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nc IA | This is from 10 years ago, 2001/2002 era.
Morton 48' wide standard farm machine shed vs Wick 50' wide standard machine shed. Both used laminated 3 member 2x6's for columns. trusses and columns on the morton were 7.5' on center, wick was 9' on center. Trusses had the same dimensional top and bottom cords between the two buildings, morton had one extra "web" within the truss then Wick and the truss heel was double bolted far enough apart (due to the heal of the truss being wider) not to require knee braces for wind loading. both were around 16' tall.
steel can be screwed or nailed, as stated above, internal drive stainless screw for morton, wick used then a external drive stainless capped screw (shank was still carbon steel, note, morton does have the first 1/4" of the screw as carbon steel to heat treat it so it self taps through the steel, the main body and head are completely stainless.) EDIT: advantage of a internal drive screw is the paint the chips from driving it in with a drill is hidden, on a external you can see that paint missing, and if it isn't a stainless screw thats where rust will start and be visable first.)
Morton steel is "softer", a commercial grade steel, that is a 26 gauge, at the time Wicks was a "full hard" (ie more brittle) 29 gauge. Advantage of the "softer" steel is look at some steel that has been rolled by each company, get a one dollar magnifying glass and focus in on the rib, you will see severe cracking in the paint coating on the full hard steel that has the sharp bends for the ribs, most likely even see the steel showing through underneath it. The softer steel flexes easier without cracking and the smooth radius ofthe rib stresses the paint less and leads to less craking in the paint coating. This is why long term you will typically see rust start at the ribs first on buildings.
Morton fastens steel on top of the ribs vs in the flats of the steel, granted the screws must be longer, but then 30 years from now if the washer fails, where is the majority of the water running on the roof? in the flats, so it thereby aids long term in preventing leaks. Also - take a piece of paper, place your finger on it in the center and try to lift up all around it - easy to do right? Now crease the paper as if it had a rib in the center - looks like this: _/\_ place your finger on the rib and try to lift up from each end - it's more difficult - so why fasten on the flats when you transmit the most holding power through the ribs?
I did work at Morton 10 years ago, but put up my first building using a local contractor and lumber yard materials a few years later. The key thing I did was spec out the building materials and construction methods to my standards. Biggest issue with ANY building is knowing the crew and the quality of work they do, Morton has good crews, and not so good crews. If you have a warrenty issue - call to the home office if the local isn't addressing it - that SHOULD help matters.
The first thing I look at when evaluating a building that was put up is the soffit / eave / endwall transition area, along with any overhead door trims, it is the most technical spot to trim out on a building. it's the quickst way that I've found to judge the overall craftmanship of a building crew and the trim options and shapes available to the crew.
Edited by FFJR 5/20/2011 11:56
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Morton vs. Wick Buildings
