Cold-formed steel can offer significant advantages over traditional red-iron construction—but where does it make the most sense? Jason Sellers joins Building With Metal to break down McElroy Metal’s EasyFrame system, including cost considerations, foundation savings, lead times, installation, customization and structural capabilities. We also discuss when cold-formed steel is—and isn’t—the right solution for a building project.
Jason Sellers: "We don't ship a building unless it is complete. You're not getting two or three shipments or receiving the building without the screws and hardware needed to put it up."
Jason Sellers: "You're not going to get the exact same building in Missouri that you would in Maine because the snow and wind loads are different."
Jason Sellers: "Tube-frame buildings have their market, but there's a big difference between a two-by-two steel tube and a system where even the smallest member might be a six-inch Z on the sidewall."
[00:00:17] Cold open: 20 to 25% less concrete, 300-foot lengths, 80 to 85 feet clear-span, and second stories
[00:02:47] What cold-formed steel is: galvanized, roll-formed, punched, and bolted together with no welds
[00:04:03] Can a DIYer build one? The parts list, stamped engineered drawings, and construction package that ship with every building
[00:05:14] The sweet spot (40 by 50 or 40 by 60), 30 to 40 foot bays, and when a building with many openings falls outside it
[00:07:32] Comparing cost: a 4-week engineer-to-ship example, complete shipments, less rental equipment, and no crane
[00:09:29] Concrete savings, the included foundation plan, what a monolithic pour is, and reinforcing for a lift
[00:11:06] Anchor bolts: drilled after the pour versus preset J-bolts, and why that matters on day one
[00:12:10] Assembly on site: pre-punched holes, clips and brackets, part markings like PLN01, and 12 to 16 week red iron lead times
[00:14:31] Why McElroy built 24 standard models, who they're for, and a teaser on agricultural and commercial lines
[00:16:31] Galvanized versus red oxide steel, the history of cold-formed buildings, misconceptions about strength, snow and wind loads by region, and the start-to-finish process
Mentioned Resources
[00:00:17] Kathi Miller: Edward, what's one thing contractors can do on a metal roof that shortens the lifespan of that roof?
[00:00:23] Edward Montemayor: The biggest mistake in the industry is flashings. That's your first line of defense: counter flashings, chimney flashings, and step flashings. Those take a little more detail, and I've seen a lot of guys rush them.
[00:00:41] Edward Montemayor: Those are areas where water infiltrates, gets into the system, and gets under your panels. Then you can have issues from moisture being trapped in there.
[00:00:51] Kathi Miller: We always say that a metal panel itself doesn't leak, right? It's all the conditions around it. So you're exactly right.
[00:00:57] Kathi Miller: Edward, you and your family have been in the roofing industry for decades, yet not that long ago you attended McElroy Metal's certification program. What about that surprised you?
[00:01:08] Edward Montemayor: I think, in general, how great of an experience it was and the tools I took away from it. I've been installing standing seam systems and metal systems for quite some time, but you really learn more about what McElroy does, the panels, and the weathertight warranties. You learn a lot about thermal movement, panel modulation, quality control, and those specific line items that really show you what the system is all about.
[00:01:40] Kathi Miller: One of the other things I always tell people who are going to attend is that you spend two or three days with the people who may actually be inspecting your roof. It's a great opportunity to build that relationship so that, on a future job, you have somebody to contact if you have a question about a certain detail.
[00:00:17] Kathi Miller: 20 to 25% less concrete? How is that even possible?
[00:00:21] Jason Sellers: One reason is that we only require a four-, five-, or six-inch foundation. We require rebar, and it is a monolithic pour. With the foundation plans included with your engineered drawings, you can save a lot of time and money on concrete.
[00:00:39] Kathi Miller: That’s a big difference, both in time and money. So how big a building can you actually build with cold-formed steel?
[00:00:45] Jason Sellers: The system limits you to about 300 feet in length. Beyond that, it’s really up to your imagination. That’s what makes these buildings so unique. It comes down to what you want, what your project calls for, and what you can imagine building.
[00:01:05] Jason Sellers: The system has come a long way in the last eight to 10 years. It’s not just squares and rectangles anymore. There are a lot of different options. One project I was working on recently was a poultry production building, which is where that 300-foot length came up. The other nice thing is that these buildings are clear-span, so there are no internal columns unless the design calls for them.
[00:01:36] Jason Sellers: You can probably go 80 to 85 feet clear-span without too many issues, depending on wind load and snow load. Every design takes those factors into account.
[00:01:47] Jason Sellers: And seismic loads, if you’re in California.
