Glossary

A307 Hardware – General-purpose Structural Bolts and Nuts, sometimes referred to as machine bolts in the PEMB Industry. 

A325 Hardware – High-strength structural bolts and nuts used in primary structural connections.

A36 – Hardware – Anchor Bolt – Anchor bolts manufactured from ASTM A36 mild structural steel.

Anchor Bolts – Bolts embedded in concrete to anchor the steel columns.

Anchor Bolt Depth/Penetration – Depth into the foundation that anchor bolts reach. 

Anchor Bolt Projection – The length of the anchor bolt that extends above the concrete foundation. Projection is important to provide enough bolt to extend through the base plate and provide enough bolt for properly installing the anchor bolt nuts. 

Angle X-Brace – Steel angles used for bracing between building components forming an X-shape. Applied in the same manner as a cable/rod x-brace in situations where more strength is needed to handle heavier lateral loading. 

Aviation Shears (Tin Snips) – Extra-strong shears used for trimming metal building components like trim.

Base Angle – A light-gauge angle fastened to the foundation around the perimeter of a steel building to secure the bottom of the panel and base trim. 

Base Channel – A C-shaped channel attached to the foundation to support and align wall panels at their base. These are used in place of Base Angle when an interior cladding/liner panel or full-depth insulation will be installed. 

Base Plate – A Thick steel plate welded to the bottom of a column for anchoring to the concrete foundation.

Bay – The area between two adjacent rigid frames or structural columns along the length of the building. 

Bolted/Loose/Bent Clip – Connection Clips, usually for light-gauge framing, used when a prewelded clip is not practical. 

Cable/Rod X-Brace – Braided steel cable or rod tension supports crisscrossing between frames to accommodate necessary lateral loads in a wall or roof of a steel building.

Clear Span – A building that uses no interior support columns, leaving a wide-open interior

Columns – Vertical steel members supporting the main frame

Come Along – A hand-operated winch with a ratchet mechanism, used for pulling and lifting heavy objects.

Compression Insulation – Fiberglass insulation with vapor barrier compressed between girts/purlins and PBR panels

Connection Plate – A steel plate welded or bolted to primary frame members, to provide connection points to other primary frame members, i.e., column to rafter connection. 

Cupola – Decorative or vented structure mounted on the roof ridge.

Diaphragm Bracing – Also referred to as panel shear, diaphragm bracing uses steel building panels or other exterior cladding to provide lateral bracing support without the need for a portal frame or x-bracing. 

Downspouts – Vertical pipes carrying water from gutters to the ground.

Drift Pin – A tapered tool used to align bolt holes to allow fasteners to properly pass through openings. Typically used in the same manner as a spud wrench but for heavier applications.

Endwall Frames – Frame system at the short ends of the building.

Exterior Wall Panels – Metal sheets forming the building’s exterior walls.

Flange – The horizontal top and bottom portions of a beam that resist bending forces.

Flange Brace – A steel component, usually an angle, that transfers rotational loads from the inside flange of a rafter or column into the roof system. 

Framed Openings – Reinforced openings for doors and windows.

Galvanized – A zinc coating that provides corrosion protection for steel components.

Girts – Horizontal members supporting wall panels.

Grade Beam – a reinforced concrete beam, typically placed at ground level, that acts as a foundation to support the superstructure of a building and distribute its load. With steel buildings, grade beam can be synonymous with Tie-Beam.

Gutters – Channels at the eave collecting rainwater.

Hair Pins – A bent piece of rebar used to tie a vertical column to a concrete slab or foundation

Hole Vs. Slot – A hole in a round fastener opening, sized to the fastener, to prevent movement. Slots are elongated openings allowing adjustment and movement of the fastened components.

I-Beam – A structural steel member shaped like a capital “I,” with a vertical web and horizontal flanges.

J-Bolts – Anchor bolts with a hooked end for secure concrete anchoring in foundation pre-pour

Liner Panels – Interior panels covering insulation and providing a finished surface.

