Olympia Steel Buildings Weblog

Olympia Steel Buildings Keeping America Secure

“Anytime, Anywhere” is the motto of Marine Engine Maintenance, Inc., a GSA Contractor who’s mission is to provide technical advice and service to the U.S. Coast Guard's 87' Patrol Boat Fleet, used to execute law enforcement, marine environmental protection, ports, waterways and coastal security, as well as other Coast Guard missions.

 When owner/operator Kevin Simpson recently decided to expand his marine engine maintenance business, he put his trust in Olympia Steel Buildings to get him the best pre-engineered metal building possible and take care of all the details. He opted for pre-engineered metal building construction because of the time-factor: pre-engineered metal buildings take much less time than conventional construction, and steel buildings are more durable, particularly in a marine environment. 

 The solution was a turnkey Olympia Steel Buildings pre-engineered metal building supplied to Orange Beach, Alabama company, Marine Engine Maintenance, Inc. The five-thousand square foot state of the art steel building is to be used as an engine rebuild shop to service the U.S. Coast Guard's 87' Patrol Boat Fleet. 

The Marine Engine Maintenance turnkey metal buildings construction project included building design, engineering and supply, concrete work and erection of the pre-engineered steel building on site, as well as supply of doors and windows.

 “They’re very happy for sure, they’re really happy with their state-of-the-art Olympia Steel Buildings pre-engineered steel building,” states Victor Gutierrez III, Senior Building Consultant. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be able to help keep America safe, helping Marine Engine Maintenance keep the Coast Guard Patrol Boat Fleet afloat and patrolling our off-shore waters. We did it all – we supplied the building with concrete, building erection, doors, everything. I’m very proud. We provided them a great product that will give them many years of maintenance-free service and utility.”

 

Do Steel Buildings Meet Local Building Codes?

Olympia Steel Buildings Are Custom Designed and Engineered To Meet All Local Building Codes

Steel buildings customers frequently wonder whether the metal building they are considering will meet their local building codes for wind, snow load, and seismic requirements. Simply put, yes. You can be confident that Olympia Steel Buildings factory designs every steel building to meet the requirements of the buyer's local building codes.

Since local building codes vary, generic building pricing is impossible. Every Olympia steel building is engineered to comply with regional building codes, wind load, snow load, and seismic requirements. If you find a steel building company that gives building price quotes without asking where the building will be put up, beware. Some metal buildings companies sell buildings without regard to whether the building will meet the buyer's local building codes. Then when the buyer attempts to put up the building, he finds that his local code will not permit him to erect the building as planned, and is stuck with a building he cannot use and finds it impossible to receive a refund from a metal building supplier that is unscrupulous.

Every Olympia building, whether simple or complex is essentially a custom metal building designed for the exact location where the building will be erected. Olympia also provide permit drawings stamped and certified by one of our registered engineers.

Permit drawings include:

• cover sheet with design loads and drawing index
• anchor bolt drawings
• column reactions
• rigid frame elevations
• side wall framing
• end wall framing
• roof framing, which includes sheeting drawings for side walls and end walls
• detail drawings

NOTE: Foundation drawings are not included, however, they are available for small fee from an outside concrete engineering firm. If full-scale calculations are required, they are available for a small fee.

 

Steel Building Stands Up to EF2 Tornado

Olympia Steel Building Unscathed by Tennessee Tornado

A town of about 2,000 residents, Big Rock is located in Stewart County in north central Tennessee about 70 miles north of Nashville. The tornado activity in this area is slightly above the state average and 95% greater than the overall US average. On Monday evening, May 23^rd, at 6:30 PM an EF2 tornado traveling at about 115 – 120 mph touched down in Big Rock and ended its trail of destruction in Fort Campbell. The tornado left a path of devastation 150 yards wide and 7 miles long damaging 64 buildings and destroying a half dozen homes. The tornado destroyed the Stewart County Fire Service building in Big Rock and the town’s Post Office sustained damage as well.

