In hurricane-prone Florida, building codes and standards have evolved to their current levels for good reason. If a single door is lost, internal pressure can blow off the roof and destroy an entire structure. Cornell Iron Works Inc creates custom doors to handle each facility''s windload requirements, saving millions of dollars in valuable inventory.
The Lewis Bear Co learned first hand the importance of a strong door. The company faced Hurricane Ivan''s 120 mph winds and 140 mph gusts, just 72 hours after moving to its Pensacola facility. Prior to the storm, Cornell analyzed the building''s windload requirements to supply 15 coiling doors.
"Our $2.3 million of inventory was saved," says Lewis Bear''s Operations Manager Roger Weir. "Throughout the area, doors are blown out everywhere and the building we just moved from was destroyed. Being satisfied with the Cornell doors is an understatement!"
Although Lewis Bear''s story was a success, the solution to wind resistance doesn''t come easy. Making sure door construction truly meets today''s new wind load codes can be a challenge to architects and building owners. There is confusion over the factors that must be considered when specifying doors to meet these codes. The difference between mph versus psf is often debated. Test load versus design load requirements are often misunderstood. And critical conditions like mean roof height, door location, and roof slope that must be evaluated to produce a correctly designed product are rarely considered.
Cornell is ready to help make sense of these confusing criteria and provide the right product to meet a project''s wind load requirements. Using the company''s exclusive computer program and validated by third party experts, they are able to enter the required psf and product specifications to automatically configure equipment needs. If only a mph figure is provided, they also have the tools to help correctly convert it to psf or identify the additional information that needs to be determined.
Cornell also has an on site wind load test chamber to provide proof of performance on their innovative designs. In addition to these physical design tools, the company employs a full time engineering services staff dedicated to providing assistance to architects involved in the application of closure products.