As the leading provider of aluminum canopies in the United States, we know that we can provide you a canopy that meets your needs and exact specifications. Our capable staff will design, fabricate, ship or install the canopy of your choice.
In addition to the quality product you will get from Mitchell Metals, you will also be given quality service. A large part of good service is transparency. We desire to be transparent with you throughout the entire process, and this includes the pricing of a bid. Our staff has compiled a list of design criteria that can directly affect the cost of a metal canopy design. Read below to discover what items affect the cost of your design.
Items that Impact Canopy Costs
Live Load Values
In a canopy design, 20 PSF is standard for a live load value per code. If it is increased at all, the overall canopy structure must be enhanced to support the load. This results in larger materials and a more expensive canopy to install.
Exposure Category
The exposure categories consist of B,C or D for a specific project location. B is much less exposure than C. And for that reason, if the wrong letter is put in, it can drastically change the wind load that has to be calculated. If the information isn’t correct, then you could over-engineer the canopy which increases the overall cost.
Importance Factors
The ASCE code completely changed the loading criteria for calculations from the 2005 version to the 2010 version. The older code , ASCE 7-05, uses importance factors to calculate wind loading. The newer code, ASCE 7-10, has completely eliminated Importance Factors all together and has replaced it with a Risk Category. Each code indicates a different criteria and if you write down the wrong one it can completely change your canopy design.
The staff at Mitchell Metals wants to get you the canopy and service you are searching for. If you have any questions about different design criteria or specifications, please contact us, we are happy to help.