 Included in the damage were two buildings on the property of Daley Contracting, Inc. The roof blew off one of their buildings but their Olympia steel building received only minor damage to an overhead door and man door. The Olympia steel building itself went unscathed. Justin Daley, company Vice-President, was in the building at the time of the storm and happily reported that the building held up quite well under the severe weather conditions.

 Daley Contracting purchased the Olympia building in 2010 and erected it themselves. The company is a woman-owned hub zone company located in Big Rock, Tennessee.

 

Olympia Steel Buildings For Manufacturing: Case Study

Olympia Steel Buildings: One Company's Story Of Success

On December 3, 2009, a ground breaking ceremony took place at 3121 West Market Street in Warren, Ohio to begin construction of a new Olympia Steel Buildings pre-engineered steel building for expansion of an existing manufacturing facility. By September of 2010 construction was complete and Reinforcement Systems of Ohio LLC (RS) opened their corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility on the 17 acre site. The company manufactures welded wire reinforcements (WWR) used in concrete products such as box culverts, modular metal buildings, span bridges and tunnel segments. Their custom engineered prefabricated reinforcement mats are designed and manufactured at the new Warren facility and save pre-casters thousands of dollars in material and labor costs through the WWR process.

 Bill Gallenz, president of RS said that when making their decision about the right building for their needs, the owners did a lot of research and took three main things into consideration: cost, quality and service. Olympia Steel Buildings met all of those requirements. The 60,000 sq. ft. RS manufacturing plant houses state-of-the-art fully automated machinery in the main part of their facility with an extensive system of overhead cranes to move materials and product. The plant is bright with large exhaust fans and a complete insulation system to keep the plant comfortable. A spacious fabrication room is part of the facility and all areas of the plant are fully accessible to large 18 wheel trucks for unloading coils of raw material and loading manufactured product through large overhead doors. The attractive exterior of the building is light-stone in color with burnished slate wanes coating.

 Arnold Davis, President of Olympia Steel Building stated, “It was important to address all of the OSHA requirements in addition to building codes on this building. For example, numerous exit doors had to be strategically placed. Some design changes occurred after the building was delivered, and we worked with Reinforcement Systems and the contractor to accommodate all requirements.”  

 Mark Martin, owner of Reinforcement Systems, established the company in 2009. As a native of Warren, Ohio, Mark fulfilled a promise to bring jobs to the city where he grew up. His $28 million plant is expected to employ 65 workers within the next three years with room to double the plant size as the company grows. Martin also has a warehouse in New Mexico.

 

Olympia Steel Buildings Renews Membership In U.S. Green Building Council

  “Because Olympia steel buildings are naturally ‘Green’ and because we want to do our part in being environmentally responsible, Universal Steel Buildings, sole supplier of Olympia Steel Buildings has once again renewed its membership in the U.S. Green Building Council to demonstrate our support of sustainable building practices and our commitment to Green Building principles and design,” recently stated Arnold Davis, President of Universal Steel Buildings Corp.

The U.S. Green Building Council is a non-profit organization committed to expanding sustainable building practices and advancing structures that are environmentally responsible, cost- and resource- efficient, and healthy places to live and work. Their Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System emphasizes state-of-the-art practices in five areas: site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.

 

 Pre-engineered steel buildings are an innovative building solution featuring solid steel I-beam metal building construction and they are leading the way in the Green building movement, meeting Green building design goals with innovative building design, engineering and use of materials. “Steel buildings are durable, cost effective, energy efficient, and Green,” asserts Davis, and sustainable pre-engineered steel buildings can qualify for LEED certification.

