Benefits of a Single-Source Supplier for Self-Storage Projects

Traditionally, when we talk about metal products for self-storage facilities, we think about the metal building panels used for exterior wall and roof systems. But, when considered holistically along with interior components such as roll-up doors and hallway systems, the wisdom for contractors and erectors of turning to a single-source supplier comes sharply into focus.

There is, perhaps, some “old habits die hard” thinking behind customers traditionally sourcing interior and exterior components from different suppliers. This has meant that self-storage unit doors and hallway systems or the non-load bearing components inside of a building have generally been sourced from someone other than the company that manufactures the exterior building materials. But, just because this is how it’s been done in the past doesn’t mean it’s the best way moving forward. In fact, utilizing a single manufacturer able to offer a comprehensive, full-scale system—that is providing both exterior building solutions and interior self-storage solutions—can bring untold benefits to a project.

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Advantages of Single-Source Provider for Self-Storage Facility Contractors and Erectors

One way to think about the benefits of using a single-source building material supplier for self-storage facility development is with a simple analogy to a consumer buying a car. When you set out to purchase a car, what if you had to buy the body of a vehicle from one dealer, but then you buy the engine, tires, seats, steering wheel, brakes and headlights from all different shops? That would be a rather cumbersome process. In reality, when we buy a new car, we can select the model we want and specify the options we want included—knowing that all the parts and accessories needed to provide the end-result are included when the car is delivered. So, you ultimately deal with one source, one contract and one purchase order to get the complete package.

Similarly, a reputable single-source supplier can help simplify the process needed to develop self-storage facilities. Contractors and erectors can get the materials and resources they need by working with a single point of contact at the single company, thereby streamlining the material ordering and delivery process in alignment with their construction needs and schedules.

With complex projects in mind, an experienced single-source vendor strategy drives successful outcomes and mitigates risk, but no one entity can do everything on its own. Therefore, an ideal vendor needs to have additional, seamless partnerships requiring specific expertise and certifications.

Lead-time and Optimal Delivery

The timing of material delivery can make or break construction schedules and budgets. In this industry, the quicker a building owner can get a facility open and start collecting rent/fees from customers, the greater the financial benefits will be.

When a manufacturer supplies all building materials for a project, they are able to build a relationship with the contractor or builder and optimize the support they provide on projects. This in-depth knowledge of all aspects of the project allows for a single-source manufacturer to ensure materials don’t show up too early, which can cause storage issues on the job site, and also keep them from arriving too late, preventing costly labor issues.

To guarantee reliable delivery, a single-source supplier can address industry concerns related to capacity by optimizing production methods and resources to handle spikes or drastic upticks in workload. Ideally, this would result in leveling off to a two- to three-week lead time rather than the typical eight-week lead time for delivering material you’d see on a given self-storage project.

Buying Power

Working with a single-source manufacturer leverages bulk buying power to ensure materials are sourced at the best rates possible. This cuts down on the time spent negotiating material costs with other manufacturers and suppliers. In addition, using a single-source supplier means spending less time finding and managing vendors and more time servicing your customers.

Material Compatibility

Another key benefit to using a single source for self-storage facility development projects is the inevitability of fewer potential product compatibility issues than might be experienced when sourcing different materials from several different manufacturers. By turning to a manufacturer that is essentially providing an envelope solution for self-storage facilities—not just a single part that must coexist with another manufacturer’s part—that expertise will help ensure all materials work together seamlessly and not jeopardize the build.

To learn more how MBCI can be a single-source for your self-storage facility project, contact your local MBCI representative.

Self-Storage Hallway Systems and Accessories

Self-storage facilities, whether personal storage buildings or large self-storage centers, require strong, reliable construction to protect their internal assets. To ensure superior performance, first-class systems are essential, both inside and out. To this end, the facility’s interior doors and the hallway systems, i.e., the panels around the door, provide the basic framework of the storage unit and ideally eliminate potential hazards associated with unfinished or exposed edges to give your space a completely finished look. Additionally, a variety of accessories and associated products provide the final touches for aesthetics as well as security, privacy and performance.

Self-Storage
MBCI delivers superior quality self-storage roll-up doors and hallways systems that are ideal for any self-storage facility or small building application.

Two Types of Hallway Systems

The two main types of hallway systems are flush (flat) or corrugated (ridged). Both provide a modern, clean and polished look to self-storage units. In many (if not most) cases, a combination will be selected.

