Design considerations: choosing the best framing system for your building needs

How your new building looks from the outside is not simply a matter of architectural design or aesthetic appeal. Your investment needs to have curb appeal to impress visitors because a building’s exterior plays an important role in determining how much open space is available on the inside. Whether for recreation (playing surfaces for sports) or commercial purposes (large open office space or uninterrupted space for warehousing), you can’t allow pillars or posts to get in the way of sightlines or traffic flow.

Engineering and materials have an immense impact on how you build and achieve the unobstructed spaces you need. It’s a key reason why Summit Steel Buildings chooses steel and its high strength-to-weight ratio. Framing and system specifications when building with steel allow your facility to have the large, open spaces (clear spans and bay spans measuring over 300 and 40 feet respectively) that other traditional building materials are not able to support at such a reasonable price. Add in the fact that using pre-engineered metal building framing is 30% less expensive and takes one third as long to complete, the choice to build with steel is clear.



Modern designs require the strength of steel

Although the engineering and system specifications of metal construction allow for impressive architectural design features like broad roof overhangs, cantilevers, walls of glass, large windows and asymmetrical designs, for contemporary commercial buildings, it’s the clean, minimal lines and open well-defined floor plans that are most important. Two factors are responsible for making modern commercial designs possible: joist selection and primary framing systems.

Pre-engineered metal buildings use a “clear bay” system. Long span and open web joists can function as an integral part of the structure’s engineering. If you want open space without posts or pillars interrupting your floorplan, building with steel is the way to go. This style of joists is ideal in supporting floors, roof decks and standing steam roofs. They’re generally more economical when bay sizes are greater than 30 feet or when roof loads are excessive. Other types of joists, such as “K” series, LH or DLH, are normally used when longer spans, between 60 to 120 feet, are needed.

The primary metal framing system creates cost-effective spaces, especially in a multi-story buildings. The building’s final volume is determined by its building shape and roof design. It’s more than just an aesthetic design choice. The shape of the roof can enable higher ceilings, which is a requirement for sports complexes, warehouses and additional second floor space. Roof and framing design help determine how much open, post-free space will be available on the first level.