How does insulation affect the cost of my building?

There a couple ways to look at insulation and value in a building, for instance what you are planning to use the building for and the balance of initial cost of insulation and how much return on investment you will receive. If you spend so much on an insulation system that your ROI is past 12-15 years then it is not worth it and FED would recommend another solution.

Another driver of your insulation value depends on your use for the building. If you plan on only keeping the temperature just above freezing and not using the space in the winter then high R-value insulation will not serve any purpose and the cost savings in heating would be very long term. If the building will be kept at a typical room temperature and need to be uniformly heated then a higher R-value would be a good investment.

Don't forget that your insulation is only as good as it's weakest link. If half of the building is insulated very well and the other half is not insulated sufficiently then all of the heat will be lost through the lesser R-value space.

FED can help you navigate through the insulation decision making process as well as all the other areas in which important decisions are made when building a structure. 

How do snow loads affect a building?

If you built a 100' x 100' building in Detroit the overall project cost would be much cheaper than if the building was located in Petoskey.  The reason for this isn't the distance from my office or the local cost of labor.  It all comes down to snow loads.  Snow loads are established by building authorities that have calculated the average snow fall amounts in certain areas and determined that the buildings need to be able to withstand certain snow loads.  For example a building in southern Michigan may have a 35lbs snow load and a building in Northern Michigan may have a 70lbs snow load.  This means that your builder will have to provide enough structural support to hold twice as much snow in Northern Michigan.  This requires making the
steel frames deeper and thicker to support the extra snow. While this adds cost, as a customer, you need to be aware of this during the bidding process so that you can be sure you're truly getting the building you need for where you are located.

The Pro's and Con's of Construction Materials

Many people want to start a project but don't know the best approach. The team at FED works as a design-build contractor and this process is designed to help guide you through this process.

First we need to establish your intended use of the building so we can best provide a solution to your needs. This starts by getting simple information like how many people will use the facility, the planned activity inside and the amount of time they spend there. With this preliminary information we can start to hone in on your best solution for construction.

Many structures that will have a lot of occupants require the structure to be built with non combustible materials. Steel, concrete, masonry, drywall, etc. Depending on the size of the total square footage we can design an efficient metal building structure that won't require fire suppression.

If the usage allows us to use wood construction it is possible to gain some efficiency with smaller buildings. Wood construction can be cheaper if you don't require large spans or open areas, tall walls, or heaving loading.

The general rule of thumb is the larger the structure the more efficient metal buildings will be. The smaller and simpler structures can be efficient using wood construction.

Making this decision is a process and our team at FED will help you understand all of the pro's and con's of each choice.

You can’t judge a book by its cover. Or a building.

Not these days.

What looks like brick on the outside could actually be a metal building. What looks like stucco could also be metal. What looks like wood could be metal. What looks like anything but metal could be…you see where we’re going with this: metal.

Metal is no longer easily detectible. Its gotten sneakier visually. In fact, its disappeared. And a great example of that is the Madison Square retail center in Norman, Oklahoma.

The 20,000 square-foot structure finished in 2010, with an additional 80,000 square-feet expansion currently under construction with a completion date set for Fall 2014. It isn’t a warehouse or an industrial complex; it isn’t storage space or a personal garage. It’s a stunning retail space off 24th Ave. NW that, just before dusk, settles into the landscape with a relaxed air as if its been there for ages.

That was the hope behind the appearance. It’s old world style meets new world technology, says Tim Grissom, co-owner of Precision Builders, who built the complex and is currently handling the expansion.

“We wanted an old, small town downtown look where you have multiple facades of buildings that are done in different ways with different materials,” says Grissom. “That makes each space unique.”

The veneer is a variation of stone, split-faced rock, and brick of varying sizes.

“I don’t think there’s anything in the way of veneer that we couldn’t use if we wanted to use it,” says Grissom.

The varying appearance gives the building, as well as the tenants, the opportunity to streamline their visual persona, such as BA Fitness, a private personal training business, with the lighter brick and large block lettering, or Old Republic Title, a title company, with their more classic façade and logo.

The appearance of a metal building never looked less like metal. And that fact has retail businesses of all kinds keeping an eye out.

“As soon as people started seeing that building go up, they wanted in there. Before we even finished construction the first tenant had moved in,” says Grissom. “It doesn’t look like a metal building and that allows us to tailor the exterior veneer to the clients needs.”

Courtesy of STAR Building Systems

Helpful Tips On What To Expect When Starting A Project...

BGW/FED is exceptionally experienced and ready to help you handle all of the items on this outline.

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