There are many attributes that qualify pre-engineered steel buildings as sustainable, energy-efficient and Green. Pre-engineered steel buildings employ sustainable building design and construction. Steel building components are manufactured to precise specifications in a metal building factory using the highest grade commercial American made steel available. Modern American steel manufacturers employ energy efficient methods in steel production that help substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The steel used in metal buildings manufacture has a high proportion of recycled content. Steel building construction does not require cutting down valuable old growth forests. When a steel building is razed to make way for new building construction, the steel can be recycled, not dumped into landfills as are asphalt shingles, concrete, brick and wood. Steel can be recycled over and over again without loss of the quality of the steel. More steel is recycled than all other recyclable materials combined. “Cool” paints for steel buildings and metal roofing reflect up to 70 percent of the suns rays acting as a thermal barrier to keep the inside of metal buildings cooler. Metal roofs can also save energy and the environment in cooler climates. A painted metal roof not only reflects heat in summer, but also retains heat inside the building on cool days, saving on heating costs and keeping the indoor environment healthy and comfortable in both summer and winter.  

“What this means to you, the customer, is that when you purchase an Olympia Steel Building, you will have the opportunity to save money and build Green with the latest in Green building technologies,” affirms Davis.  “You may qualify for energy credit under the Federal tax codes, and you will be able to apply for LEED certification for your building project.”

 

Steel Buildings For Gymnasiums & Sport Arenas

Jewart’s Gymnastics, a recreation center in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was experiencing growing pains and knew they needed to expand their facility if their business was to continue to grow. They needed more than just space; they required a large column-free area for gymnastic equipment, rings, mats, basketball hoops and court area, balance beams, uneven bars and the like to accommodate a gymnastics training, practice and competition space that would be both attractive and affordable.

“They found Olympia Steel Buildings on the web and liked what they saw,” stated Arnold Davis, President of Universal Steel Buildings Corp., sole supplier of Olympia Steel Buildings. “Because the building site required a design for new athletic facilities that expanded on existing construction, we were able to provide a custom steel building that was perfect for their needs,” explained Davis. “Olympia’s pre-engineered metal buildings designers and consultants engineered and supplied a custom pre-engineered steel building for Jewart’s Gymnastics that was completely clear-span and afforded tons of practice space for trampoline, parallel bars, uneven bars, balance beam, rings and everything.”

The new space provides locker rooms, restroom facilities, equipment storage and practice space with multiple stations designed for a variety of athletic activities. Olympia Steel Buildings recreational buildings, athletic facilities and sports arenas provide 100% clear span interiors in widths up to 300 feet and unlimited lengths. These buildings easily accommodate gymnasiums, event centers, sports arenas, hockey skating rinks, indoor driving ranges, indoor tennis courts and paintball arenas – any type of facility needing column-free interiors, high ceilings and design flexibility.

Olympia Steel Buildings Offers Turnkey Construction Packages

 At Olympia Steel Buildings, the customer comes first. You can trust our more than 40 years of metal building design, engineering and construction experience to design, engineer and supply the building and provide construction services. Our full turnkey package includes building design, supply of pre-engineered steel buildings, and management and construction of the building or buildings, with all phases of project development and metal building construction, including foundation, insulation, heating, air conditioning, plumbing and electrical, sheet rock, painting, doors and windows, handled by an experienced team of steel building construction specialists.

Olympia Steel Buildings Construction Services help you get the job done on time and on budget every time. We develop the project around your building requirements and work with you to design, supply and build a facility to fit your building needs and business plan with complete design work and provision for future expansion.

• We prepare the foundation, put up the building, install windows, doors, gutters and downs, and install optional insulation packages. If you already have your foundation prepared, no problem – we put up the building on your prepared foundation. 
• With our mechanical systems option, we install all mechanical systems, including plumbing, electrical, heating, air-conditioning, and ventilation.
• With Olympia’s complete turnkey service package, we not only prepare the foundation, put up the building and install all mechanical systems, we finish the building interior, install drywall, flooring and fixtures and complete all interior painting. We can even provide optional landscaping services.

 

Olympia Steel Buildings Zeus-Shield Standing Seam Metal Roof

The Zeus-Shield® Architectural Standing Seam Roof System is a heavy-duty architectural or functional standing seam metal roof for covering pre-engineered steel buildings, metal building systems and other types of buildings where architectural appearance, water resistance, expansion/contraction and insulation efficiency are of prime importance.