[00:01:49] Kathi Miller: So when you’re talking 80 to 85 feet clear, you’re talking about the width, correct? Earlier, when you were talking about 300 feet, you were talking about the length?
[00:01:55] Jason Sellers: Yes, the 300 feet is the length.
[00:01:57] Kathi Miller: Wow, that’s a lot bigger building than I would have initially imagined you could build with cold-formed steel. That’s exciting.
[00:02:02] Jason Sellers: It is. You can do second stories. In many ways, the possibilities are almost endless.
[00:02:07] Kathi Miller: Welcome to the Building With Metal podcast. I’m your host, Kathi Miller. Today, we’re taking a closer look at an option that falls between traditional construction and pre-engineered metal buildings: cold-formed steel. Joining me is our own Jason Sellers to talk about our product called Easy Frame, what it is, where it fits, and how it compares to traditional construction options.
[00:02:30] Kathi Miller: This is the first of two conversations with Jason. Today, we’re gonna focus on understanding the building system itself. In part two, we’re gonna look at Easy Frame from a contractor’s perspective and the business opportunities that it can create for you. Welcome to the show, Jason.
[00:02:45] Jason Sellers: Thank you. Good to be with you.
[00:02:47] Kathi Miller: So let’s start at the beginning, in case some of our listeners aren’t familiar, what is a cold-formed steel building and how is it different from a traditional red iron metal building?
[00:02:57] Jason Sellers: Cold-formed steel is a galvanized steel building system, so it holds up very well to the elements. I’ve been asked whether it works well along beaches and around salt air. Absolutely. That’s exactly what the galvanized cold-formed steel is designed to withstand.
[00:03:17] Jason Sellers: It’s still a structural steel building. There are no welds; it’s primarily a bolt-on system. You may find a few connections that are screwed, but most of it is bolted together. We take a roll of steel, send it through the machine, tell it how and where to bend, cut it to length, and punch the holes.
[00:03:40] Jason Sellers: I sometimes compare it to a big erector set. Some people might find that comparison simplistic, but the idea is that it bolts together. With our checks and balances, we make sure the system will bolt together and connect properly in the field, which is exactly what you want when you’re putting up the building.
[00:04:03] Kathi Miller: Okay, I’m going to fast-forward here because I can’t help myself. You mentioned an erector set. Can these buildings be put together by a DIYer?
[00:04:12] Jason Sellers: Absolutely. I’ve seen many of them built by DIYers.
[00:04:15] Kathi Miller: So when it shows up, do I have instructions specific to my building?
[00:04:19] Jason Sellers: You will. I’ll send you a picture of a building that a husband-and-wife team built themselves. As far as I know, they’re still married, and it went very well. Part of the package includes a parts list, fully stamped engineered drawings for your specific job-site location, and what we call a construction package. That package shows how everything bolts together, which part connects to which part, and what hardware is used.
[00:04:59] Jason Sellers: So it is DIY-able. I talk to people every day who want to give it a shot. You’ll want a scissor lift, a ladder or man lift, and the basic tools you need for assembly.
[00:05:14] Kathi Miller: So where does a cold-formed building make the most sense, Jason? What’s its sweet spot? You mentioned you can build just about anything, but...
[00:05:21] Jason Sellers: You can build just about anything, but I think the sweet spot is around 40 by 50 or 40 by 60. At that size, you don’t need the large members required for red iron, and that’s where tube-frame buildings and even some pole barns can start to struggle with the bigger spans.
[00:05:39] Jason Sellers: Our ability to span has increased significantly over the years. Now we’re talking about bays that can go 30 or 40 feet, depending on the building setup. That makes a big difference, especially in agriculture, where you may need a large opening to get equipment in and out.
[00:05:59] Jason Sellers: We’re able to do that in many cases.
[00:06:02] Kathi Miller: Let’s flip it around. When is a building probably not in the sweet spot for cold-formed steel?
[00:06:09] Jason Sellers: I’ll go back to that poultry building. You don’t need a lot of openings in that type of building. The challenge comes when you want a 200-foot-long building but also need 20 doors. Those openings require additional support and bracing.
[00:06:27] Jason Sellers: One thing I tell people when comparing cold-formed steel with another building type is to look at the wall panels. If the panels run horizontally, the building may be relying on those panels to help hold and strengthen the structure.
[00:06:47] Jason Sellers: On our Easy Frame metal buildings, the panels run vertically. We use X-bracing behind the panels where the engineering calls for it, such as in certain open bays.
[00:07:04] Jason Sellers: That’s where it can become more challenging. I can think of many buildings that are 100 or 120 feet long with no problems, but once you get larger than that, my question is always: what kind of openings do you need?
