Frequently Asked Questions

Accu-Steel, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of fully engineered Cover Buildings.  We are a family-owned manufacturer based in Iowa and focused on solving customer’s  needs by delivering highest quality Fabric Cover Buildings. 

All of our buildings are engineered and backed by proven experience and customer service that is unmatched in the Cover Building industry. 

A Cover Building is a rigid framework with a fabric cover, most commonly made from polyethelyene.  While these buildings all look similar from a distance, there are signifiant differences in the quality and engineering between manufacturers.

Accu-Steel manufactures fully-engineered buildings with the best possible materials and covering systems.  Please click here to learn more about the Quality that goes into an Accu-Steel Cover Building.

Craftsmanship

The attention to detail and years of experience the dedicated employees of Accu-Steel Cover Buildings bring to each of their duties is the driving force behind the best Fabric Covered Building available at any price.

Conservative Design Principles

Accu-Steel Cover Buildings design and manufacture every Fabric Covered Building to the highest engineering standard: human occupancy.  There are NO engineering reductions taken for building purpose or profile.  This means there is more steel in your building to defend against the elements.
 
Best Overall Value

Accu-Steel Cover Buildings  has led the industry in terms of overall value for some time.  We use better materials and use better corrosion protection than most other options.  We use a 14 oz/yd² fabric and attach it using the Accu-Keder Cover Attachment System.  Accu-Keder track on every truss allows for independent keder covers in each building bay for ground level maintenance, effortless expansion options, and simple, individual bay cover replacement.  Accu-Steel Cover Building’s steel products are Hot Dip Galvanized after manufacturing to provide a continuous coating of protective zinc on both the inside and outside of the truss.  Accu-Steel Cover Building’s 15-year Warranty is available upfront and includes both the Fabric Cover and Truss System.  Accu-Steel's warranty does not exclude corrosive materials.

The covers on an Accu-Steel Cover Building will last approximately 15 to 20 years, depending on a few factors.  There are 3 main reasons why  covers may need replaced. 

1. The Cover Building was not maintained properly and the cover never maintained and the cover became loose: This is why the Accu-Keder Cover Attachment System was developed.  The Accu-Keder allows for maintenance at ground level, not up in the building where most customers cannot easily or safely reach.  And each bay has a smaller independent cover, not one large single piece of fabric that is more difficult to maintain.
    
2. Ultra Violet (UV) radiation breaks down the Woven Polyethylene material: This is why Accu-Fabrics are manufactured with 14 oz/yd² material instead of the industry standard 12 oz/yd² .  The heavier the material, the longer it takes the UV to break it down.  The amount of UV radiation depends on two main factors: the latitude and the elevation of the Cover Building.  The nearer to the equator and the more above sea level a building is located the greater the UV radiation. Depending on maintenance and location of the Cover Building, an Accu-Fabric Cover should last 15 to 20 years and a Fire Resistant (FR) Accu-Fabric should last 10 to15 years.
    
3. Certain roof designs can lead to degradation as well.  While Accu-Steel uses an arch system which is ideal for constant tension over the entire length of the fabric, others use a different system that can lead to premature wear and degredation.  Roofs are designed with long unsupported flat sections with three radius corners; the cover is over tightened over the three radius corners to keep the cover tight in the flat roof section.  When the cover is over tightened above 35 pounds per square inch (psi), the fabric is subject to early UV degradation due to openings in the high-density polyethylene weave.  The Accu-Steel Keder Cover Attachment System is designed to maintain constant tension in the Cover Building to provide the longest fabric life cycles possible.

Unlike metal buildings, an Accu-Steel Cover Building allows a multitude of natural light to trasmit thorugh the roof even on cloudy days.  There is hardly any condensation in a fabric building and the massive volume capacity of an Arch Design provides for excellent air quality.  Sharp sounds are deadened in a fabric building as well.

A fabric building will provide an excellent source of shade during the warm months and will capture a bit of heat in colder times.  With adequate insulation and a proper heating source, you can be very comfortable working in a Cover Building even in the coldest climates.  Accu-Steel's manufactures buildings in a Cover Building year round in an Iowa winter where below zero temperatures are common.

The inside of an Accu-Steel Building is bright, quiet and dry.

A licensed engineer using the International Building Code (IBC) designs Accu-Steel Cover Buildings for human occupancy with an importance factor 1.0.  The other design criteria are wind and snow loading or seismic activity per your location and application loading such as conveyors or other material handling equipment. 

A second locally licensed, INDEPENDENT engineer,  provides the Engineering Seal on Accu-Steel Cover Building Prints. This engineer provides proof that the correct loading for the building location and purpose were used to calculate the base plate reactions at the foundation.  This procedure is necessary to ensure proper foundation design and to obtain building permits and insurance on the cover building.  

