Tips for Buying Snow-Resistant Steel Buildings

Over the last few years, historic blizzards have whacked the East Coast and the Midwest, and nearly every major blizzard is accompanied by at least one story about a steel building roof collapse. If you’re purchasing a steel building for any purpose, it’s important for you to take the changing weather patterns into account, and shop for steel buildings that are designed to withstand the weather extremes in your area. These tips can help you choose a metal building that will withstand heavy snow loads and extreme cold.

Bulk Up Your Foundation

While most steel buildings don’t need much in the way of foundations, a building is only as strong as the foundation it sits upon. Check with your local zoning office and code office to get a list of the safety standards your steel building has to meet. Most metal building suppliers will custom engineer your building to meet your local standards, but it’s up to you to make sure that your foundation meets the standards as well. If you have the option, choose to exceed the standards for a better safety rating.

Request Additional Structural Support

Your steel building supplier will be working with design engineers whose job it is to make sure your steel building meets or exceeds your local building standards. In most northern areas, those will include the minimum load bearing standards for buildings of various sizes. Those standards are bare minimums, based on historical data. With the weather in flux and each year’s snow loads seeming to get heavier, it makes sense to request additional structural support for vertical loads to be on the safe side. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Choose a Pitched Roof Design

The steeper the pitch of the roof, the more easily your steel building will shed snow and rain. Most collapses are due to snow collecting on a flat or low-pitched roof. In most cases, you’ll pay a little more for a more steeply pitched roof, but you’ll reap a number of benefits for the added cost:

-          Your roof will be easier to clear because gravity does most of the work.

-          You’ll have more usable space inside the building.

-          Pitched roofs are less likely to develop leaks.

-          Pitched roofs are safer in heavy snow areas.

Choose a Dark Roof

While lighter roofs are more efficient in warm regions, dark roofs are the better choice in areas where you spend more on heating than cooling costs and where there is a high likelihood of heavy snow. Dark roof coatings absorb heat and help melt the snow more quickly and efficiently. If you’re building in zone 4 or above, choose a darker roof coating.

As the weather changes, many areas will tighten their building codes to reflect the changing needs. Stay a step ahead when you’re ordering your metal building. Steel buildings can easily be engineered to exceed your local standards for snow loads. It only makes sense to spend a little extra for safety’s sake.