[00:07:20] Kathi Miller: That’s a great point. If you’re going to have a lot of openings on a pre-engineered building or even a post-frame building, those are still labor-intensive. An opening adds work regardless of the construction method.
[00:07:30] Jason Sellers: Absolutely. They’re going to take more time.
[00:07:32] Kathi Miller: Let’s talk about cost. Cost is important to everybody, especially these days with inflation.
[00:07:37] Kathi Miller: When you compare a cold-formed building, which we call Easy Frame, with a traditional welded pre-engineered steel building, what costs should you compare besides just the price of the building?
[00:07:49] Jason Sellers: The other big factor is time. Time is money. We recently helped a customer get a building engineered, designed, approved, and shipped in four weeks.
[00:08:15] Jason Sellers: There was even a holiday in there. Does that save time and money? Absolutely. You can schedule your contractor, and your contractor knows exactly when the building is coming. One thing that separates Easy Frame is our customer service. It’s as good as you’ll find in the industry.
[00:08:33] Jason Sellers: We don’t ship a building unless it is complete. That creates a big time savings. You’re not getting two or three shipments or receiving the building without the screws and hardware needed to put it up. We make sure everything is 100% complete before it ships.
[00:08:50] Jason Sellers: Once it arrives on site, your contractor can get started right away. You also save on the equipment that needs to be rented.
[00:09:06] Jason Sellers: You may need man lifts, scissor lifts, ladders, and impact drivers, but you don’t need a welder or large machinery on site. You don’t need a crane to lift an 800-pound member.
[00:09:21] Jason Sellers: Some of our members can weigh a couple hundred pounds, so you’re not going to lift them by yourself, but they can be handled with a man lift.
[00:09:29] Kathi Miller: And we talked earlier about the substantial savings in the amount of concrete you need.
[00:09:33] Jason Sellers: Correct. The foundation plan is included with your stamped engineered drawings. That could represent about $1,500 or more in savings, although it’s been a while since I calculated that. You can take those plans directly to your concrete contractor, and because it’s a monolithic pour, you already have the foundation design you need. You don’t have to go somewhere else to get it.
[00:10:07] Kathi Miller: You’ve mentioned a monolithic pour a couple of times. In case somebody isn’t familiar, what exactly does that mean?
[00:10:12] Jason Sellers: Sure.
[00:10:13] Jason Sellers: Along your columns, the foundation plans may call for a 12-by-12 or 12-by-18 reinforced area with rebar at the column edges, end walls, and side walls. They’ll specify the reinforcement at the top and bottom and the depth of the pour. From there, the slab is poured monolithically. We can also reinforce specific areas. For example, on a recent project, the owner was installing a lift inside the building, so we reinforced the foundation at that location.
[00:11:06] Kathi Miller: One of the other big advantages I noticed when I first started learning about this product is the difference in anchor-bolt requirements between a pre-engineered building and Easy Frame. Can you explain that?
[00:11:19] Jason Sellers: With traditional red iron pre-engineered metal buildings, you typically have preset J-bolts. As you pour the concrete, those J-bolts have to be placed exactly according to the anchor-bolt plan. With these buildings, the anchors are drilled directly into the concrete after the pour.
[00:11:36] Jason Sellers: It’s part of the foundation plan, but the anchors aren’t preset in the concrete, where they can end up slightly out of position and force you to adjust the columns. That’s one of the biggest differences.
[00:11:49] Kathi Miller: I think you’re absolutely right. We’ve all either experienced firsthand or heard horror stories about anchor bolts that were set incorrectly. Then the building shows up and you have to bust them out and re-pour. It’s a nightmare, and it happens on day one of the job, so productivity goes right out the window.
[00:12:06] Jason Sellers: Exactly. That’s a real cost on day one of the job.
[00:12:10] Kathi Miller: When the product is delivered, you mentioned the members are already punched. What does it look like for the contractor or DIYer as they start putting it together?
[00:12:20] Kathi Miller: Do they have to drill any holes? You mentioned they might not need a welder.
[00:12:24] Jason Sellers: They don’t need a welder, and they don’t need to drill holes. The holes are designed to line up. This is a C- and Z-member building, so the members meet with clips, braces, and brackets that align hole to hole.
[00:12:39] Jason Sellers: Then everything bolts together. You’ll want temporary strapping at the end of the day until the building is fully erected and sheeted so it stays secure. But you don’t have to drill holes.
[00:12:55] Jason Sellers: A few connections may still require screws, so that’s where an impact driver comes in. Otherwise, the holes are already punched, and you follow the construction package. You’ll have the engineered drawings and the construction package, which shows which member connects to which member.
