Access for Metal Buildings and Barndominiums

Access for Metal Buildings and Barndominiums

A barndominium shell goes up in a week, and the access problem shows up on day two. There is no gutter, no fascia and no flat surface at the top of the wall, so every ladder placement that works on a house has to be rethought on steel.

Nothing to Lean Against

Steel siding is a ribbed surface. A ladder set against it touches on the high ribs and floats over the pans, which gives two narrow contact points instead of a flat bearing surface. The rails also slide sideways along the ribs with almost no friction.

Ladder covers help with the paint and with grip, but they do not turn a ribbed wall into a flat one. Our Werner AC19-2 ladder covers at $15.99 are the cheap protection for the panel finish, and the real fix is to work from the inside or from a tower wherever the schedule allows.

Frame Towers for Girt and Purlin Work

Most of the wall work on a metal building happens at the girts and the eave strut, which is a two- or three-lift job along the whole perimeter. A frame tower that rolls or is carried along the wall keeps the crew off ladders entirely.

Our 5 by 6 foot 4 inch S-style double ladder frame set is $126.40 and the triple ladder version is $137.90. The frame set range covers the shorter 2 and 3 foot widths for tighter interior work.

A rolling steel scaffold tower at $699 is the right tool for interior ceiling and mezzanine work once the slab is in and the walls are up.

Setting Up on Gravel and at the Slab Edge

Metal buildings are usually surrounded by gravel, crushed stone or raw dirt through the whole build. A ladder foot on loose stone is a foot on rollers, and a tower leg on gravel sinks on one side as soon as the crew climbs.

Use base plates and sills under tower legs, and set ladder feet on plywood pads that spread the load past the loose layer. On a fresh slab edge, keep the feet back from the pour line where the concrete can spall.

Panel and Insulation Lifts Take Two

Wall panels are long, flexible and awkward, and insulation rolls are worse. Two workers on two ladders with a plank between them can walk a panel up in stages, which is faster and safer than one person trying to hold a 20 foot panel and a screw gun.

Our aluminum ladder jacks at $180 hold a stage between two extension ladders, and a 12 inch wide 500 lb aluminum stage at $396 gives a proper standing surface for panel work.

For long runs, our stages and planks range includes wider boards and 16 and 20 foot lengths that span a whole bay.

Roof Work on Metal Is a Different Discipline

Standing on a metal roof is standing on a finished, slippery, oil-canning surface. Screws are small, ribs are raised and the pitch reads steeper than it measures, especially on a 4/12 or steeper shop roof.

Anchor before stepping onto the roof, keep the ladder three feet above the eave, and do not use the ribs as footholds. Fall protection applies at the same height it would on any other roof, and a 50 foot fall protection kit at $89.38 is the minimum kit for a crew that has to go up.

Access on a Steel Shell

Metal buildings are quick to frame and slow to access. A frame tower, a pair of jacks with a stage and pads for the gravel cover the wall and eave work, and the ladder is left for what it does best: getting from the ground to a single point.

Send us the wall height and the roof pitch and we will lay out the tower and ladder list.

Everything ships from 5030 Dexham Rd. Ste. 103 in Rowlett, TX, and local crews can pick up the same day. Call 972-331-1090 and we will tell you what is on the floor right now.