A flush system will have flush panels above the doors, between the doors and in all other areas. MBCI’s flush system (Corawall System) is a completely flush, interlocking hallway panel that conceals most fasteners, promoting the aesthetics of your hallway system. It is a 24-gauge, 12″ self-aligned vertical interlocking panel that allows for screws to remain concealed except where secured with a channel at the top.

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This completely flush, interlocking hallway panel conceals most fasteners, promoting the aesthetics of your hallway system.

A corrugated system uses a ridged panel for those same areas. MBCI’s Securawall System is an economically efficient and attractive divider partition for self-storage facilities. Designed to lock together at the seams and through the use of self-drilling fasteners, this system ensures security without sacrificing function, quality or appearance.

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The Securawall System is an economically efficient and attractive divider partition for self-storage facilities.

As noted, the most common system used for storage facilities is a combination of the two. In such cases, the flush panels are generally installed in between the doors and the corrugated panels are used in areas that do not have doors, the “fill-in” areas. In general, the panel located above the doors will be determined by the desired aesthetic and can be either flush or corrugated.

In addition to the systems themselves, a number of options provide various performance and aesthetic benefits-for example, unit partitions, mid-span horizontal bracing, burglar bars and door mesh products, which offer added strength, ventilation and security while enhancing the look of the hallway system. Here we’ll take a look at some of the main categories of hallway system options.

 

Hallway Options

Protection components

Accessories in this category can include corner guards and kick plates. Such components, designed with the goal of keeping the facility clean, safe and free of damage, are ideal for high-use areas of self-storage hallways, including corners and lower panels. Corner guards provide improved longevity and durability of both corrugated and flush hallway systems and kick plates help to ensure cost-effective and efficient operation.

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Kickplates provide excellent protection from push carts and hall traffic while giving a clean, cosmetic appearance.

 

Wire Mesh

Wire mesh is used at the top of storage units with overhead gaps that might allow entry. The mesh allows light and air flow inside of interior hallway systems while keeping unit contents secure. MBCI’s wire mesh product can be installed either horizontally above or vertically between units. The galvanized mesh is attached to the top edges of the units by mesh angles.

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Wire mesh covers the top of the storage unit while providing added security to the unit.

 

Self-Storage Door Features

Bottom Bar

The purpose of the bottom bar is to add strength and security to the door. This functional bar has a clean, attractive finish that enhances the appearance of the doors. The bottom bars are constructed of 6063 – T6 aluminum, which looks and wears well…and the vinyl weather seal is replaceable, which means that damage, wear and weather do not necessarily require replacement of the entire self-storage door.

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The self-storage doors are manufactured with an aluminum bottom bar to improve rust-resistance over time, extending the longevity of your investment.

 

Tension Set Brackets

Tension set brackets control how easily the self-storage doors open when unlocked. Older self-storage doors lack tension adjusters and require a door technician to readjust the spring tension. Our tension set brackets make adjusting roll-up doors easier, safer and faster. Facility maintenance personnel can adjust the self-storage doors themselves in as little as five minutes.

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Tension set brackets greatly improve the effort and time needed to adjust self-storage roll-up doors.

 

Latches

Latches keep the doors closed and the storage unit’s contents safe. The stainless steel and Apex latches maintain their integrity through the years. The latches are constructed with limited pry points and double padlock compatibility.

Self-Storage
Our door experts designed the lock for our self-storage doors with the industry standard stainless steel latch or Apex latches to ensure that integrity is maintained through the years and self-storage unit contents remain safe.

 

Paying attention to these details and considering a coordinated system from the door manufacturer helps to reduce unexpected issues during construction or operation of a self-storage facility. To learn more, contact your local MBCI representative and sign up for our newsletter to subscribe to our blog.

Doors of Steel: Metal Roll-Up Doors for Any Application

Metal roll-up doors are designed specifically to offer security and durability in a variety of applications. MBCI offers a series of roll-up doors to service the self-storage and commercial markets.

Here, we’ll provide some key product details to help guide you to the right product for your application.

Self-Storage Doors

Built to meet the specific and unique demands of a small structure, MBCI doors offer many standard features that make it a superior choice. These include a proprietary gear-driven tensioning bracket for safe and easy adjustments, a rust-resistant aluminum bottom bar to protect against the elements, and a standard stainless steel latch.

