What helps make a balcony safe and stable? A safe and stable balcony is best created by engineering know how and innovation. We’ve all been on balconies where the railing seems a little loose, or the decking seems a little unsafe. Those balconies were built with the cheapest cost in mind, without consideration of occupant

Acronyms and Industry Terms of the Construction Industry Sometimes architects speak their own archispeak with words like WELL, LEED, BIM, built environment, biophilia, and ROM. The other day we used Google to figure out what ROM meant from an architect standpoint, and then translated the literal meaning from Rough Order of Magnitude to the simplistic

The “Amazon Now Effect” on Metal Fabrication Lead Times Today’s fast pace world expects everything right now, and the construction industry is part of this demand. Amazon adds to this mindset with their same day shipping. I call this expectation of thinking ‘everything can be had in your hands at your command’—the “Amazon Now Effect.”

How Does Deflection Affect Deck Structure Design? Deflection and live loads play a part in how occupants feel while on a balcony. Balcony and deck structure design needs several considerations for ultimate design. These considerations become crucial when balconies of a multifamily property take on how a building looks and feels in the end. You

Traditionally, if you wanted a balcony on your architectural design, the balcony system became a wood cantilever balcony design. Today, new methods and substrates open up options to consider a wood cantilever balcony system, or something like an aluminum bolt-on balcony system.

Commercial Construction Demands Fast Timelines and Accuracy for Steel Fabrication An idea of increasing speed leads Midwest Stairs & Iron to add the PythonX CNC machine along it’s group of talented individuals and steel fabrication services. The robotic CNC machine will expand steel fabrication services to help structural steel companies outsource their tapped capacity, and

Learn How Custom Perforated Metal Panels Add Form and Function to Parking Structures Good parking structure design with the addition of custom perforated metal panels are fast becoming norm for new and existing parking structures. The design of parking facilities used to purely be about operational function, which left the urban landscape many eye sore

Details matter with a modern floating staircase. Suspended, cantilevered treads, continuously welded tube… Details matter when you want to float a steel staircase with marble and glass railing. The new Milwaukee Northwestern Mutual office tower features a monumental floating staircase. This a-typical monumental steel stair floats alongside a perfectly patterned marble wall (created by another

Pre-Assembled Bolt On System Means Easy Install The Scott at Brush Park multifamily project required larger than standard size balconies, with shipment from Wisconsin to Michigan. The extra challenge of these large sized balconies was that the balcony arrive preassembled. Midwest Stairs & Iron believes balconies should arrive fully welded and pre-assembled to save install

You can find this steel staircase in the new Kohl’s Kitch cafeteria. Kohl’s is attracting talent with a new modern corporate dining facility called ‘The Kitch’, which features a steel staircase and architectural metal panels by Midwest Stairs & Iron. (Actually, the feature is wood fired pizza and custard options, with a metal feature serving