Inexpensive exterior wall finish for ...

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Author Message Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 638 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 12:49 pm:    I have a loading dock area and somehow the finishes for the walls never got detailed. The walls are exterior, but under an overhang. There is no money in the budget for finishes, so we need to find something inexpensive, but durable. Does anyone know an FRP type panel for exterior use, or something similar that would be appropriate for a loading dock? Ronald L. Geren, FCSI, AIA, CCS, CCCA, SCIP Senior Member Username: specman Post Number: 1412 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 12:57 pm:    I can't think of anything, but it might be beneficial to know if it's a freshwater or saltwater condition. Ron Geren, FCSI, AIA, CCS, CCCA, SCIP www.specsandcodes.com Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 639 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 12:58 pm:    Located in upstate New York, so freeze-thaw is the bigger concern Dave Metzger Senior Member Username: davemetzger Post Number: 652 Registered: 07-2001 Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 01:18 pm:    For all the loading docks in buildings I've worked on, the walls have been either concrete or CMU, without applied finishes other than paint. Dock areas are subject to so much abuse that I don't see other materials lasting long. Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 640 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 01:20 pm:    Dave - agreed, but this was drawn as a framed wall, so now we have to troubleshoot with what we have. Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: michael_chusid Post Number: 199 Registered: 10-2003 Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 01:23 pm:    I am a fan of corrugated galvanized steel panels, or other bent sheet metal panels. If they get banged up, just take a mallet and bang them back into alignment. Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS www.chusid.com www.buildingproduct.guru 818-219-4937 Dave Metzger Senior Member Username: davemetzger Post Number: 653 Registered: 07-2001 Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 01:26 pm:    It's a trade off between weather tightness, strength, and abuse-resistance--and probably other characteristics I haven't thought of. Maybe exterior plywood covered with a fiber cement panel? Steven Bruneel, AIA, CSI-CDT, LEED-AP, EDAC Senior Member Username: redseca2 Post Number: 554 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 01:36 pm:    I would consider simply installing 3/4-inch or thicker AC grade plywood, as high on the wall as you see fit. Finish with a clear semi-gloss polyurethane and you can turn lemons into lemonade. Guest (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 01:45 pm:    Robin, As a specifier, why are you taking on the responsibility for suggesting any type "design/detail" for the wall? Anything less than concrete or CMU, is subject to one of the aforementioned trade-off deficiencies, for which you could be "blamed" for suggesting? I would plead IDK, and defer/place onus on the designer, who forgot to completely "design" this wall; did designer show detail with just framing? I smell a designer's ommission...or error! anon (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 02:02 pm:    Exterior FRP panel systems are not inexpensive and must pass NFPA 268 as an assembly for use in exterior walls for most construction types. Consider fiber cement panels - American Fiber Cement Corp imports a product they call Minerit HD which is warranted for exterior, exposed conditions and can be left without a coating or can be painted. We spec it for use on the back of parapet walls as a very inexpensive finish where aesthetics not a big concern. Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 641 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 02:35 pm:    Guest: I feel part of my services as a specification consultant is using my resources and network to try to assist them in resolving these types of issues. Dewayne Dean Senior Member Username: ddean Post Number: 79 Registered: 02-2016 Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 03:23 pm:    I like the corrugated steel user (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 03:52 pm:    Corrugated galvanized steel. Dewayne Dean Senior Member Username: ddean Post Number: 80 Registered: 02-2016 Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 04:20 pm:    corrugated galvanized steel panels Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: michael_chusid Post Number: 200 Registered: 10-2003 Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 05:46 pm:    corrugated hot-dipped galvanized steel panels Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS www.chusid.com www.buildingproduct.guru 818-219-4937 J. Peter Jordan Senior Member Username: jpjordan Post Number: 910 Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Saturday, August 20, 2016 - 12:32 pm:    The corrugated galvanized steel panels are probably rolled from coiled steel that is hot-dipped galvanized to G60 or G90. I would not recommend a lighter zinc coating. J. Peter Jordan, FCSI, AIA, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP Dave Metzger Senior Member Username: davemetzger Post Number: 654 Registered: 07-2001 Posted on Sunday, August 21, 2016 - 05:32 pm:    If a truck can damage precast concrete cladding adjoining a dock as shown in this photo, think what it would do to a framed wall, even with corrugated hot-dipped galvanized steel panel cladding. Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: michael_chusid Post Number: 201 Registered: 10-2003 Posted on Sunday, August 21, 2016 - 09:34 pm:    In our quest for superior construction, we sometimes overlook the benefits of cheap and replaceable. Yes, the corrugated steel on light gage steel framing will be destroyed. Use simple details and connections so the wrecked stuff can be replaced easily. We had a similar discussion earlier this year about doors for swimming pool chemical storage areas. I proposed plywood -- cheap and replacable. BTW, I do not see evidence of bollards, bumpers, signage, lighting and other dock equipment that can help prevent and reduce the damage of an accident. The best way to make a dock damage resistant is to make it 50% wider than the width of the truck so there is lots of room to maneuver but not enough for two trucks. Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS www.chusid.com www.buildingproduct.guru 818-219-4937 Steven Bruneel, AIA, CSI-CDT, LEED-AP, EDAC Senior Member Username: redseca2 Post Number: 555 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Monday, August 22, 2016 - 12:56 pm:    Looking at that loading dock damage reminded me of when I was asked to come see "something" at a large health care project after the owner had started early move in, shortly after Substantial Completion. I was shown to a pair door, hollow metal doorway between the loading dock and the service corridor leading to the freight elevator. "Someone" had hit the door frame hard with a manual pallet jack loaded with several cubic yards of medical records. About 4 feet above the floor, the hollow metal frame was bent at a 30 degree angle inward, taking the gypsum board wall assembly with it. If so inclined, you could crawl through the gap. The floor track was pulled up into spaghetti and the bottom butt hinge had lost the fight, so the door was only slightly bent. Ronald L. Geren, FCSI, AIA, CCS, CCCA, SCIP Senior Member Username: specman Post Number: 1413 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Monday, August 22, 2016 - 01:17 pm:    Sounds like normal wear and tear to me. Ron Geren, FCSI, AIA, CCS, CCCA, SCIP www.specsandcodes.com ken hercenberg Senior Member Username: khercenberg Post Number: 1008 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Monday, August 22, 2016 - 01:26 pm:    Somewhat reminiscent of a hotel canopy I once saw that lost an altercation with a moving truck. Apparently the folks driving the truck forgot that they weren't in the family van. If the framing is already in place, the best you can hope for is to provide an assembly that is fairly easy to repair or replace when damage occurs. I'd vote for the corrugated metal as well, preferably over a reasonably thick sheet of plywood or other structural board product. Greta Eckhardt Senior Member Username: gretaeckhardt Post Number: 44 Registered: 08-2013 Posted on Tuesday, August 23, 2016 - 09:39 am:    How about reinforcing the loading dock door jambs with tubular steel fastened to concrete slab and overhead structure, and installing heavy-duty dock bumpers to protect the portion of the wall most likely to be damaged? Properly supported miscellaneous steel angles used as corner guards could also help take the risk of damage away from the stud framing and siding. Stephen Kelly Taylor Senior Member Username: steve_taylor Post Number: 7 Registered: 05-2016 Posted on Tuesday, August 23, 2016 - 02:38 pm:    Are we talking about a loading dock, or a truck bay. If it's the truck bay, pretty much anything short of reinforced concrete or CMU is likely to be a problem. For a loading dock I would think two by six horizontal boarding up to about 4 feet high would absorb most abuse, and be relatively easy to repair. J. Peter Jordan Senior Member Username: jpjordan Post Number: 911 Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Tuesday, August 23, 2016 - 02:55 pm:    I am not sure you want a solution which will cause more damage to the truck than the bay surface. J. Peter Jordan, FCSI, AIA, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: bunzick Post Number: 1691 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2016 - 11:09 am:    Peter, wouldn't that depend on whether you owned the truck or the building? Tom Gilmore (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Friday, August 26, 2016 - 03:47 pm:    Bollards can help prevent the kind of damage in Dave's image. Andy S (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Monday, August 29, 2016 - 07:33 am:    I've seen 20 ga roof deck applied vertically to the inside and outside of truck dock walls. You can purchase it galvanized and primed painted. Readily available. Can be painted. Easy and cheap to replace.