Because of the quality of our engineering many customers have reported that they were able to issue warehouse receipts for their building.  Check local regulations for your area if this is something you wish to obtain.

Do NOT purchase any building until you have determined the building was designed by a licensed engineer and the building supplier can provide the sealed set of building plans needed to obtain a building permit, foundation design, and future insurance. Many other companies have only one rafter design that somehow magically always meet the customer’s design requirements.  In most cases the competition must take engineering reductions in loading based on use or the shape of the building to meet code requirements.  Beware of photocopied engineering seals from one building that is not designed specifically for your location.  These drawings may not provide loading reactions or location information for your design.  This lack of information and detail can lead to delayed permitting, increased costs for engineering seals after the fact, inefficient foundation designs, inability to insure the structure or contents once installed, and most importantly structural failures.

No, there are two primary types of galvanizing.  In-line (some manufactures have branded this as a "Shielded" product) and Batch Hot Dip Galvanizing.

Hot Dip Galvanizing is a better coating than the competitor’s pre-galvanized or “shielded” products because Hot Dip Galvanizing provides 300% more zinc that is uniformly applied to all steel surfaces.  Hot Dip Galvanizing provides 3.9 mils of zinc on all surfaces, inside and outside, compared to the competitor’s pre-galvanized or “shielded” products that have less than 1 mil of zinc on the outside only and no protection on the inside of the product.  When other manufacturers weld to pre-galvanized or “shielded” products, the welding damages or burns the outside zinc while creating a weld burn on the unprotected inside of the product.  Competitors sometimes choose to replace the outside zinc, but have no way to protect the inside weld area from corrosion.  Zinc protects steel by reacting with the environment instead of the steel.  The more zinc available to protect the product, the longer the product will last, especially in a corrosive environment.   

This picture shows the difference in coating of hot dip galvanizing and pre-galvanized or "shielded" products.

To learn more about Galvanizing, please click here.
 

Accu-Steel Cover Buildings sales team will work with you to determine the best foundation option based on the use and location of the building.  The Accu-Steel Bar Truss Series 42’-76’ is pre-engineered to be placed on portable pre-cast concrete.  This material is the most versatile and cost effective foundation option offered by Accu-Steel Cover Buildings.  Certain Accu-Steel Cover Buildings can be placed on Pre-Cast Concrete “L” or “T” Panels, please contact us to discuss your foundation options. 

Should you wish to design your own foundation, Accu-Steel Cover Buildings will supply the building reactions at the base plates to your engineer to design a foundation to meet the needs of your particular project and location.  Other Accu-Steel Cover Building Foundation options are Cast in Place Concrete, Ground Anchors, and Steel “W” Beam Posts.  Accu-Steel Cover Buildings that store bulk material like grain or fertilizer can utilize building liners that increase the storage capacity without adding additional height or cost to the foundation.

Yes you can expand or relocate an Accu-Steel Cover Building.  Our exclusive Accu-Keder Cover Attachment System permits easy expansion by installing the number of rafters for the new required length and simply pulling new individual covers to extend your Accu-Steel Cover Building.  The versatility of an Accu-Steel Cover Building allows for both fast installations and easy relocation.  If a portable pre-cast concrete foundation was chosen, simply reverse the building process and your engineered Cover Building is on the move in no time without having to leave costly foundations behind.  This is a great asset when working on temporary projects, dealing with leased property or if your plant layout changes. 

Accu-Steel manufactures and distributes all of our Cover Buildings in Templeton, IA. We do not outsource production to third parties as we cannot keep tight quality control on the processes.  Outsourcing may cut a small amount out of your transportation cost, but there is a huge price to pay in building quality.  Accu-Steel Cover Buildings has been successful because our experienced and dedicated employees understand the proper manufacturing techniques and engineering behind the quality you are seeking. 

Yes, Accu-Steel Cover Buildings are an environmentally responsible choice.

100% of the material that makes up an Accu-Steel Cover Building can be recycled. 

• The steel is produced from recycled scrap iron.
• Our standard fabric is a virgin polyethelyene.  We use this because it is much more environmentally friendly than PVC fabrics.  Polyethelyene is readily recycled when the cover needs to be replaced.
• The foundations can be reused or re-ground for another life as well.

Compared to an asphalt shingle roof, a Cover Building will take substantially less labor, less material cost, and nothing needs to be landfilled. 

Accu-Steel Cover Buildings are designed to be permanent structures that have the flexibility to economically perform temporary  or relocatable storage needs also.  The Accu-Steel Bar Truss Series 42’-76’ is pre-engineered to be placed on portable Pre-Cast Concrete Blocks or Highway Barriers.  This is the most versatile, portable and cost effective foundation option for temporary storage offered by Accu-Steel Cover Buildings.  Our Cover Buildings meet the requirements for obtaining a conventional or temporary building permit. 
 