[00:13:18] Kathi Miller: And are the members marked somehow? How do I know which is which?
[00:13:20] Jason Sellers: They are marked. We’ve worked hard to make sure the markings stay on the parts. A piece labeled something like PLN01, for example, would identify a purlin.
[00:13:34] Jason Sellers: The numbering tells you where each purlin goes, which is why people sometimes compare it to a big erector set.
[00:13:41] Kathi Miller: Exactly. You talked earlier about time savings. This varies, but what is the typical lead time for a pre-engineered metal building right now?
[00:13:50] Jason Sellers: The last I heard, red iron is running anywhere from 12 to 16 weeks from start to delivery.
[00:13:55] Kathi Miller: So you’re looking at three to four months, compared with the four-week example you mentioned. That’s roughly a 75% time savings. Whether you’re a new business trying to open or someone who needs storage space, that’s a huge difference.
[00:14:09] Jason Sellers: It is a huge difference, and it matters because people have timelines and rental equipment. You don’t want a contractor arriving and unloading the building only to find they can’t start for four weeks. We work hard through customer service to make sure that if we give you a timeline, we meet it.
[00:14:31] Kathi Miller: That’s important. It’s part of our reputation. You talked earlier about how the sky is really the limit with Easy Frame and you can do almost anything you want. But you’ve also created some standard models. Why did you do that, and are people limited to those models?
[00:14:52] Jason Sellers: I have to give the credit to my wife. She told me, “I don’t know that people understand what these buildings can do. You need to create some models to show them.” I’ll take credit for designing the models, but the idea was hers. She wanted people to see what these buildings can do.
[00:15:14] Jason Sellers: That’s what we tried to do with our 24 models. We show options for agriculture, storage, backyard buildings such as sheds or man caves, commercial uses such as wedding venues and bridal suites, pickleball courts, and barndominiums. The goal isn’t to limit your design. If you need something larger or different, that’s fine. The models are there to help people visualize what the system can become.
[00:15:55] Jason Sellers: That’s our goal, and we’ll continue adding more as we grow. We’ll give a little teaser here...
[00:16:07] Jason Sellers: There you go, a teaser.
[00:16:09] Jason Sellers: We’re going to add a line of agricultural buildings soon, as well as some commercial buildings, to give people even more ideas.
[00:16:16] Kathi Miller: I showed a few of those on screen while you were talking, but there are more models available. If you’re interested, visit EasyFrame to see the models and start a quote.
[00:16:31] Kathi Miller: You mentioned earlier that our buildings use galvanized steel. Are all cold-formed buildings galvanized? If not, why did we choose galvanized steel?
[00:16:42] Jason Sellers: Yes and no. Most are made from cold-formed galvanized steel. There is also red oxide steel used by some manufacturers. It’s the same type of member, but it’s red steel. We don’t use that in our Easy Frame metal buildings.
[00:16:57] Jason Sellers: We’ve stayed with cold-formed galvanized steel, so everything is galvanized.
[00:17:02] Kathi Miller: I’ll show a picture here as well. One of the big reasons we chose galvanized steel is the difference in brightness and light inside the building. It’s also, as you mentioned earlier, much more corrosion-resistant.
[00:17:13] Kathi Miller: It’s simply a higher-quality building, so I want to make sure we call that out.
[00:17:18] Jason Sellers: One thing I’m proud of is that we make sure our braces, brackets, and other components are protected as well, whether they’re hot-dipped or otherwise treated. They’re designed to hold up against corrosion. I’ve seen buildings with a galvanized column but a non-galvanized angle attaching it to the concrete.
[00:17:38] Jason Sellers: That unprotected piece is going to rust. We want people to have a product that makes them say, “Wow, what kind of building is that?”
[00:17:48] Jason Sellers: It’s always unique.
[00:17:49] Kathi Miller: Let’s talk about the history of cold-formed buildings. How long have they been around? Where did they start? And what misconceptions do people still have about them?
[00:17:59] Jason Sellers: They started in Australia almost 25 years ago and have been in the United States for about 15 years. They’ve been around a long time and remain very popular in Australia. One misconception is that they aren’t strong buildings.
[00:18:16] Jason Sellers: People sometimes assume they aren’t real steel buildings or confuse them with tube-frame buildings. That’s not the case. Tube-frame buildings have their market, but there’s a big difference between a two-by-two steel tube and a system where even the smallest member might be a six-inch Z on the sidewall.
[00:18:37] Jason Sellers: We have columns up to 20 inches and could potentially do 24-inch columns down the road. There’s a significant difference between that and a small two-by-two tube.
