Columns/Blogs

Manufacturer certification programs can be a source of confusion. Most often, the confusion stems from using words like “certified,” “approved,” “authorized,” and “qualified” interchangeably. While they may mean the same thing to architects and building owners, those terms often mean completely different things to manufacturers. Kathi Miller explains in her latest blog.

More is better, right? For many architects and building owners, the decision of three-coat vs. two-coat paint systems certainly isn’t black and white.

"Every year we provide framing systems that allow a new metal roof to be installed over an existing metal roof," writes Dale Nelson of Roof Hugger LLC. "Sadly, in many cases the roof is being replaced not because it had reached the end of its useful life but rather because it had been improperly repaired."

As a leading authority on rooftop snow management systems, Brian Stearns, founder and president of Alpine SnowGuards, addresses a frequently asked question: Can a snow guard manufacturer guarantee that their snow retention device will retain all snow and ice on a roof top?

New construction has been a booming business for the past five years or so but as always “this too will change” and as a result of Covid-19, boy oh boy, has it changed. Many projects have been slowed down, many have been delayed and others cancelled. Having another steady base of business is critical to dealing with these sudden and unforeseen market changes.

The paint used to coat metal roofing and siding panels has three basic components: pigment, which creates the color; solvent, which helps to dissolve the pigment; and binder or resin, which acts like the glue to hold everything together. Due to differences in both pigment cost and the amount of pigment required, most metal panel manufacturers segment their PVDF offering into three pricing tiers.

Color is a time-tested method of adding personality to buildings, albeit sometimes more effectively than others. Its use can offer a way for buildings to blend with the environment, with surrounding structures, or to create a stronger—sometimes even bold—statement to make the building stand out.

Even when the variables covered in the first four articles of this series are monitored closely, problems can still arise when metal panels are installed that result in a checkerboard appearance. In fact, such problems are more likely to occur during installation than during any other part of the process.

Imagine a world where all commercial buildings and building products are manufactured from non-hazardous, renewable materials, and provide more than 40 years of unparalleled weathering performance. Carbon emissions are on the decline. Landfills are becoming a thing of the past. The oceans are a bright, brilliant blue and global warming is now written in the history books rather than dooming future generations.

Profiles are extruded metal components used to construct curtain walls, louvers and other decorative accents. They usually contain intricate details, including angles, edges, grooves, recessed areas and other contours that make paint coverage difficult. Since paint thicknesses vary on these components, color consistency will, too.

Things weren’t always simpler in so-called simpler times. Until the early 1970s, the image of tool changeovers within the roll forming industry was of an operator – or several operators – laboriously removing clumsy stands and heavy roll tooling and reloading with a different set of roll tooling.

The coatings process is inherently variable. No quality control program, no matter how stringent or demanding, can account for all the contingencies involved in the coatings process. In fact, many factors that affect color consistency are beyond the coatings manufacturer’s control.

Color-matching problems are common when multiple coating applicators are used on a project. American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) standards require that multiple applicators submitting coatings of the same color for the same part of a building measure within two Delta E units (DE) of one another on the Hunter color scale.

A new generation of coatings, incorporating natural materials such as metallics and micas, has helped contemporary architects create some truly extraordinary buildings. Unfortunately, coordinating coatings across numerous building components can present difficulties that prevent architects from achieving their intended vision.

The greatest economic boom period in history seems to have come to an abrupt slowdown, but there are things you can do NOW to keep your business afloat and well-positioned for the future.

Last time, in part one of this two-part series, we talked about snow guards and customer expectations, specifically in reference to the installation and use of pad-style snow guards. This time let’s shift the focus to pipe-style snow guards.

An important aspect of using metal in construction is understanding the concepts of expansion and contraction. As metal heats up, it expands; as it cools, it contracts. Insulated metal panels (IMPs) are unique in how they respond to temperature changes because they are composites (steel facings with an insulating foam core).

I addressed a few common myths concerning metal construction products in my previous column. Like all myths, sometimes they’re based on fact - or some small thread of a fact - and other times they’re simply way off-base. In this installment, I'd like to take a look at a handful of other often-heard misconceptions.

How do snow guards work? Believe it or not, this is a highly debated question within the construction and snow retention industries. It’s a common misconception that snow guards are intended to break up snow and ice into little pieces, basically cut up the mass, so that it comes off in smaller pieces. It’s easy to understand how people with limited knowledge of snow retention might think this.

Whether it's the existence of Bigfoot, assassination conspiracy theories, or the idea that the U.S. moon landings were faked, the appetite for urban legends and myths seems to be at an all-time high. This summer there was even a planned movement (apparently conceived as comedy, which some took seriously) to storm Area 51 in Nevada with the hope of proving that the government was hiding evidence of alien encounters. I'd like to review a few common myths or misconceptions about metal construction products that have been around for decades.