Zeus-Shield’s Architectural Roof System for steel buildings and metal building systems is designed to be water resistant and have a long life expectancy when properly specified by a qualified metal buildings designer who is aware of the conditions normal to industrial buildings and commercial building roof installations. The steel buildings designer will analyze the requirements of the specific building being covered with the Architectural Roof System to determine if the features and limitations of the system will be compatible with the design requirements of the specific building.

The Architectural Roof System is intended primarily for architecturally driven commercial steel buildings with steeper single or double sloped rectangular roof areas. Architectural roofs can be applied to more complex roof configurations with proper consideration given to the potential for increased material and labor cost and potential erection problems resulting from the complexity of the parts and their installation.

The Architectural standing seam metal roof panel is better suited for special roof details than the Trapezoidal standing seam roof panel because it is an easier metal panel to seal and make weather tight at the ends or at slope and bevel cuts.

More complex roof configurations and non-rectangular configurations such as beveled eaves, beveled gables, hips and valleys, are designed similar to their rectangular counterparts with the exception of the transitions which require field cutting of the panel and special factory or field-fabricated flashing parts.  The Architectural Roof System is not recommended for arched roofs.

Changes in roof pitch require a transition joint or ridge between the different pitched roof sections. The transition joint may require provisions for expansion and contraction of one or both roof planes. The designer may be required to provide special secondary structurals to accommodate fixing the roof panels at locations other than the eave. Panels that run “over the eave” onto a mansard will require rib clips or covers.

Ask your Olympia Steel Buildings pre-engineered metal building designer for more information about Zeus-Shield® standing seam metal roof systems. See how a Zeus Shield standing seam metal roof can add value to your steel building construction. 

When Tragedy Creates A Need For New Facility

 Fire can take a flourishing business and turn it to dust in a matter of minutes. However, resourceful owners can rebuild quickly and bring their business back from devastation with a good business plan and tenacity coupled with a brand new steel building to accommodate their business. The manufacturing process for custom steel buildings takes as little as six to eight weeks, providing a versatile, cost effective facility in a relatively short time span. Putting up a pre-engineered steel building takes a matter of weeks compared to conventional construction that can take months. With clear span widths as wide as 300 feet and reaching as much as five stories high, sizes of pre-engineered steel buildings range as large as  you need - from 1,200 square feet to 20,000 square feet and beyond. The materials used in metal building construction offer superior benefits, including increased energy efficiency, more usable space and a savings of up to 40% on insurance coverage.

 Whatever the need, Olympia Steel Buildings can facilitate your rebuilding process from design through construction. Friendly, experienced sales technicians guide you through the buying process and work with you every step of the way providing expert customer service, resulting in a new pre-engineered steel building that meets your exact specifications in a fraction of the time for conventional building construction with brick, block or wood. Yet pre-engineered steel frame buildings can be faced with any material you desire, achieving the look of stone or brick without the expense but with superior insulating properties compared to those materials.

How Steel Buildings Are Manufactured

 Understanding all of the different components to a steel frame building can be quite informative. We believe that if our customers are well informed they will recognize that the Olympia Steel Buildings provides superior steel buildings.  Each building receives the utmost care and attention throughout the manufacturing process. You can be sure that every Olympia building is made of the finest quality, 100% American made materials, manufactured by experienced craftsmen and watched over by a dedicated staff of professionals from start to finish. Precision engineering, precision machinery and precision components, and exceptional quality control yield a precision high quality manufactured steel building product.

 When a customer purchases a building through Olympia Steel Buildings, the sales technician forwards the purchaser’s order to the steel building factory where the order entry staff oversees the order from the time it is received until the building is shipped.

 The steel buildings factory staff verifies design codes, snow and wind loads and seismic information to make sure that everything complies with the purchaser’s contract. They then place the order into the Master and Permit Schedules where it is efficiently managed ensuring that all deadlines are met and sales technicians are updated with pertinent information.