Accu-Steel’s field service personnel can repair a majority of damage that may occur to the covers.  If the damage cannot be repaired, Accu-Steel Cover Buildings are designed with the Accu-Keder Track Attachment System with an individual cover in each rafter bay so that only the cover with the damage must be replaced.  This system significantly reduces your replacement cost by only replacing the damaged section, not the entire cover like on a traditional monolithic cover.

Accu-Steel Cover Buildings has Millions of Square Feet of Cover Buildings and chances are there is one near you.  Please call us at 1-877-338-6936 or click here to find the Accu-Steel Cover Building nearest you.  We would be pleased to schedule a tour of multiple buildings where you can see numerous buildings and our latest technology.

Depending on the design and type of the foundation, the foundation is typically installed by a qualified contractor near the building site.  Once the foundation is completed and any critical dimensions are confirmed, the customer has three options. 

• Have an authorized Accu-Steel Cover Building Installation Crew install it.
• Have Accu-Steel send an Installation Representative to work with the customer’s contractor to complete the building.
• Do it yourself by using our comprehensive installation plans and customer service to support the install process.  

Accu-Steel started using square tubing it is approximately 35% stronger than round.  The strength comes from the four corners in the Square Tubing and the increased surface area in Square Tubing compared to round tubing of the same size.  The Accu-Steel Square Tube Rafters accommodate Rafter Inserts that pin the Rafters together instead of flange bolting.  This Rafter Insert is more efficient in transferring building loads into the next Rafter and ultimately into the foundation than the flange bolting method.

Accu-Fabric is Woven Polyethylene material that is produced from two sheets of low-density polyethylene extruded over a layer of high-density woven polyethylene.  All three layers have been treated with the latest in Ultra-Violet (UV) stabilizers and can be combined with a Fire Resistance (FR) treatment to provide excellent protection and longevity for your Accu-Steel Cover Building.  Since Accu-Fabric is unique to Accu-Steel Cover Building the colors choices are unique also.  Choices include: White, Desert Tan, Barn Red, Forest Green, and Navy Blue.  Colors are listed in descending order of greatest light translucency and all colors have a bright white inside finish.

Accu-Steel uses the highest quality materials available.  Our standard fabric is a state-of-the-art 13.5 polyethylene that provides superior light diffusion, excellent wear resistance and outstanding UV protection.  Accu-Steel warrants the fabric for 15 years.  Even in high UV exposure areas, you should have at least 15 years of trouble-free life from the fabric.  In lower UV exposure areas, you can expect a longer life beyond the warranty period.

All buildings, not just Cover Buildings, require basic maintenance.  Accu-Steel has made it easy for you as we have designed all maintenance at ground level.  The primary maintenance function is to make sure the fabric does not have any wrinkles.   Since all manufactured steel components are Hot Dip Galvanized, we have all but eliminated corrosion or maintenance on the framework.  Accu-Steel publishes comprehensive preventive maintenance recommendations that must be followed for warranty coverage.  Please click here for more information on maintenence. 

Accu-Steel Cover Buildings is the leader in de-icing material and road salt storage because we were not satisfied delivering Cover Buildings like everyone else.  Accu-Steel recognized opportunities in product design that would increase the productivity for Public Safety officials.  Accu-Steel Cover Buildings will not deviate from quality standards to attempt to win a bid.  Experience has shown once a customer has owned an Accu-Steel Cover Building, the customer is motivated to ensure all their future Cover Building projects match the quality of an Accu-Steel Cover Building.  Some of the reasons, customers have put Accu-Steel in a leadership position include:

• The Hot Dip Galvanized Finish provides a continuous uniform coating of zinc that protects the steel components from oxidation in the corrosive environment.  Hot Dip Galvanizing on manufactured steel components increases longevity and lowers operating costs for the public sectors. 
• Accu-Fabrics with the Keder Track Attachment System allow for simple ground level maintenance, relocation of the structure if a yard location changes, and an individual 14 oz/yd² cover in each bay.
• Our Buildings provide the inside clearance required for liner panels (which increase storage capacities) and also allow room for an end dump trailer to unload product inside, while keeping the center height low enough to meet code and not create a focus point in the urban landscape. 

Accu-Steel provides a Specification for bidding a generic Cover Building.  These specifications are not unique to an Accu-Steel Cover Building; any competitor with a desire to produce a quality product can meet these requirements.  Please click here for a downloadable version of the generic specification builder.

The differences between an Accu-Steel Cattle Building and the competition are significant and numerous. 

First, an Accu-Steel Cattle Building is a 46’ or 60' wide Cover Building designed specifically for Cattle production, this in not a cheap hog hoop building with two extra side boards and a narrow opening over a wood bunk. 

