01 · FRAME
The proven performer. Nothing between the columns, so the entire floor is usable. Incredible strength, durability, versatility, and economy, and the most practical solution to most ordinary building requirements.
specs/How it's built
Building specs.
IncludedStandard features
What it stands up to
What it's rated for.
Every building leaves here with a complete set of drawings ready to submit for your building permit. Our team knows the codes and the regulations, so what shows up on site is safe, compliant, and inspectable.
200MPH
Wind rating
We build for the coastal counties that see hurricanes.
1-4ZONES
Seismic
Equipped to engineer for seismic zones 1 through 4.
400FT
Max span
Multi-span with interior columns. 200 ft clear span.
40YR
Panel warranty
Against rusting, fading, and chalking.
PERMIT-READY DRAWING SET INCLUDED WITH EVERY BUILDING
FIG. 01/Anatomy of a Chambliss frame
Frame anatomy.
Pick any member to see where it sits and what it carries.
MEMBERS · 11
- 01
Rigid Frame Column
The main vertical of a clear-span frame. Bolted to the slab at the base plate, and it carries the whole roof load down to the foundation.
- 02
Rigid Frame Rafter
The sloped top of the frame. It spans the building with nothing underneath it, which is what gives you a clear floor from wall to wall - 30' through 200'.
- 03
Endwall Rafter
The sloped member on the end frame. Lighter than an interior rafter, because an endwall picks up roughly half the load one in the middle does.
- 04
Corner Column
The post at each corner of the building. Ties the endwall to the sidewall and takes girts coming in from both directions.
- 05
Eave Strut
Runs the length of the building at the eave, tying the frames together and giving roof and wall panels one common line to land on.
- 06
Roof Purlin
Spans frame to frame to carry the roof panels. We add purlin strapping where it helps, which stops the purlins rotating and sagging over time.
- 07
Sidewall Girt
Horizontal members up the sidewall. They carry the wall panels and hand wind load off to the columns.
- 08
Endwall Girt
Same job as a sidewall girt, on the end of the building. Runs interrupted around a framed opening rather than through it.
- 09
Base Angle
Runs the perimeter at the slab. Panels fasten to it, and together with base trim it seals the bottom of the wall against water, dirt, and critters.
- 10
Door Header
The beam across the top of a framed opening. It carries the wall above so the door doesn't have to.
- 11
Door Jamb
The vertical each side of a framed opening. Jamb and header cover trim finishes it off once the door is hung.
FIG. 02/Frame types
Frame types.
Which frame you want comes down to how wide the building is and whether you can live with columns in the middle of the floor.
02 · FRAME
The most economical cost per square foot of coverage once spans over 80' are required and interior column supports are not objectionable. Available up to 400' with multiple interior column spacing.
03 · FRAME
One continuous slope. A wide range of uses, from shopping centers to large office complexes, and with fascia systems and parapet walls it gives exquisite building lines. Also used as a wing unit or an addition onto an existing building.
04 · FRAME
Partially supported by another structure. Designed in alongside the main building or added later as a future addition, open or enclosed, for extra covered space off an existing wall.
FIG. 03/Custom designs
Pick your roof line.
We build custom-designed buildings, so the roof is a choice, not a default. Lean-to’s, canopies, hip roofs, gambrel roofs, and mezzanines all come off the same shop.
01 · ROOF STYLE
The peak faces the front. The most common roof line, and the most economical.
02 · ROOF STYLE
All four roof faces rise to a ridge across the top, with broader faces across the front slope and narrower sections at the sides.
03 · ROOF STYLE
Multiple sections or wings crossing the main section, meeting in a valley, each with its own hipped profile.
04 · ROOF STYLE
A broad upper story and side façade. Most often associated with barns.
05 · ROOF STYLE
Typically aesthetic. It hides the roof slope and conceals any roof accessories, and creates an exceptional area for signage, which makes a building a much more attractive commercial structure.
06 · ROOF STYLE
Walls raised past the eave to cover the roof line. The end result looks as if the roof has no slope in any direction, an effect some customers want.
Siding, color, and wainscot.
FIG. 05/Panels, color & wainscot
Two buildings can be framed identically and look nothing alike. The panel system, the color, and the wainscot are where a steel building stops looking like a shop and starts looking like it belongs on your property.
Panel systems & siding
WALLS & ROOF
The workhorse. An extremely popular exposed-fastener ribbed panel used on both roof and walls, 26 gauge in Grade 80 and Grade 50, on the PBR profile. Bare Galvalume or any color on the chart below.
ROOF
Concealed-fastener roof panel with no exposed screws to back out over time. Watertight, and the upgrade for high-profile projects that want the longest-lived roof and the cleanest lines.