650 Series: The best choice for a low-maintenance, wind-certified self-storage roll-up door.

Transform your storage building’s exterior and protect your tenants’ assets with the 650 Series steel-curtain roll-up door. Wind-load tested in accordance with IBC, FBC, and TDI, the wind-certified 650 Series was engineered to protect and maintain building envelopes in extreme conditions without the heavy, weighted elements required in frequent commercial use. The 650 Series provides tenants and facility or building owners peace of mind with sturdy construction that requires little to no maintenance. Wind-rated up to 8’ 8” and approximately 90 mph, the 650 Series door is ideal in coastal areas that experience large wind gusts and hurricanes and comes with a 30-year film integrity warranty and up to 25-year chalk and fade warranty. Our 650 Series offers insulation for better energy efficiency and is perfect for climate-controlled storage. We also offer top and side draft stop kits to reduce drafts.

690 Series: The premium choice for mini-warehouse and self-storage buildings in areas susceptible to extreme winds.

The 690 Series steel-curtain roll-up door is designed to operate smoothly and perform well in severe weather. They won’t buckle, bow, become misaligned from the tracks, or separate from the door frame during strong storms and wind events. Featuring 16-gauge galvanized steel guides and a wind bar, the 690 Series is wind-rated up to 10’ and approximately 140 mph—ensuring they meet mini-warehouse wind-load requirements. Our metal roll-up doors are wind-load tested in accordance with IBC, FBC, and TDI, allowing facility managers to avoid higher up-front insurance costs and reduce maintenance costs and downtime in the event of a storm. For climate-controlled units, our 690 Series offers insulation to help improve energy efficiency along with our top and side draft kits.

Whether for commercial or self-storage uses, MBCI offers a variety of doors with many applications.
Whether for commercial or self-storage uses, MBCI offers a variety of doors for different applications.

Commercial Series

MBCI’s commercial-grade, steel curtain roll-up doors offer tremendous versatility, and unparalleled quality, are easy to install, and require minimal maintenance. With a variety of models, colors, and mounting options, it is our goal to provide the right door for any application and back it with the best warranty you can find. These commercial doors are available as light gauge and heavy gauge; some options are wind-certified.

Light-duty roll-up doors: Quality roll-up steel doors engineered to withstand frequent use and outperform others in the industry.

MBCI offers two steel roll-up doors ideal for light-duty commercial use in everything from warehouses and farms to recreational storage and auto body shops. Available with electric motors and multiple mounting options, the 1950 Series and 2000 Series are versatile and low maintenance.

1950 Series: Known for operating quietly and requiring less headroom, the 1950 Series door is suitable for a number of light-duty commercial and recreational uses.

2000 Series: The 2000 Series is the perfect door for light-duty applications that require frequent use.

Heavy-duty roll-up doors: The integrity, partnership, and quality behind the design and production of our heavy-duty commercial doors make them the most durable and reliable in the industry.

Perfect for high-traffic use, our heavy-duty, commercial-grade metal roll-up doors are suitable for warehouses, loading docks, terminals, and distribution centers. Our quality sets us apart; every MBCI commercial door features heavy-duty brackets made of a .187-thick angle, high-cycle spring life, and continuous-duty design. Wind-load tested in accordance with IBC, FBC, and TDI, our heavy-duty commercial-grade doors is wind-certified to meet stringent building codes in coastal regions, including Florida and Texas.

2500 Series: Our 2500 Series is a heavy-duty sheet door suitable for warehouse and freight buildings.

3100 Series: Wind-rated and available up to 16′ wide, the 3100 Series will last for years with little to no maintenance.

Wind-certified doors: Commercial metal roll-up doors from MBCI are wind certified to perform against high winds and meet building codes. Fueled by constant changes in local and national building codes, as well as increasing insurance costs, doors with validated wind certification can dramatically reduce maintenance and replacement costs and minimize downtime. MBCI’s wind-certified doors are wind load tested in accordance with BC, FBC, and TDI.

 (Note: MBCI’s 2500 and 3100 Series are all wind-certified commercial door options.)

MBCI delivers the highest quality metal roll-up door products and services that seamlessly integrate into new or existing building projects. Regardless of the project scope or wind and weather variables, MBCI has the right solution when it comes to roll-up doors for self-storage or commercial needs. Download our capabilities brochure or contact your local MBCI representative to learn more about which product is right for you.

