huangyhg

metal building design book??
hey guys, are there any good metal building design handbooks that you could recommend. our company might get a metal building design, like a shopping center strip, and i want to get a jump on things. any info is greatly appreciated. if i could get my hands on a go by, that would be great too. i would like my design to be somewhat familiar to what is the norm these days.
speak to a company that you would, or your client would consider, using for the building and ask them if they have one. butler is one company that would have one.
"metal building systems" written by alexander newman and published by mcgraw-hill in 1997 is a terrific textbook on metal buildings, very practical. fwiw, there is another book by the same author and publisher "structural renovation of buildings" that is excellent.
i think one of the best books for your purpose is "low rise building systems manual", by metal building manufacturers' association (mbna).
also, since you will likely be using masonry walls for a retail use, try "concrete masonry walls for metal buildings", by national concrete masonry association (ncma).
like pmkpe indicated, i would call around and see if a metal buildings company would sell you one of their company design manuals. we had one from, i think steel ox, that was very helpful.
epr's ref. to, low rise building systems manual, is the design manual (design code) for metal buildings by mbma which is funded primarily by metal building manufacturers. you would likely also need "cold formed steel design manual" by aisi which covers design of girts, purlins, etc. all your cold formed steel that goes hand in hand with metal buildings.
i doubt you will get an actual "design" manual that details the equations used to design metal buildings but rather a binder for designers that helps in detailing
i've seen metal building designs in two forms:
1. design the plans around one specific manufacturer's building. this is usually done on a design/build basis but not always. you are locking yourself into one manufacturer, but that is not necessarily bad, if you have a good working relationship with a particular builder.
2. design a "generic" metal building layout and then make the necessary changes to the plan once a contract is let and shop drawings are provided. this allows more competition, but requires dimensional flexibility, since every manufacturer's detail dimensions are different.
as, noted above, mbda has lots of good information. the newman book is very practical and has many comments regarding the smaller details that sometimes get missed.
back in the early 90's steel building manufacturers started to become bery flexible and adaptive with their computer controlled fabricating machinery so that whatever you place on your plans they would be able to match or come very close to regarding the dimensions/configurations placed on the plans. originally their computer programs were rigid and they could only deliver on set dimensions for the bays and spans; and at the time, they were very competitive economically with the more typical engineered post and beam and moment frame designs that an engineer would use having typical hot rolled shapes. so whatever you come up with as a generic configuration can be matched by a steel building mfg. however, to make the structure as economical as possible for your client you should as closely as possible adhere to the basic spacing parameters that a steel building mfg. calls out in their own (proprietary) manual.
thanks for all your input guys!

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