Metal Building Basics

Design Loading

A Load is simply a force that is exerted upon a structure or one of its members.

Wind Load  - the forces imposed by the wind blowing from any direction.

Roof Live Load - those loads that are produced during maintenance  and construction by workers, equipment and materials.

Seismic Load - the loads acting in any direction on a structural system due to the action of an earthquake or earth movement.

Dead Loads - the weight of the metal building system such as roof, framing and covering system.

Auxiliary Loads - all dynamic live loads such as cranes and material handling systems attached to the metal building structure.

Collateral Load - the weight of additional permanent materials, such as sprinklers, mechanical and electrical systems and ceilings.

Roof Snow Load - the vertical load induced by the weight of snow.

You needn't understand the total engineering involved, but you should know that the loads exist and how they are expressed.

Building Codes

The Uniform Building Code, (UBC) complied by the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO.  It is prominent on the West Coast and in some areas of the Midwest and South.)

The National Building Code ( formerly the Building Officials and Code Administrators International, BOCA) is primarily used East of the Mississippi and North of Tennessee.

The Standard Building Code (SBC) covers most of the Gulf Coast states and other Southern areas including Tennessee.  It is sponsored by the Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI).
 
 

• Introduction
• Primary Framing
• Secondary Framing
• Covering Systems
• Glossary of Terms