Looking For Metal Roofing…Walls...Buildings? Allow Us To Help
By Shawn Zuver, editorial/content director
A week or two ago, I received a call from a lady in Oregon who was looking for a particular metal panel used on an awning that protected the doorway of a building that she owned. The awning had been damaged by a fallen tree limb and she wanted to replace a couple panels, something that can be done very easily with metal panels.
After asking a few questions, we were able to figure out the profile—and later the name of the panel—and less than five minutes later she had all the information she needed to take care of the repair. We receive calls like this on a relatively-frequent basis, and it’s always fun to see if we can help someone with their problem.
A much more common inquiry, though, comes from people who are interested in searching for a particular product but don’t quite know how to begin. For those of you who are interested in some help along these lines, here are some suggestions. Not surprisingly, these ideas are just a couple clicks away and can be found right here on DesignandBuildwithMetal.com.
Supplier Directory
With contact information on nearly 1,500 suppliers of metal construction products, it’s not surprising that our Supplier Directory is one of the more popular areas on this website. The directory is fully searchable by company name or product type, and it can be accessed from any page on this site—either through the interactive search box in the left-hand column or via the navigation links at the top and bottom of every page.
Search by product. If you don’t have a particular supplier in mind, you can search the Supplier Directory by product category. You’ll find more than 150 product categories, broken down into 22 groups which include:
Building Systems
Self-Storage/Mini-Storage
Aviation
Canopies & Carports
Cold-Formed Steel/Light-Gauge Steel Framing Products
Specialty Framing Products & Systems
Metal Roofing
Metal Wall Panels
Rooftop & Roof Perimeter Products
Daylighting-Solar-Related Products
Specialty Architectural Products
Attachment Products
Commercial/Industrial Doors
In-Plant Products
Insulation
Coatings & Finishes
Metal Producers/Processors/Distributors
Natural & Specialty Metal Producers/Distributors
Jobsite Machines & Contractor Programs
Tools & Equipment For Contractors
Manufacturing Equipment & Controls
Software
Search by company name. If you know the name of the company you’re looking for, you only need to type in that name (a portion of the name is good enough) and you’ll be greeted with a list of possible companies who match that name. Click on the name that you want, and you can find everything you need to contact them or browse their website.
Product Showcase
Another great way to research products is to check out the DesignandBuildwithMetal.com Product Showcase section. Here you’ll find listings for companies who supply a vast range of metal construction products. The offerings are broken down into these 18 categories:
Building Systems
Canopies & Carports
Cold-Formed Steel/Light-Gauge Steel Framing Products
Specialty Framing Products & Systems
Metal Roofing
Metal Wall Panels
Rooftop & Roof Perimeter Products
Daylighting/Solar-Related Products
Specialty Architectural Products
Attachment Products
Commercial/Industrial Doors
In-Plant Products
Insulation
Substrates, Coatings & Finishes
Jobsite Machines & Contractor Programs
Tools & Equipment For Contractors
Manufacturing Equipment & Controls
Software
And don’t forget that you can see hundreds of great case studies showing all these products in action—in our Featured Projects, Design Solutions and Project Type Gallery sections.
With all of these resources at your fingertips, whenever you need them, hopefully you’ll never have any trouble finding the product that you need. But if you do, please be sure to call or email us…we’ll be happy to help!
Shawn Zuver is editorial/content director for DesignandBuildwithMetal.com. He has been covering the metal construction industry, including residential and non-residential construction, since 1985. To contact Shawn, call (419) 581-2051 or email shawnz@designandbuildwithmetal.com.
To view other columns by Shawn or other columnists, click here.