Simpson Steel Building Company has enjoyed the opportunity to help provide our patented steel truss frame building kit to all 50 United States including Hawaii and Alaska. As tough as it may seem to get buildings from here to there, our building is highly desirable in Hawaii and Alaska due to its ability to be upgraded to handle high wind load requirements or high snow load requirements. Hawaii has a higher wind load requirement than usual along with several topographical factors that come into play for steel buildings. We can modify our original structure to handle almost any wind load requirement necessary.
Recently, we provided a building to a great customer in Hawaii who needed a smaller shop for agricultural equipment storage. While we do not ship directly to Hawaii, we do ship our buildings to a port in Southern California and our customers handle their own freight forwarding from there. This building did not need to be large, but it did need to include a covered area that would provide our customer with an outdoor workplace. Who wants to work inside when you are in Hawaii, right? After a couple of conversations, we determined with our customer that a 24x24x12 sized building would be a perfect fit. Adding another 12’ lean-to on the side of the building provided a great covered workspace!
Once we determined the right sizes for this building, we then dove into the finer details. The next step is determining the doors, windows, and features needed. While the function of this building is agricultural and storage, our customer wanted the building to look less like a shed, and more inviting. We decided to add a few window openings along with 18” roof overhangs all the way around. The roof overhangs really give a steel building a step up in aesthetic appeal. We also chose a great color combination with Fern Green walls and trim and a Desert Sand roof. The building looks amazing and blends in well with its surroundings.
Larger doors were not required here as our customer only plans on bringing in and out some smaller agricultural equipment. We chose two 9×10 overhead door openings and put them on the same gable end allowing for easy access. Five 6×3 window openings were added around the building to provide natural lighting. Only 1 3×7 man door opening leading from the main building to underneath the lean-to was necessary. We then added Gutters and Downspouts to which our customer added their own rainwater collection system.
Now that we figured out the size and look of the building, it was time to start working on making the building capable of handling the high wind load requirement our customer needed the building to meet in his area. His area has a 150 mph wind load requirement. To handle this high wind, we added cable bracing, extra girts, and extra purlins to the building. Being that Hawaii receives so much sunlight, our customer also wanted to add a few solar panels to the roof. We made sure the frame was ready to handle the extra load. Lastly, we needed the buildings to be stamped by an engineer, verifying that our building will meet this wind load requirement. Our engineer is licensed for all 50 United States so this was easy to take care of.
Having the ability to manufacture and engineer building kits that are suitable for all types of climate conditions is a huge advantage that Simpson Steel Building Company offers. Request a quote or contact us today to see if we can help with your next building project!
