How to get the most out of a Pre-engineered Metal Building

Did you know?

I have talked several times about how easy it can be to "go green without spending it", and have promised examples of how to achieve this. Now I want to take look at the best example of how to incorporate "sustainability" and "energy efficiency" via the most versatile of building types, the "pre-engineered metal building." You know the ones I am talking about, they're scattered around the Milwaukee Metro area and are probably over 15 years old.

Renovating and/or expanding an existing pre-engineered building is an easy and affordable solution to gaining extra space. It is also an inexpensive way to make your building look new again, and best of all you can make your building energy efficient all for a fraction of the price of building new.


Re-Roof Metal over Metal

This simple procedure of going over an old or leaky metal roof allows an occupant the ability to continue their daily business uninterrupted while we add 3” to 6” of blanket insulation between your old roof and a new MR-24 standing seam roof system from Butler Mfg. The MR-24 standing seam metal roof has been field documented to last up to and beyond 40 years, and is the most specified standing seam roof in the world. The MR-24 roof panel is a green product comprised of up to 40% recycled content, and is itself 100% recyclable.


New Walls

Re-skinning an existing pre-engineered building in most municipalities is not an easy task when those same municipalities are not themselves big fans of corrugated metal wall panels. Since many of the pre-engineered buildings in older Industrial Parks are clad with corrugated metal wall panels, you need to be armed with cost effective and energy efficient wall solutions. There are several cost effective & energy efficient wall solutions that can make any building look new, and at the same time provide energy savings, all at a fraction of the cost of erecting a new masonry veneer. Like the MR-24 roof panel, our wall panels are made with up to 40% recycled content and are themselves 100% recyclable.


Insulation

Most pre-engineered buildings built before 1990 came with either 3” or 4” inches of foil faced insulation with R-values of R-10 & R-13 respectively. Since then a typical pre-engineered building comes specified with 6” of foil faced insulation and an R-19 rating. For less than the cost to re-roof a building Anderson-Ashton can retrofit an insulation system capable of achieving an R-25 to an R-38 rating. This system covers old purlins and girts with a bright white washable sound absorbing surface that can be installed on both the roof and the walls giving your building interior a brand new look while saving up to 60% on your heating bill. It also does a terrific job of keeping buildings cool in summer, an added bonus that has been shown to increase employee productivity.


Insulation w/ Energy Efficient Lighting

This example of an insulation retrofit shows how effective our insulation system can be when coupled with new energy efficient high-bay industrial fluorescent light fixtures. Add a little white paint to the exposed structural frames and your building will look as good as new.
Our experience has shown that you will save on your monthly utility costs, and best of all your employees will be thanking you time and again for thinking about their comfort in the workplace. If you are looking to sell your facility, a retrofit like this will give you the competitive edge over similar pre-engineered buildings.

Incentives, Rebates, & Other Programs
The best part of any interior retrofit offered by Anderson-Ashton is our ability to tie this work into several different programs designed to accelerate a building owners R.O.I. We can also factor in Focus on Energy incentives, and government sponsored revolving loan programs. We also have access to tax incentives for the instillation of energy efficient products such as high R-value insulation, high efficiency light fixtures, and much, much more.

It's not so bad, just click on this Monty Python link and "alway's look on the bright side of life"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHhootD0_mQ

Thanks to Bill Fuchs for the idea for the clip!