Safeway Steel Buildings vs Webb Truss Design

Roof

Safeway Steel Buildings

Open Webb Truss

Our Galvalume® roof is AZ55 – aluminum makes up for 55% of the coating, zinc makes up for 44% and silicon makes up for 1%. The more aluminum in the coating, the more resistance to rusting.

The steel mill is able to give a 25 year rust through perforation warranty because of AZ55. If a hole develops in a panel, the steel mill will replace it.

No maintenance is needed with Galvalume.

The AZ55 costs over AZ50 is worth the investment because of it’s superior material. You will never have to paint or maintain your roof because Galvalume retains the same luster as it does when you install it.

The competition only offer a 15 year guarantee on the roof. And, in some cases, they use only a zinc coating which will oxidize, fade and then rust. Some are only using AZ50 which can only provide you with a 20 year warranty.

Fasteners

Safeway Steel Buildings

Open Webb Truss

We use a stainless steel capped fastener that will not rust and has a lifetime warranty. It is also important that the fasteners on the roof be compatible with the AZ55 or AZ50 or the steel mill will not warranty the roof.

Our capped fasteners are steel made with 18 parts chrome and 8 parts nickel. Commonly known as stainless steel.

The fasteners will not tarnish, turn dark or black and will not rust because of the stainless steel. The roof will not rust and it will retain its beauty for a lifetime!

Some companies use a zinc fastener, which will rust making your warranty invalid.

Our competitors only use a long lasting alloy head, which doesn’t rust, but turns dark gray or black. The roof also doesn’t retain it’s luster and beauty.

Roof Panels

Safeway Steel Buildings

Open Webb Truss

Our roof panels are made of 26 gauge AZ55 Galvalume, 80 yield, which makes the steel durable and sturdy.

Our steel buildings have a 1½” depth in our corrugation in the sheeting on the roof. The depth of corrugation adds strength to the roof.

The sheets on the roof overlap at each bay. If your building is 60′ long, you will have 3 bays, as every 20′ is a frame.

When the sheeting overlaps at each bay, the panel overlap goes all the way to the bottom of the corrugation and along the bottom like a reversed “L”. This prevents water from backing up through the overlap into the building, thus preventing leaks and giving you a dry building.

The design of this overlap, which goes over the top of the corrugation, and to the bottom of the corrugation, and along the bottom like a reverse “L” looks like the letter “Z” resembling the purlins on the roof which join the rafters together.

This purlin braced roof provides tremendous strength and prevents the roof sheeting from bending or cracking.

Other companies use only 29 gauge steel on the roof, which are lighter than 26 gauge so you cannot have the same strength or durability.

Other companies use only a 5/8″ depth of corrugation, which is a full 50% less depth than the 1¼” corrugation and do not provide the strength.

Some companies use an R panel roof, which means that the sheeting overlap goes only one third of the way into the corrugation and not to the bottom and along the bottom like a reverse “L”.

This means you will develop leaks, as the water will back up into the building.

This short overlap also does not provide the strength that is required for the roof.

Paint

Safeway Steel Buildings

Open Webb Truss

The baked-on polyester paint has a 40 year warranty against chipping, cracking, peeling and blistering so your building maintains it’s color and beauty for many, many years.

Our competitors only warranty the roof for 10, 15 or 20 years.

Girts and Purlins

Safeway Steel Buildings

Open Webb Truss

To protect against rusting, the purlins – the 8” Zees, 16 gauge beams, which join the rafters together, and the girts – the 16 gauge 8” beams joining the columns together at the side of the building, have a zinc-galvanized coating applied at the mill. This is not a primer, which is only an oxide, but a zinc-galvanized coating applied at the mill.

15-20 years from now the purlins and girts will not corrode and leave unsightly rust leaking from the roof and sides of the building.

Our competitors use girts and purlins made from wood, which will bow or bend causing screws to loosen, sheets to flap, and cause leaks.

Frames

Safeway Steel Buildings

Open Webb Truss

Rigid frame, plate steel, H beam construction backed by a 50 year warranty.

No wood, which means no warping, no fire hazard, no termites and insurance costs are less.

No cord going across truss, which means there is complete space in building, no way for birds to perch and defecate on machinery which saves tremendous costs in maintenance

The open truss webb design is not made to carry heavy snow loads, so a higher pitch is required to shed the snow. The frame is not a rigid frame – made of solid plate sheet. The frames are made of angle iron, which is welded to form an “X”.

For example: a 60’ wide open webb truss building is 18’ to the eave with a 3/12 pitch that is 25’ 6” in the center. A rigid frame building made of plate steel with the same dimensions and with a 1/12 pitch is 20’ 6” in the center.

The open truss webb design is 5’ higher in the center, which uses excess material and useless space in the building.

If you are heating a building, it will also consume additional heat due to useless space resulting in higher heating costs.

Additionally, since 40% of the building is made of wooden girts and purlins spaced 2’ apart on the roof and on the sides, it is susceptible to fire and higher insurance costs.

Insurance

Safeway Steel Buildings

Open Webb Truss

In a rigid frame building you can place 12” of insulation in the roof giving an R38” value, and on the side, 9” insulation which gives an R30 using the Simple Saver System.

This increases your heating efficiency by over 30% over an open webb truss.

The insulation is placed between the purlins with a fiber blanket under the purlins on the roof, and the insulation is placed between the girts on the inside of the building with a fiber fabric over the girts giving a white beautiful finish in the building on the roof and the side.

In a rigid frame building, if you wish to insulate your building for a minimum of heat, you can place your insulation with the vapor barrier facing the inside of the building over the purlins on the roof and over the girts on the side. You simply screw the sheeting on the roof and sides over the insulation holding it in place and avoiding sagging of the insulation.

If energy efficiency is important, the amount of insulation that can be placed in the roof is only 8”, which is an R22 and on the side 6” or R19, which is 30% to 35% less efficient than rigid frame buildings.

In an open webb truss design the insulation must be stapled to the wooden purlins, which allows the insulation to sag. The alternative is to use sheet rock or place a liner panel over the purlins and girts to hold the insulation in place which creates an extreme high cost on the building.