Steel Yourself Now, for Snow is Sure to Come

If last year's winter snowfall reports are any indication, Old Man Winter can be a fickle foe, wreaking havoc on the lives of unsuspecting folks living throughout the United States as if by whim.

But then there are those areas where Old Man Winter is definitely expected and typically welcomed, one of which is New York’s Catskills Mountains.

Ron Fischer owns a home in the Catskills and generally appreciates all the area has to offer during the winter months, but he admits; the snow can be troublesome at times. This thought was very much with him as he recently began exploring the various buildings he could construct to store the yield of his trade - sculptures.

“I looked at wood sheds that are online and also ones that are built by locals in the area,” says Fischer. “They were generally too small for my needs. Stylistically, wood seemed to make the most sense in this rural area, yet I personally prefer steel structures, even in the country, and even though our house is a small, white clapboard, 19th century wood structure. I looked at pole-barns that are made of steel, and they just looked so fragile, and I hate to say, cheap looking. I thought about re-conditioned steel storage freight containers that you can buy, paint any color, and have delivered to your property, but they also were too small.”

He eventually settled upon purchasing a Quonset hut, although he admits he did not know much about them at first.

“I only knew how they looked, which I liked,” says Fischer. “Truth be told, SteelMaster Buildings was the first company I looked at when going online, and Roy House, the great salesman he is, sold me my building from the clearance sale department right there on the spot - and I have to admit, I felt a little foolish buying a building without doing any research. But, since I was thinking of this as an art experience, I figured I would just let intuition lead the way and go for it…and I am not sorry.”

For more than 29 years, SteelMaster Buildings, which is located in Virginia Beach, VA, has manufactured, designed, and supplied pre-fabricated arched steel structures to 40,000 customers located in every state of the United States, in 40 countries, and on seven continents around the world.

From the beginning, Fischer knew that he was going to use the SteelMaster building more as a roofing material and build a wood frame inside for structural support, even though the building is rated for
his area.

“People up here have many stories of buildings of this type collapsing under the weight of snow that can accumulate (we are located at the top of a mountain in the Catskills, near two very popular ski areas),” says Fischer. “I wasn’t going to take any chances.”

According to Michelle Wickum, who is the director of marketing for SteelMaster Buildings, Fischer never had anything to worry about.

“All SteelMaster Buildings are rated for the wind and snow load requirements for the county in which they will be located,” says Wickum. “The unique arch design of these steel buildings provides security and durability against fire, snow, and hurricane-force winds, while remaining aesthetically pleasing. Also, you don’t have to treat it, paint it, or maintain it. With a SteelMaster building, you just enjoy it. The Galvalume Plus coating provides years of maintenance-free use.”

Another benefit of a SteelMaster building is that most customers assemble and raise the arches to complete the construction of their building without a contractor, which saves people a great deal of money.

“All of our steel buildings come with an easy-to-read and detailed manual to aid in the construction of your new metal building,” says Wickum. “We have posted many how-to videos on our YouTube channel to help people along in the process. Also, our customers should always remember that their SteelMaster Building Specialist and our Customer Service Representatives are available should they have any questions during any phase of the assembly process.”

Fischer admits that he is currently feeling some pressure to get most of the building constructed before the first snow of the season falls.

“I would like to say we will be finished with the building before the winter sets in, but again, up in this area the winter comes early and strongly,” says Fischer. “I for one do not want to be up there, especially working outside, so I guess it won’t really be finished until late next spring of 2012. But, we will have enough completed by the end of November to be comfortable that it is structurally sound for the winter months.”

Once winter passes, Fischer already has plans in place for how he is going to customize the building to his needs and aesthetic leanings.

“I am having extruded aluminum louvers fabricated that are designed to let air into the building but not water,” says Fischer. “These louvers are really meant for high-rise buildings, but not only will they be functional (I don’t expect to enter the building that much so I did not want to deal with opening and closing louvers for different weather conditions) but they, like the SteelMaster building, are really cool looking. The ends will be made of wood (I will be using the SteelMaster end wall sections that came with my building, as shelving units inside the building) to go along with the interior aesthetic of the building, which will have extensive wood supports. There will be an 8′ x 16′ wood deck in the front facing a pond that is on our property, and I am planning on attaching a sun shade structure to the wood deck. I decided, if I am going to build a storage space for my sculpture, I should have a little fun with the project and deal with it as if I were making a sculpture, and not just a building.”

In addition to storage buildings, SteelMaster’s steel and metal pre-engineered buildings are designed for a broad range of residential and commercial applications including homes, farm buildings, garages, workshops, agricultural storage, Quonsets, airplane hangars, RV storage, roofing systems, carports, military buildings, commercial warehousing, and industrial storage as well as a wide variety of custom building applications including athletic facilities, retail stores, churches, bus stops, smoke shacks, doggie dorms, and correctional facilities.