Louver Vents – Metal vent panels allowing airflow.

Main Frame – Primary load-bearing frame consisting of columns and rafters.

Man Doors – Personnel access doors like the ones in your house.

Mezzanine – Components forming an elevated partial floor inside a building.

Monolithic Foundation – A thickened edge slab or simple foundation that can be poured all at once. Monolithic foundations are typically under 5000 square feet and utilize an interior slab to provide support for kick-out and drift. 

Overhang / Canopy – Roof extension beyond wall lines.

Overhang – Roof extension beyond wall lines.

Overhead Doors – Large sectional doors for vehicle access, typically referred to as a garage door.

PBR Panels – Exterior panels with ribs to allow direct weight bearing, creating weather-tight fastening.

Portal Frame – A three-part frame consisting of (2) Columns and a Rafter that is attached to and spans between two adjoining main frame columns. A term that is generally explicitly applied to metal buildings. This provides lateral bracing in a building system in areas where an X-Brace would interfere with wall openings. 

Purlins – Horizontal roof members supporting roof panels.

Rafters – Sloped roof beams forming the roof frame.

Rebar Numbering System – The rebar numbering system indicates the bar’s diameter in eighths of an inch. (IE. a #4 bar is 4/8 or ½”) 

Ridge Cap – Trim covering the roof peak.

Ridge Vents – Vents along the ridge for airflow.

Rod-to-Frame Bracing – Tie-rods connected directly to main frames for lateral stabilization.

Roll-Up Doors – Coiling steel doors as you’d find in a mini-storage building.

Roof Panels – Metal sheets forming the roof cladding.

Sag Angle – A light-gauge angle fastened to the structural system of the building to provide an attachment for the upper edge of the exterior panel or cladding and trims. 

Shallow Foundation  – A foundation, usually a strip or spread footing or thickened edge slab foundation, where the bearing capacity of the soil is sufficient to support the building reactions, and deeper piles are not necessary. Shallow Foundations are typical for Steel Buildings. 

Soffit Panels – Panels covering the underside of overhangs.

Soldier Column –  A single, standalone column used in a building system where a main frame or connection to a rafter is not necessary or needed. 

Spread Footing – A system of large, isolated footings supporting a single column or pier per footing.

Spud Wrench – A wrench with an adjustable or standard box wrench on one end and a tapered spike on the other. Used to align bolt holes during erection.

Standing Seam Roof Panels – Concealed-fastener roof panels with raised seams.

Stem Wall – A short vertical concrete wall extending above a footing that connects a building’s foundation to the floor or the rest of the structure above.

Strip Footing – A continuous footing supporting a load-bearing wall

Structural Steel Primer/Shop Coat – An oxide coating (paint) applied to structural steel to protect the steel from corrosion during erection and shipping. 

Stub Column – A vertical column added specifically to support a large or heavily loaded framed opening header. Usually used for extra-wide openings and particularly with hangar doors. 

Tapered Column/Rafter – A steel column with a width change from one end to the other, optimizing strength where needed and reducing weight.

Thickened Edge Slab Foundation – A slab-on-grade whose outer perimeter is deepened and reinforced to support wall loads.

Tie-Beam – A non-vertical load-supporting concrete beam runs horizontally to connect two or more footings or piers, preventing drift of individual footings or piers. 

Translucent Panels – Panels allowing natural light into the building.

Trim – Metal components covering edges, joints, and transitions.

Wainscot – Decorative or protective lower wall paneling.

Wall Panels – Exterior or interior metal sheets used to form walls.

Web – The vertical center portion of a steel beam that resists shear forces.

Wide Flange Beam – Similar to an I-beam but with wider, parallel flanges for better strength and efficiency

Wind/Fixed Base Column – A column with a moment base connection designed to resist rotation, lateral load, or uplift. Most often used in a steel building where a portal frame rafter would interfere with the opening height. 

WWM – Welded Wire Mesh – A grid of steel wires welded together at each intersection, used primarily for reinforcing concrete in place of Rebar.