[00:18:47] Kathi Miller: A huge difference, especially when you get into heavier snow or wind loads.
[00:18:54] Jason Sellers: Correct. That’s probably the question I get most often: will this work here? I’ve sold buildings to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, throughout Florida, and up into Maine.
[00:19:09] Jason Sellers: We also do California and Hawaii. These buildings can work almost anywhere. The important point is that you’re not going to get the exact same building in Missouri that you would in Maine because the snow and wind loads are different.
[00:19:26] Jason Sellers: You may not be able to get the same footprint without internal columns. I always ask what footprint you need. In some locations, we may need to add internal columns to achieve it, while in places like Tennessee, Missouri, or Arkansas, we may not.
[00:19:43] Jason Sellers: Every building is designed specifically for the local snow load and other requirements. Two of the hottest areas for us right now are Colorado and New Mexico. Colorado obviously sees significant snow loads, and we’re also seeing a lot of business growth in New Mexico.
[00:20:00] Kathi Miller: And as you mentioned, they’re designed specifically for the location, structure, and building shape, but they’re also stamped and engineered. Every project comes with a set of stamped engineered drawings, so you can have confidence that the building will perform as designed.
[00:20:13] Kathi Miller: What’s the biggest mistake you see when people start thinking about a cold-formed building versus a traditional pre-engineered building?
[00:20:23] Jason Sellers: If you mean what the buildings can and can’t do, one thing I see is people wanting multiple hip roofs intersecting with other hip roofs and very complex designs. I have to remind them that while the sheeting can do many things, the framing itself is manufactured from a roll of steel.
[00:20:47] Jason Sellers: We send that steel through a machine and ask it to bend, cut to length, and punch the holes so everything matches up. That creates some limitations compared with traditional stick-frame construction.
[00:21:02] Jason Sellers: With stick framing, you can take a two-by-four in the field, set the saw to a 37-degree angle, cut it, and splice it together. That’s different from a manufactured cold-formed system. Sometimes people send me a drawing or a Pinterest image and say, “I want to build this out of steel.”
[00:21:27] Jason Sellers: It may very well have a steel roof, and we can do hips and ridges in steel. The question is what the framing underneath looks like. That’s where some designs become more difficult.
[00:21:39] Kathi Miller: Jason, let’s fast-forward because we’re running out of time for episode one. We’ll have you back to talk about contractor opportunities and how this system can help them grow their business. But to wrap up today, let’s say I’ve decided an Easy Frame cold-formed building is what I want.
[00:21:52] Kathi Miller: Walk me through the process from start to finish.
[00:21:55] Jason Sellers: First, we talk about what you’re looking to build. You’ll give me the width and length, the openings you need, where the windows and doors go, whether you need roll-up doors or walk-in doors, and any other features you’re looking for.
[00:22:16] Jason Sellers: Then you’ll get back an engineered building quote designed specifically for your location. We don’t send out a quote without including the engineering requirements. You’ll review the quote and layout to make sure everything is where you want it.
[00:22:32] Jason Sellers: If you want something changed, we’ll go back and forth until the building is right. Once the quote makes sense and you approve it, we move forward.
[00:22:47] Jason Sellers: You’ll agree to the payment plan, and then we order the engineering. It usually takes about a week to get the fully stamped engineered plans back. From there, permitting might be quick or it could take a couple of weeks, depending on the jurisdiction.
[00:23:04] Jason Sellers: Once permitting is complete, you’re happy with the plans, and your contractor is ready, you let us know and we put the building into production. Production takes about three to three and a half weeks. We’ll give you a delivery date, final payment is made before delivery, and the building arrives on the date we provide.
[00:23:27] Jason Sellers: You or your contractor will need the equipment on site to unload it. We ship our buildings on McElroy trucks, so the material is covered and protected from the elements during transport. That means the galvanized steel arrives looking like it should.
[00:23:46] Jason Sellers: That’s a big deal to people. You can reach me at jsellers@mcelroymetal.com or by phone at 912-512-3311. I’d also encourage you to visit EasyFrame .
[00:24:06] Kathi Miller: Thanks for joining the show, Jason. For everyone listening, if you want new metal building episodes with practical building insights delivered to your inbox, please visit mcelroymetal.com/podcast and subscribe. Thanks, Jason.
[00:24:21] Jason Sellers: Thank you, Kathi.
McElroy Metal manufactures metal roofing and siding products for residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial applications. Headquartered in Bossier City, Louisiana, with plants and service centers across the United States, McElroy supplies contractors, architects, designers, and building owners with metal panel systems, accessories, and the engineering expertise to use them well.