If you’re looking to purchase a metal building from Ardent Building Systems, it’s important to understand the basic terminology associated with steel and metal structures. Knowing these terms will enable you to communicate your requirements more clearly to your sales representative. Ardent Building Systems offers metal buildings with three primary dimensions: width, length, and eave height. Width refers to the measurement between the outside of the sidewall girt on one side of the building to the opposite side. Length, on the other hand, refers to the distance from the outside of the endwall girt on one end to the other end. Finally, eave height measures the distance from the bottom of the base plate to the top of the eave strut.
Metal Building Basics
Typically, metal buildings boast four exterior walls, two of which are referred to as sidewalls. These particular walls serve as the point of contact between the roof and wall, aligning parallel to the finished floor and determining the length of the structure. On the other hand, the remaining two walls, or endwalls, exhibit a distinct rising line where they meet the roof, with varying heights depending on the building type. In the case of a gabled building, the endwall will prominently feature the peak of the roof, whereas in a single-slope building or lean-to, the endwall will slope from high to low. It is the endwall that dictates the width of the building.
The meeting point of the roof and sidewalls is known as the eave, which can be finished with eave trim or a gutter system to manage rainfall. The height of the eave is measured from the base plate to the roof and sidewall intersection, but it is distinct from the internal clear height of the building. If you require a certain clearance inside the building, consult with your sales representative to determine the appropriate eave height.
Roof pitch or slope is typically indicated as a ratio to 12, such as ½:12, 1:12, or 4:12. When inches serve as the fundamental unit, a 2:12 roof pitch indicates that the roof increases by 2 inches for every 12 inches measured horizontally across the building’s width, from the sidewall to the building’s peak. The juncture of the two ascending halves of the roof at the endwall is known as the peak. Following the ridgeline, from endwall to endwall, is referred to as traveling along the peak of the roof.
Given that the building in question measures 40 feet in width and boasts an eave height of 12 feet, its peak height would reach a measurement of 18 feet and 8 inches, thanks to a 4:12 pitch. By calculating 20 feet to the centerline of the building, with a rise of 6 feet and 8 inches and adding it to the 12-foot eave height, we arrive at the aforementioned peak height of 18 feet and 8 inches.