The pre-engineered metal building system is a
building enclosure system that always includes a structural system and often
includes roof and wall cladding. The general idea of the system is represented
in the diagram below. The structural system consists of rigid frames that are fabricated from plate
steel and “cold-formed” into an “I” shape through a manufacturing process.
These rigid frames consist of roof
beams and columns that
are field bolted together. These frames can span large distances without
intermediate supporting columns. The frames are spaced at intervals between 15’
and 60’ and can span, column-free, up to 300’ across a building.
On top of and running perpendicular to these
frames are roof secondary structural spanning
members often referred to as purlins.
They are spaced 4’ to 5’ apart
across the width of a building. The roofing system attaches to the purlins. The
wall systems include wall secondary structural members called girts
that also span from frame to frame. Girts support a wall cladding system
(frequently metal panel.)
The pre-engineered metal building system is
advantageous because it very economically allows for the creation of large
column-free enclosures. The alternative structural framing choices, such as
mill steel and light gauge metal, use more steel and are therefore considerably
more expensive to build. The best applications for the pre-engineered metal
building system include industrial applications such as complex industrial
facilities, warehouses, and distribution centers. The system is also used in retail stores, shopping
centers, motels, auto dealerships, office complexes, airplane hangars, sports, and entertainment arenas as well as schools, libraries, churches, medical
facilities, and government buildings.
There are those who still believe that metal
buildings are selected from a catalog of standard designs based on the size of
the building. In fact, the buildings are custom-engineered to specific
dimensions, structural criteria and materials in accordance with local building
codes. The pre-engineered metal building system has evolved over the years into
assemblages of structural elements that work together to provide a very
efficient system. Each part of the system is designed to precisely fit together
which transforms into buildings that can be built with greater speed and
accuracy than is possible using conventional methods. Additionally, systems
construction offers significant cost and performance advantages over
conventional construction methods including lower life cycle costs for greater
return on investment, unlimited design flexibility and sustainability
attributes such as 100% recycled steel and superior thermal building envelopes.
We will reproduce the diagram with just the keywords: frames, columns,
roof beams, purlins girts, roof system and wall system.
