Olympia Steel Buildings VS Open Webb Truss Building Designs

Roof

Our steel buildings are designed with an AZ55 Galvalume® roof. 55% of the coating is aluminum, 44% zinc and 1% silicon. The more aluminum that is in the mix of the coating the more resistance it is to rust.

A 25 year rust-through perforation warranty is offered by the steel mill because of the AZ55. The steel mill will replace any panel if a hole develops.

Steel buildings designed with Galvalume do not require maintenance. Galvalume roofs also will never have to be painted or maintained because it retains the same luster as it has when it leaves the factory.

The cost of AZ55 is a more worthy investment and better value for your dollar because it's a superior material over truss buildings designed with AZ50.

Companies that utilize truss building designs only offer a 15 or 20 year guarantee on the roof because they only use AZ50. In some of our competitors' building designs, only a zinc coating is used which will eventually oxidize, fade and then rust.

Fasteners

The stainless steel cap fasteners, made with 18 parts chrome and 8 parts nickel, used in our building designs have a lifetime warranty that will not tarnish, turn dark, blacken or rust. It is very important that the fasteners be compatible with the AZ55 or AZ50 so the steel mill's warranties remain valid.

Some companies use zinc fasteners on their truss buildings that will eventually rust making your warranty invalid.

Some webb truss building manufacturers only use a long lasting alloy head, that won't rust, but instead will turn dark gray or black, making the building unattractive.

Roof Panels

The roof panels we use in our building designs are made of a durable and sturdy steel of 80 yield, 26 gauge AZ55 Galvalume and are backed by a 25 year rust perforation warranty.

We design our buildings with sheeting on the roof that has a 1½" depth in the corrugation. The more depth to the corrugation the stronger the roof will be.

Our superior building designs also overlap the sheets on the roof at each bay. If your building is 60' long, you will have 3 bays, as every 20' is a frame. The panel overlap goes all the way to the bottom of the corrugation and along the bottom, like a reversed "L". This prevents leaks from forming because the water can't back up through the overlap.

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.

Webb truss buildings are designed with a 29 gauge steel rooftop which is lighter than Olympia's stronger and durable 26 gauge steel.

Webb truss building designers use only a 5/8" depth of corrugation on their roof panels. This depth is a full 50% less than the 1¼" corrugation that Olympia Steel Buildings use and also does not provide the same strength.

Webb truss building companies design there buildings using an R panel roof. R panels overlap only goes a third of the way into the corrugation and not to the bottom. Olympia's corrugation goes along the bottom like a reverse "L". This means leaks are prevented more because the water will not back up and leak into the building. The extended overlap also enhances the strength of the roof.

Paint

Olympia Steel Buildings are designed and manufactured with a baked-on polyester paint that includes a 40 year warranty against peeling, chipping, blistering and cracking so your steel building maintains its beauty and color for many years.

Our competitors webb truss building designs only warranty the roof for 10, 15 or 20 years. Only Olympia offers a 30 year warranty.

Girts and Purlins

We design our buildings with girts and purlins that have a zinc-galvanized coating applied at the steel mill to protect against rusting. Purlins are the 8" Zees, 16 guage beams which join the rafters together. Girts are the 16 gauge, 8" beams that join the columns together at the side of the building.

Decades from now the purlins and girst will not corrode and leave unattractive rust stains from the roof and sides of the building that is caused by leaking.

Our steel truss building competitors design their buildings using wooden girts and purlins. Wood eventually will bow and bend causing screws to loosen, sheets to flap and leaks to form.

Frames

Olympia Steel Buildings are designed with H beam construction consisting of rigid frame, 100% quality plate steel.

Absolutely no wood is used for our steel building designs. No wood means no warping, no fire hazard, no termites and no insurance premium increases.

Olympia's engineers design our steel buildings with no cord going across the truss. This allows for complete space in the building. Maintenance costs are also saved because no cord means that birds cannot perch and defecate on machinery and equipment.

Open webb truss building designs is not a good choice if there is a snow load issue. A higher pitch is required to shed the snow on the roof. The frame is also not rigid and made of solid plate sheet. The frames are also made of angle iron that 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.

Excess material is used because open webb truss building designs are 5' higher in the center. This causes useless space in the steel building.

An open webb truss building will have an increase in heating costs will occur because of the useless space that will consume the additional heat.

Open webb truss designed buildings are susceptible to fire because 40% of the building is made of wooden girts and purlins spaced 2' apart on the roof and sides. This will also increase your insurance premiums.

Insurance

In rigid frame building designs 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 building design will increase the efficiency of heating the building by over 30% compared to an open webb truss designed building.

Our steel buildings are designed with insulation that is installed between the purlins. A fiber blanket is placed beneath the purlins on the roof and between the girts on the inside of the building using a fiber fabric over the girts. This gives a beautiful white finish in the building, on the roof and the sides.

For a minimum of heat our steel building designs place the insulation with the vapor barrier facing the inside of the frame, over the purlins on the roof and over the girts on the side. This simple design of the building is as easy as screwing the sheeting on the roof and sides over the insulation holding it in place to avoid sagging of the insulation.

A webb truss building design utilizes insulation that can be installed on a roof of a steel truss building that is only 8", which is an R22, and only 6" on the side or R19, which is 30% to 35% less efficient than rigid frame building designs.

A webb truss building's insulation also must be stapled to the wooden purlins which causes sagging. The alternative would be to use sheet rock or to put a liner panel over the purlins and girts to hold the insulation in place which will increase the cost of the steel truss building.