Columns/Blogs

Building with metal is a routine practice throughout the industrialized world, especially when it comes to commercial developments. Between downtown office buildings and sports arenas, to rural factories and equipment sheds, structures featuring metal paneling and roofs coated in a high-performance PVDF coating are commonplace. However, this union between specific building types and construction medium is no longer exclusive.

We are now officially in the 2016 hurricane season. We already had a named Atlantic hurricane near the Azores in January! Colorado State University (CSU) is predicting near average activity in the Atlantic. CSU predicts a total of 12 named storms, and six hurricanes (three at Category 3 level or higher).

Nowadays, coatings come in nearly every color imaginable, not to mention new aesthetic treatments. A superior coating will go further than just achieving a desired aesthetic – it will increase the durability of a structure, as well, and provide expert resistance to harmful elements in high-stress environments. When considering how to protect against harsh weather conditions, be sure to consider both metal building product location as well as coating composition.

Our society is accepting of trophies given to children just for participation in a sport, as opposed to winning. We accept teachers awarding students for their rationale for determining an answer to a problem even if the answer is incorrect. We even live in a society where college students feel that they don’t have enough time to study for final exams so those tests should be eliminated out of fairness.

Whether it’s better gas mileage that can be reached during a daily commute to work, or a full-scale decrease of carbon emissions by a large corporation, going green and developing sustainable lifestyles and business practices is more important than ever before. Innovations in sustainability have matriculated throughout every industry, including the architectural and construction markets.

Cold-formed steel has come a long way since it was advertised for use in portable iron houses for the California Gold Rush in 1849. Its use in construction was limited back then, but it was an option nonetheless. The material, like many other aspects of modern life, evolved alongside the industrialization of North America. It was even on display by way of steel-framed homes and metal roofing panels in the 1933 Chicago Worlds Fair.

Washington State recently announced plans for a second phase of investigation on toxic chemicals in rainwater runoff from roofs. The original project started in 2013 with the Washington state Department of Ecology receiving a grant for their work to determine if roof runoff was contributing to the pollution in the Puget Sound.

Today’s snow guard options are numerous. Some customers choose guards that are meant to keep snow and ice on their roofs. This method allows the snow and ice to melt in place. Other guards have the ability to break shedding snow and ice into safe and manageable pieces. Universal fit models are very popular, while some companies also offer panel specific solutions. These individual guards are referred to as “pad style snow guards”.

Get out your brooms, dustpans and washcloths, because it’s time for a bit of spring-cleaning. Although traditionally thought of as an interior scrubbing of our homes, we often forget the importance of keeping our exteriors in equal condition and peak quality. Exterior materials are often a defining feature of an office building or residential home as they provide the visual aesthetics and protective features that boost market value and make them unique. This is especially true when it comes to coated metal paneling.

By now I’m sure you’ve heard about PCRs, LCAs, and EPDs. Simply put, a PCR is a set of product category rules; an LCA is a life cycle analysis; and an EPD is an environmental product disclosure. But what do they mean and what’s the purpose of it all?

If you have been reading this monthly column, you may have noticed that I enjoy gazing into the future. The latest issue of MIT Technology Review did not let me down. In that publication they are highlighting top ten “breakthrough technologies” that will change the way in which we will see the world in the future, and how the world will work in the future. The futuristic technologies, according to MIT, apply to the medical field, genetics, communications, energy, space, and transportation. Here are summaries of these technologies for you to ponder.

When looking at architecture from around the world, it’s evident that designers can achieve nearly any look with the multitude of building products available on the market. However, one material stands alone due to its aesthetic and practical versatility, durability and sustainability – metal.

The International Residential Code (IRC) is commonly considered to be a prescriptive code, which means there are many requirements included that provide specific directions. Prescriptive-based code language provides a simpler method of enforcement for inspectors. And shouldn’t that be the case for one- and two-family dwellings, where well built and affordable is the goal?

The Resiliency of buildings and communities remains very important to a variety of organizations. The dialogue related to resilience is often linked to global climate change and its effect on more powerful storms and a higher incidence of those storms, making our cities, communities and buildings more susceptible to damage. Winter is a difficult time to be talking about climate change and global warming, especially in light of record amounts of snow and record cold temperatures. But while we dig out in the east, others are dealing with February tornadoes.

The architectural application of metal is limitless. I remember the few products we had in the late '90s, trying to gain traction in the construction market place. It is exciting to see an enormous growth in the use of metal products. One unfortunate by-product of this enormous growth is a lack of understanding for what metal products are watertight, and those that are well...not.

Every year as we reset our calendars and prepare for new beginnings, we look forward to the new fashions, fads and innovations that are looming on the horizon. The same can be said about the coil and extrusion coating industry, and 2016 is set to be another pioneering year for coating applications, color trends, and product advances.

When describing to clients social media terminology you’d be surprised how some marketers explain terms incorrectly. For instance, Twitter's potential reach is one of the most commonly misunderstood social terms. When submitting social analytics to explain ROI to clients, you will most likely include “reach” as one of your social parameters to showcase how many people your content reached. In some cases you will see a significant amount of reach, over a million users at times. No, your tweets did not reach over a million users.

As an architect, you’re required to design a building’s wall to meet the code-required R-value (or U-factor) in the International Energy Conservation Code. So you design the wall and add up the manufacturer-stated R-values of the components. Done, right? That method only makes sense if walls have no joints, seams, windows, or doors! Let’s think about this.

When it comes to insulating the roof of a metal building system, there are several different materials and ways to go about it. Costs and benefits may vary between the products, but an overall building envelope comparison shows some marked differences...and proves why the method utilizing insulated metal roofing panels is typically the best way to go.

As the political process of electing a new President intensifies with each debate, campaign commercial and promise made, we learn more about the activity or inactivity of our elected representatives. Some say that these folks who live and work inside the DC Beltway are detached from their constituents.