MEZZANINE
Used primarily as the floor deck on mezzanines, in 22 and 24 gauge. It can also run as roof paneling. This panel makes a second level inside the building possible.
BARE
Unpainted aluminum-zinc coated steel, available on any of our panel profiles. The value option. It reflects heat well, and it is a common choice for ag and storage roofs.
WAINSCOT
A finished base
for your walls.
Wainscot is the band that runs along the bottom of the wall. Manufactured stone is one of the options. It installs like siding, fastening straight to the wall with no mortar, no wire lath, and no mason on the schedule. It holds up well to Florida sun and salt air.
We supply it and we install it. Run it along the base of the walls, the full length of a sidewall, around porch columns, or up an entire gable end.
The panel we buy, stock and install is GenStone® ↗. Customers tend to ask for it by name once they've seen it on a finished job.
Supplied & installedNo mortarStacked stone profileColumns & gable ends
Standard panel colors
- Gallery Blue
- Hawaiian Blue
- Burnished Slate
- Charcoal Gray
- Ash Gray
- Koko Brown
- Desert Sand
- Saddle Tan
- Light Stone
- Evergreen
- Polar White
- Rustic Red
- Crimson Red
- Fern Green
- Colony Green
Roof, walls, wainscot band and trim are all specified separately, so you can run a light stone wall over a charcoal wainscot cap, match the trim to the roof, or keep the whole envelope one color. Bring us a photo of a building you like and we'll tell you what it's wearing. Final color selection should be made off actual chips, not a screen.
SOLAR REFLECTANCE · FOR ENERGY STAR & LEED PROJECTS
SR is how much solar energy the surface reflects, 0 to 1.0. ENERGY STAR wants 0.25 or higher on steep-slope roofing (above 2:12) and 0.65 or higher on low-slope (2:12 or less).
SRI is calculated per ASTM E 1980 from reflectance and emissivity, and it is what LEED is scored on: 29 or greater steep-slope, 78 or higher low-slope.
Doors and colors.
FIG. 06/Doors
A door is the part of the building you touch every day. Here is what we hang and what you get to pick.
ROLL-UP DOORS · WINDLOAD RATED
Roll-up doors that
pass the wind load.
The door we hang on most buildings is a rolling sheet door that is certified windload rated. That matters here. It is what lets the opening meet Florida wind code, instead of becoming the weak spot in an otherwise rated building.
The curtain is 26-gauge corrugated galvanized steel in a super-durable polyester finish. The springs are pre-lubricated and sealed in a tube, so weather never reaches them. The axle runs in an enclosed spiral barrel, which spreads the curtain weight instead of loading one point. Insulated versions add side and top draft stops. Vision panels are an option if you want daylight through a closed door.
We order it, we hang it, and we set it up as part of the build. For openings wider or taller than a roll-up will carry, we install hangar bi-folds and hydraulic doors up to 38,000 lb.
Our roll-up doors are made by Janus International® ↗. The model we install on most buildings is the 3652 Commercial. Its spec sheet is below.
Supplied & installedWindload ratedInsulated optionVision panels
- MAX OPENING
- 18′ × 14′
- CURTAIN
- 26-ga corrugated
- STEEL
- Galvanized grade-80
- COLORS
- 32, in 5 tiers
Door colors
Eleven colors are standard and cost the same as any other standard color. The specialty colors carry an upcharge that goes up by tier.
StandardNo upcharge
- Bronze
- Cedar Red
- Continental Brown
- Desert Sand
- Desert Tan
- High Gloss White
- LG Forest Green
- Light Stone
- Sandstone
- Satin White
- Silhouette Gray
Specialty · Tier 1Upcharge applies
- AG Galvalume *
- Colony Green
- Evergreen
- Fern Green
- Polar Blue
- Royal Blue
- Smart Blue
- Sunset Orange
- Teal
- Ultra Marine Blue
- Cobalt Blue
Specialty · Tier 2Upcharge applies
- Patriot Red
- Sierra Sunset
- Valentine Red
- EXR Wasabi
Specialty · Tier 3Upcharge applies
- Apple Lime Cocktail
- Dark Teal
- Maroon
- Safety Yellow
- LS Yellow
Specialty · Tier 4Upcharge applies
- Woodgrain *
* Galvalume and Woodgrain are finishes rather than flat colors, so the swatch above is an approximation. Door color is specified separately from your roof, walls and trim, so the doors can match the building or deliberately not.
FIG. 07/Accessories
Accessories.
Openings, daylight, airflow, and the finishing details. All of it is specified and engineered with your building rather than added afterward, so every opening is framed into the wall the way it was drawn.
01 · OPENINGS
A large variety of sizes and colors, with low-profile hardware available where headroom is limited. They can be designed wind-locked to meet the high wind loads of the coastal counties, and insulation can be added as an option.