 

A Storehouse of Storage Solutions

With more than an estimated 54,000 storage units spread across the U.S. in 2015, according to IBISWorld, and 2.63 billion square feet of existing rentable self-storage space in 2014, the self-storage industry is booming. In fact, U.S. storage facility revenue topped off at an estimated $29.8 billion in 2014, rising to $31 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $32.7 billion in 2016. In this growing market, storage builders and facility owners face increased competition and must build and maintain more efficiently and effectively than ever. Metal panels can be a differentiator for this market, especially through multi-story and climate controlled storage facilities.

MBCI Self Storage
Southlake Self Storage in Weatherford, Tex. is a multi-story storage facility utilizing MBCI’s PBU, PBD and PBR metal panels.

Maximizing Sustainable, Rentable Space

Among the cladding and roofing materials available to build these specialized facilities, insulated metal panels (IMPs) are highly energy efficient, deliver a full weather barrier and can be designed without exterior wall framing. This boosts rentable square footage by eliminating exterior wall framing typically built with studs, batt insulation, and liner panels.

Made from 90 percent closed foam, encapsulated inside of two metal panels and impervious to water, IMPs offer a high R-value, which is a big benefit for all storage types, particularly cold storage facilities. Steel panel facings create a vapor barrier and provide long-term thermal stability, virtually eliminating off-gassing found with rigid board insulation. IMPs give design professionals the opportunity to design functional, attractive, sustainable storage facilities, and facility owners the opportunity to lower construction, operating, energy consumption, and maintenance costs throughout the life span of a building.

As an all-in-one air solution—delivering an air, vapor and water barrier with continuous insulation—building teams can strip down the multiple trades to one single application. This means there are no gaps or voids to sap thermal value, and no degradation by air or moisture. Furthermore, IMPs are the most efficient product available, providing an R-value of 7 to 8 per inch vs. the 4.5 for batt insulation, essentially doubling performance. So not only do building teams come away with a thermally superior product, but the IMP storage facility will meet increasing continuous insulation code requirements, such as those mandated by ASHRAE 90.1.

Of course, increasing rentable square footage is one of the biggest draws about IMPs for building owners as those extra four to six inches on the perimeter go straight to the bottom line.

A Modern Style for Storage

Evolving from the standard-looking, plain boxes, today’s storage facilities are taking on a more architectural look to better blend into the office complexes, residential communities and retail complexes surrounding them.

With a variety of high-performance coatings, colors, reveal joints and corrugated sheets with assorted patterns, IMPs offer a large selection of design options to architects looking to create these more trendy designs.

Metal Panels for Self-Storage Buildings
A-AAAKey Mini Storage in utilizes modern colors with 55,000 sq. ft. of MBCI’s Ultra-Dek® metal roof panels.

“The calculated use of smooth, concealed-fastener panels harkens to contemporary design styles with an eye toward the future,” states Ryan Rogers, managing partner, RHW Capital Management Group, Orange, Calif., in an Aug. 2016 issue of Inside Self-Storage. “This can create the perception of innovation and dynamism, communicating to customers that your facility is on the cutting edge of the industry and, as such, a successful leader.”

In order to capitalize on the design and performance options leveraged by IMP panels, architects are advised to integrate these systems from the project’s onset in order to maximize efficiencies and potentially take advantage of longer stands, greater distances and heavier steel gauges.

Multi-Level Storage Facilities

Moving forward, designers can expect to see an increase in multi-story storage facilities, particularly in urban areas, where building owners are being forced onto smaller lots.

Explaining the trend in a Sept. 2016 issue of Commercial Investment Real Estate magazine, Michael Haugh, CCIM, senior director of revenue management, Storage USA, Memphis, states, “Increased land costs have forced developers to build up, particularly in urban markets where land tracks of four or more acres necessary for single-story developments are nonexistent. In some cases, a multistory project can be built on as little as 1.5 acres.”

Or in regions where there is little space for new construction but a high demand for storage, like New York City, storage companies are renovating upward. For example, Stop & Stor partners with door and storage solution company, DBCI to convert existing buildings into high-end, multi-level storage facilities. Using existing building blueprints and outline unit placement, DBCI created a custom storage solution in a space that is both conveniently located and functional For more information, read “Urban Storage Units” in Metal Architecture’s Jan. 2016 issue.

Filling the Storage Niche

From multiple stories to designer-end architecture, IMPs are actively filling an important niche in the self-storage industry as a durable and aesthetic, all-in-one building enclosure solution.

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