Free-span buildings are essential when you need to cover a large area without impeding workflow or wasting space within. No matter what type of free-span building you need, or where you’re located around the world, it pays to think outside the steel box.
Pre-engineered metal buildings may be common, but a tension fabric building could be the better choice to cover your operation—equipment, vehicles, processes, and people—whatever your industry.
- Automotive
- Aviation
- Bulk commodity
- Equestrian
- Farming/Agriculture
- Manufacturing
- Military
- Mining
- Oil, gas, and energy
- Ports and waterways
- Sports and recreation
- State and municipal
- Waste and recycling
Why Think Fabric Instead of Steel?
Construction
Steel building components are fastened with screws, leaving holes where moisture can enter. Legacy’s buildings are clad in sections with biaxial tensioning and a patented attachment system that does not require holes for fastening.
Steel is an excellent building material when it comes to strength and durability, so of course Legacy tension fabric buildings use steel—but we use it differently. By cladding your building with industrial-strength fabric the chances for exposure to moisture from the outside is dramatically reduced–thus limiting the risk of corrosion.
Corrosion protection
Steel is highly vulnerable to corrosion. Hot-dip galvanizing (HDG) can delay the inevitable, but not for long, especially in humid or salty environments or when the work at hand involves corrosive products. Upkeep and repairs are costly.
As needed, Legacy’s steel framing members can be protected with one of our proprietary EpoxxiShield™ epoxy options, which can significantly outlast HDG. Should the epoxy coating ever become scratched or scraped, “spot” repairs can be made on-site.
Thermal and light properties
Steel easily conducts heat, making the indoor temperature of all-steel buildings more difficult to control. All-steel buildings are also dark inside, so artificial lighting is always required, adding ongoing expense. And steel buildings can be noisy.
Legacy ExxoTec™ tension fabric is inherently noncorrosive and nonconductive. It’s also acoustically quiet. The white style of fabric is 12% translucent, which means it’s an uninsulted building, and it’s bright enough inside with just natural sunlight from above.
However, there’s more to the Legacy difference, including the ability to fully customize the design for maximum building utility and efficiency as well as simplified maintenance that saves time, money, and headaches year after year.
Speed
Metal buildings can often be constructed faster than traditional brick and mortar buildings, but Legacy tension fabric buildings offer an entirely streamlined process that can get you from design to installation in considerably less time.
Clear-Span Fabric Buildings for Every Use
In real terms, Legacy tension fabric buildings are ideal for work or play, no matter what you need to do or store. Here are just a few examples of building types that could benefit from Legacy tension fabric construction:
- Auto manufacturers
- College’s athletic fieldhouses
- Scrape metal recycling
- Fire stations
- Agricultural Co-Ops storage buildings
- Warehouses
- Wineries
Need a facility that is truly huge? Here’s how we helped Ontario International Airport solve their cargo logistics challenges with free-span buildings.
It’s Not Just a Purchase; It’s a Partnership
There is nothing “off the shelf” about Legacy tension fabric buildings. We partner with you to understand your functional needs and desired features, then design, engineer, manufacture, and install a building customized to your exact specs.
Intriguing, Isn’t It? Here’s How You Can Learn More
- Watch this webinar that explains what makes fabric structures on rigid steel frames so different but, often, better.
- Engineers can take a deeper dive into the principles behind our building components with this webinar.
- Contact us to get a personalized introduction to tension fabric buildings or to ask questions about a specific project you have in mind.
