops higher uplift pressures making them more susceptible to blow off; rain, snow, and ice accumulate causing damage.... If this sounds familiar, you might consider a retrofit metal roof framing system.

It's important for designers to have at least a cursory knowledge of the vast universe of building products and materials at their disposal. To assist them, architectural firms maintain libraries containing thousands of samples of everything from carpeting to roofing. Many of these building materials have been available for decades, and as a result a designer is normally familiar with the physical properties of them.

Customization has become a priority for fabricators in the engineered architectural metal and exterior envelope system industry. They must rely on state-of-the-art technology to minimize lead times and deliver projects on time, on budget and within specified tolerances. At the same time, growth demands identification of and entry into new markets where prospects and customers expect extensive customization capabilities from fabricators.

Lately I've been noticing an increasing amount of vehicles, typically collectible older cars and pickups but sometimes recent models, which have the ability to change colors as they drive past. It's a fascinating sensation to see a red Camaro suddenly morph to purple and then aqua, and then red again. Something similar can be accomplished with metal wall panels by selecting paint finishes that allow colors to change depending on the angle of the sun or shadows that may come into play.