Featured image: Valley Park Fire Station 2, Valley Park, Missouri, features cold-formed steel (CFS) framing. All photos and shop drawings courtesy of Karl Klostermann, Negwer Materials.
Valley Park Fire Protection District, Engine House No. 2, in Valley Park, Missouri, features cold-formed steel (CFS) framing, a framing choice that saved on the material required for the project and one that helped keep the construction on schedule.
Station 2 is located at: 47 Crescent Avenue in Valley Park. According to the Valley Park Fire Protection District website, Station 2 is home to Ladder 1925, Ambulance 1927 and administration offices. The station is staffed 24 hours a day.
The Valley Park Fire Station 2 project featured a conversion from bar joist to cold formed steel (CFS) trusses. Negwer Materials, Inc. worked with the engineer of record to make sure all structural items were accounted for in the conversion. The CFS trusses provided several advantages, which included allowing the job to stay on schedule and reducing the amount of framing needed for the trusses.
The SFIA Awards, Conversion from Another Material, 2023 Winner: Negwer Materials for Valley Park Fire Station 2.
Negwer Materials, a member of the Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA), is the SFIA 2023 Industry Project Awards winner, in the “Conversion from Another Material” category, for Valley Park Fire Station 2. The project involved Negwer Materials and SFIA members MiTek and T.J. Wies Contracting, Inc.
Negwer Materials was announced the winner at the 2023 SFIA Awards ceremony held recently online. The SFIA 2023 Industry Project Awards focus on CFS manufacturing and construction. Architects, engineers, manufacturers, distributors and contractors entered their projects in the competition. The SFIA Awards entry was submitted by Karl Klostermann of Negwer Materials.
Conversion to Steel
How was conversion to metal framing achieved?
The Valley Park Fire Station 2 project was a conversion from bar joist to CFS framed trusses. Negwer Materials worked with the engineer of record to make sure all structural items were accounted for in the conversion. Trusses allowed the job to stay on schedule and reduced the amount of steel needed.
Cold-formed steel (CFS) trusses were used in lieu of bar joists.
Negwer Materials worked with the engineer on the conversion to cold-formed steel (CFS) trusses.
Installation Complexity
What difficulties existed on the project?
The Valley Park Fire Station 2 job required top chord bearing trusses with spans of up to 74 feet. The challenge involved designing the truss systems to meet the load and deflection criteria required for this structure.
Some cold-formed steel (CFS) trusses span 74 feet.
Manufacturing Complexity
Were special materials involved?
The station’s trusses were prefabricated off site using CFS members, the entire truss system engineered to meet the building’s architectural and structural design requirements.
The schematic shows a cut section of the cold-formed steel (CFS) truss design.
The cold-formed steel (CFS) trusses were fabricated off site.
Overall Job Quality
How did the alignments turn out?
CFS trusses all aligned, and the project was completed on time, the Negwer Materials awards submission says.
The cold-formed steel (CFS) trusses all lined up.
Valley Park Fire Station 2
47 Crescent Avenue
Valley Park, MO 63088Details:
2 stories, 14,940 sq. ft., 27 tons of cold-formed steel (CFS) framingPEOPLE
Owner:
Valley Park Fire Protection DistrictArchitect:
Steve Hoover, JEMAEngineer:
Matt Bono, Case EngineeringGeneral Contractor:
Andrew Moses, L. Keeley ConstructionSpecialty Contractor:
Christopher Kunni, T.J. Wies Contracting, Inc.
SFIA Industry Project Awards
The SFIA 2023 Industry Project Awards focus on cold-formed steel (CFS) manufacturing and construction. The awards program is a complement to the Design Excellence and Creative Detail Awards governed by CFSEI, the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute. Architects, engineers, manufacturers, distributors and contractors entered their projects in the 2023 competition.
Judging Criteria
A panel of industry representatives judged all 2023 SFIA Awards entries based on the following criteria:
- Design Quality, such as the efficient and sustainable use of cold-formed steel (CFS) products
- Installation Complexity, focusing on conflict resolution, timeframe challenges, etc.
- Manufacturing Complexity, including custom orders, panelization, special material sourcing and more
- Overall Job Quality, including the quality of alignments, finishes and other attention to detail
- Conversion from Alternative Framing Material, reflecting how steel framing lowered a structure’s weight, or added stories, or helped lower the project’s builders’ risk insurance, etc.
Steel Framing Industry Association
The Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA) provides its members with exclusive access to technical cold-formed steel (CFS) framing services, including the SFIA Steel Framing Learning Portal. SFIA member services include access to market data, market analysis, technical design guides, architectural services, environmental product declarations, CFS certification and more.
Additional Resources
- SFIA Reveals 7 Winners of the 2023 Industry Project Awards in Online Ceremony
- Sorting Apples from Oranges — Comparing Evaluation Services with Third-Party Certification
- SFIA Releases Guide to the Performance-Based Nonstructural Partition Selection of Metal Framing