The Challenge The challenge is balancing the requirements of budget and timing with elements of design, code, and fabrication. Anyone can build a steel stair that can last 100 years, if you have an unlimited budget. The Solution Today, you have to figure out a way to construct an egress system that will meet building codes

Here are a few trends in modern multifamily complexes: Give the complex a trendy name, Add amenities, and Use things like a powder coated aluminum balcony color to differentiate from other multifamily buildings. The Trio in Milwaukee is a trendy name complex comprised of three buildings. This new multifamily property has unique amenities like a

—What Expertise is Required for Misc Metals? Misc metals often requires engineering, forward thinking, and customization. This area of steel construction requires small picture thinking, as we have to hunt and peck through drawings so that nothing goes amiss. To be an expert in misc metals, you have to know your own metals trade plus

An efficient balcony system just bolts on. Construction projects require time efficiencies, and property owners always like money efficiencies. We take these key aspects into consideration for the bolt on balcony systems. Our current record for installing bolt on balconies is 24 balconies in 5 hours at the 1st and Washington project. This record installation

The fabrication of modern curved steel stairs takes precision, focus, and a lot of pre-planning.

Aluminum is a good sustainable choice for a building retrofit. Recently, Midwest Stairs & Iron completed a building retrofit with an aluminum balcony system to an 1800s building. Most often historic preservation can be a choice of: restoration for historical reasons, or renovation as part of sustainable design. Did you know aluminum is a good

The Workers Who Bring Architectural Metal to Life Today and everyday is a day to recognize those who make all of the planning efforts come to life. While many of us debate on aesthetics and how to get it done, the metal fabricators quietly get it done without the need for recognition or notoriety. Their

The Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome, painted by Canaletto in 1742. Five bollards stand beyond the arch, apparently placed to protect it from vehicle damage. Use a Bollard to Protect Building Structures A bollard is part of a miscellaneous metals package to help protect structures, or direct road traffic. Bollards vary in shapes and

Bolt on balconies are safer than cantilever balconies. The recent tragedy of the cantilever balcony in Berkeley, CA raised awareness of the potential catastrophic failure of cantilever balconies. The tragedy demonstrated how hidden joists can hide dangerous rotting conditions, within just eight years!

Governor Walker proclaimed November 2 to 8 as Apprenticeship Week in Wisconsin. Midwest Stairs & Iron has three (3) people in the Wisconsin Registered Apprenticeship Iron Workers Local 8 program, who are receiving on the job learning at the Northwestern Mutual construction site. Midwest Stairs & Iron has a strong belief in training people who