02 · OPENINGS
Single or double, solid or half glass. Our standard door is pre-finished commercial bronze with solid core insulation and a complete hardware package, and wind-rated doors are available for high wind load counties. We carry the full hardware line.
03 · DAYLIGHT
Fiberglass translucent panels light the building through the roof or the walls with no power bill. Each panel is 3′ wide and comes in various lengths. Insulated skylights are also an option, so the daylight does not cost you the R-value around it.
04 · GLAZING
Windows come complete with framing and flashing in a large variety of sizes, in vertical and horizontal sliders. Double pane glass is available as an option.
05 · SHADE
Custom and standard canopies over windows, walkways and doors. They distinguish the building and can be run in a contrasting color to set them off, in a wide range of shapes, sizes and colors.
06 · AIRFLOW
We carry several types. The common options are the continuous ridge vent and the low-profile ridge vent, both running the length of the peak where the hot air collects.
07 · AIRFLOW
Fixed louvers in various sizes and colors are often the only ventilation possible on a smaller building, and are best used to generate cross-flow on a larger one. Circular roof vents are the economical way to move air out through the roof.
08 · DETAIL
Available in 24″, 36″ and 48″, louvered-sided or window-sided, in a variety of colors including two-tone. Cupolas add ventilation, and they add both beauty and individuality to your building.
Insulation.
FIG. 08/Insulation
Insulation is what makes a steel building comfortable to work in and keeps your equipment dry. We install it as part of the build, and we will help you choose the right level for how you plan to use the building.
THERMAL ENVELOPE · VAPOR BARRIER
Why we recommend insulating.
A non-insulated metal building will allow the outside temperature into the building. This can make the structure unbearably hot in the summer and very cold in the winter, and you pay for that difference on your heating and cooling bill for as long as you own the building.
Enclosed buildings are also susceptible to condensation. Warm, humid air meets cold steel, and the inside face of the roof and walls begins to sweat onto whatever is stored below. In our climate that is a concern most of the year.
Insulation reverses both effects. It keeps the heat out in the summer and the cold out in the winter, and it acts as a vapor barrier that prevents condensation. We install it at dry-in, along with the panels and the trim, as part of your building.
Supplied & installedR-13 to R-38Vapor barrierRoof & wallsGoes in at dry-in
How much insulation
BEST R-VALUE
R-38 roof · R-30 wall
The complete envelope, at the highest R-value we carry. The right choice for any building you plan to heat, cool, work in year round, or use to store anything sensitive to temperature.
MINIMUM R-VALUE
R-19 roof · R-13 wall
Prevents condensation and takes the edge off the summer heat, at a lower cost than a fully conditioned envelope. A practical choice for equipment barns, shops and unconditioned storage.
NONE
Suited to open-sided hay barns and carports, where air moves through the building and there is no envelope to seal. On an enclosed building we recommend insulation, and we are glad to walk you through why.
How it goes in
LAYERED BLANKET · R-19 ROOF · R-13 WALL
The blanket is rolled over the purlins and the roof panel screws down on top of it, so it is compressed across the cavity and hardest against the purlin itself. Its facing is the vapor retarder, and the purlins stay exposed to the inside.
LINER SYSTEM · R-38 ROOF · R-30 WALL
A liner is strapped across the underside of the purlins and the insulation lays on top of it, so the lower layer keeps its full designed thickness between them. The liner spans the bay in one piece and is sealed to the structure.
LINER SYSTEM, INSTALLED
From the floor the purlins disappear behind one continuous white surface, leaving the main frame showing, instead of exposed steel that has to be painted to look consistent.
FIG. 09/Standard, not extra
What comes standard.
Six features that come standard on a Chambliss building. Several are where other companies use a cheaper alternative.
- 01
Premium Lifetime Fasteners
Matching finish, self-drilling, self-tapping, on all roof and wall panels. Guaranteed not to rust. Fasteners that are not lifetime void your warranty.
- 02
40 Year Warranty
High gloss, high luster painted panels carry up to a 40 year warranty against rusting, fading, and chalking, and look far better than the standard R or PBR panels most companies use.
- 03
Formed Eave Trim
Deluxe contoured trim instead of simple eave trim, which gives the whole structure a consistent, refined finish.
- 04
Base Trim
Standard on every building. Makes erection much easier and seals better than the foam closures most metal building companies rely on to keep out dust, water, and critters.
- 05
Purlin Strapping
Included wherever it is beneficial. Greatly increases purlin strength and eliminates purlin rotation and sag.
- 06
Jamb & Header Cover Trim
On every framed opening, covering the door jambs and the header beam for a finished, sophisticated look.
Know what you want?
Shape it in the 3D configurator, or send us your dimensions and we’ll come back with a real number.