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In order to achieve these more restrictive horizontal deflections, the structural system would have to be as much as five times stiffer. This could be partially achieved by using deeper members, but the end result is a steel package that is two to four times more expensive than that required for a metal building with metal siding. The metal building salesmen, when giving their sales pitch to the owners, generally do not convey this information to them either because of lack of knowledge on their part or the overriding desire to make a sale. We have had several projects where the owner insisted we use a pre-engineered system only to find out later that the cost of upgrading the structure to give him the aesthetic look he desired was substantial and actually more than a conventionally framed building would have cost. We have also encountered situations where an owner purchases a building package before consulting a design professional. When they hire an architect or engineer to "get them a building permit" they find out the building doesn't meet the local code requirements. It is very important to make sure the building manufacturer is using the correct wind loads and exposures and snow loads including any drift from adjacent structures. Quite often their engineering departments have computerized load generators based on national maps, and they do not check with local building officials to determine if there are any local standards that may be more stringent. Also, we have found that frequently drift loads have not been considered. |
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Structural Newsletter |
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Eeman & Blinn, Inc. 4351 Dale Drive Ste. 250 Dublin, Ohio 43017 Phone: 614-791-1575 Fax: 614-791-1768 |
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