Size:

The 46' Accu-Steel Cattle Building is 44’ inside the Beam or Pre-cast foundation; Some competitors have less than 36’ wide on the inside of their "40 foot" building.  The Accu-Steel Cattle Building’s extra width allows for a true 40 sq. ft.  plus animal space per foot of building. 

Foundation:

An Accu-Steel Cattle Building is designed on a steel H beam foundation that can be installed on existing bunk lines or new feedlot construction.   The steel H beam foundation can be adjusted to the existing ground slope of the customer’s feed yard location.  The steel H beam foundation is fully engineered to meet the requirements for NRCS and USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentive Program (E.Q.I.P.) The steel H beam has an excellent “pocket” between the posts to pour a concrete wall or attach fencing and gating. 

Pre-Cast Concrete Foundations are also available.

Accu-Steel does not offer a wood foundation option asy they are not pre-engineered for E.Q.I.P.  Wood sidewalls are inferior because they can rot, break and reduce the airflow and air quality for the cattle.  While wood sidewalls are initially less expensive to supply, they require more labor to install and cost more for a fully engineered building.

Cover Fabric:

Accu-Steel Cattle Buildings utilize 14 oz/yd² Accu-Fabric in an individual keder cover per building bay, this allows for easy ground level maintenance or replacement if damage occurs.  Others use a lighter weight 10 or 12 oz/yd² fabric that is a one-piece cover that needs maintained up in the building and if there is a problem the competition’s one piece cover is jeopardized. 

Cover Attachment:

The Accu-Steel Keder Cover Attachment System terminates the cover on the eave so water does not flow around the eave and back into the bunks or building.  There are two eaves standard on an Accu-Steel Cattle Building; the bunk eave is over 5’ wide to protection the bunk and 11’ tall to provide clearance when feeding.  The curtain eave is over 2’ wide and 11’ tall and is opposite the bunk eave; this eave provides an attachment area for a curtain and pushes water away from the Cover Building. 

Design:

The Accu-Steel Cattle Building is an Engineered, Hot Dip Galvanized Truss, not an un-engineered painted single pipe hoop.   Accu-Steel has designed the H Beam Post to be easily installed by the customer or the customer’s contractor, and then an authorized Accu-Steel Cover Building Installation Crew will construct the Cover Building.  This process with the customer installing the H Beam Posts and Accu-Steel installing the cover building insures proper concrete curing on the posts and a properly installed cover building that meets all of the warranty requirements.

Choice of other materials:

Accu-Steel concentrates on delivering highest quality Cover Buildings that meets the customer’s demands for cattle feeding.  There are other high quality suppliers and installers of fencing, bunks, waterers, gates, and curtains.  Accu-Steel Cover Buildings does not bundle complete packages because we want you to use whatever bunks, gates, waterers, etc... that you wish to use.   

Accu-Steel Cattle Buildings will keep cattle cool in the summer, dry year around, manage the cattle’s environment from manure to air quality, increase daily gains, and generate more dollars on the bottom line.

Accu-Steel Cover Buildings are engineered with time tested compressive arch design technology. This arch design is the most efficient design to transfer building loads to the foundation and maintain equal cover tension while requiring the least amount of material. The main downfall of the flat roof and gable peak cover building design appears when a fabric is stretched over a flat plane without a curve or other support for the fabric; the fabric will wrinkle or move in the wind. This type of movement can lead to premature cover failure.

Try this experiment:  Take a piece of paper outside in the wind and try to stretch it flat between your hands,  then try to stretch it over your leg.   You will notice when the paper is pulled around your leg (or stretched in a supportive arch) it has equal tension and the paper does not wrinkle or move in the wind.  Keeping proper tension on a flat surface is very challenging regardless of what a salesperson tells you. 

The other advantage to an arch design is that the cover building has excellent inside sidewall clearance without excessive center peak heights. This is important to maintain usable inside clearance while minimizing a visual impact on the environment.  To compare wall clearances and building footprints of arched buildings to flat roof and gables, please look at the comparison section of the Building Profiles page.

Rafter Truss Depth

Accu-Steel Cover Buildings are wider between truss cords compared to other buildings because we do not take engineering reductions in snow loading for the slick surface of the cover material, since uncer certain conditions snow will stick to the cover material.   Typically the type of snow that will accumulate on the cover is the heavy wet snow.  While it will not typically be there once the wether improves, there can be significant loads places on the building.

The other main reason Accu-Steel Cover Buildings have a deeper Truss is because no design reduction is applied on the cover building’s roof peak angle. To use this reduction, a building’s roofline must meet a single point. The competition’s roofline meets at a radiuses corner that is flatter than the Accu-Steel Cover Building’s peak. The flatter the Cover Building peak, the more snow loading the building will receive. Accu-Steel Cover Buildings are designed with the correct snow loading that represents actual conditions and allows Accu-Steel Cover Buildings to outperform any building on the market today.