 Building information, including required snow and wind loads and seismic information is input into a metal building software program that generates complete anchor bolt placement drawings that show both the location of the anchor bolts and the kip reactions that help determine foundation requirements. The drawings show both front and rear elevations. The metal building software program also generates engineered shop drawings for the framing of the building.

 The steel building factory engineering department is responsible for the optimization of the building and each engineer is certified by the state where the building is to be erected. They factory engineering department reviews all kip reactions on building drawings and the purchase order is checked once again for accuracy. The permit drawings are then created and can be used to help secure permits to erect the building.

 The steel buildings factory booking department then reviews the order with the purchaser, including all drawings. COD charges are discussed and a booking letter is sent to the purchaser setting up the projected delivery date of the building. The booking department also reviews the permit drawings with the purchaser to make sure all building details are correct.

 The factory drafting people create shop drawings for each department. The drafting people also prepare the Bill of Materials and the construction drawings that are sent to the purchaser before the shipment of the building.

 All raw materials are ordered through the purchasing department. The customer service department handles all customer concerns including component and shipment issues and customer questions regarding the erection of the building. Other departments that are an integral part of the steel building factory operation are engineering and drafting.

Quality Control is maintained throughout the plant by department supervisors who conduct quality inspections and are held responsible for the components manufactured in their assigned area. The receiving department closely checks and certifies all materials as they are delivered.

 Actual production of pre-engineered steel buildings begins with the input of information into Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machinery, a process that involves the use of computers to control the machines that are programmed with CNC machining language (G-code). This is used to control all features including feeds and speeds.

 Once all building data is input into the system the buildings various components are systematically manufactured in designated areas throughout the steel building factory. Each factory workstation area is designed to complete a specific function in the building manufacture process. The entire metal building manufacturing process is automated using conveyors that move the material from station to station throughout the plant.

 The manufacturing of the rafters and columns begins with the plasma table. The Plasma Table cuts the web, which is the center of the rafter or column (the center of the letter “H”). The web is then transferred to a holding station waiting to be picked up and moved by the conveyor system to the station where the web is tack-welded to the flange prior to going through the automatic welding machine.

 The flange machine cuts the flanges into specified lengths from bar stock. Holes are then punched in the flanges. The flanges are then transferred to a holding station waiting to be moved to the conveyor system where the flanges are tack-welded to the web prior to going through the automatic welding machine.

 Welders tack-weld the flanges and webs into place to form the rafters and columns. At the PHI machine, the Submerged Arc Welding (SAW) process is used to permanently weld the flanges to the web. Submerged Arc Welding is an automatic process that creates excellent weld penetration and a uniform fillet weld bead, permanently fusing the web and flange materials

 Connection plates are attached to the rafters and columns to allow them to be joined to form the rigid frame of the building. Base plates are welded to the bottom of the columns of the frame to allow them to be secured to the foundation with anchor bolts using a semi-automatic GMAW or "MIG" weld process. A Welding Inspector checks all welds to ensure that AISC standards are met.

 The steel building factory also manufactures building components such as girts, purlins, doorjambs, door headers and eave struts. Roof and sidewall panels are manufactured from steel sheeting.

 Gutters, header and doorjamb covers, J trim, eave trim and base trim are also manufactured in the steel building factory. A series of 10 roll formers make the various trim components: rake trim, corner trim, jamb trim, head trim, base trim, eave trim, rake angle and base angle, gutter straps, downspouts and gutters. Each conveyor starts with a coil of steel mounted on an uncoiler. The strip of sheeting is passed through a straightener. The conveyor then carries the sheeting through the roll former that forms the shape of that particular trim. The trim is then carefully packaged and boxed for shipment.

 The building's hardware is monitored by the inventory control department. The only stocked parts are screws, bolts and some building accessories. Since each building is made to order, components are produced as they are needed to your exact specifications.

 Out in the yard the staging department gathers all of the building components and carefully loads each item onto trucks that deliver your building to your door. Special attention is given to the Bill of Materials ensuring that every order is complete and accurate. The traffic office then handles the shipment of each building, scheduling trucks and coordinating buildings to arrive at designated times.