ruck wash building

huangyhg

truck wash building
we will be designing a building for a truck wash:  40 x 100. w/2 large oh doors each end.  what is your preference: wood frame (most economical probably), ridged steel building or concrete block. the owner is concerned about difficulty of dealing with moisture getting in the walls with any system  
with a wood frame building there has to be a shear wall (or something) at each end to resist the reaction of the roof diaphragm. (2 large oh doors leave little to work with
the soil conditions are ok for shallow strip footing (5') for wod frame option or timber piling (35 ft) for steel frame).

we did one a number of years ago out of precast concrete (walls and roof). this is my preference for a long lasting structure. my next preference would be cmu with precast roof. i would not consider using wood because of the long terms affect of moisture.
i wouldn't even consider wood for a wash building.  high moisture and wood never sits well with me.
i would go with a rigid steel building.
depending on how high you need the building to be, you may want to consider steel studs.  i'm a big fan of steel studs.
i have seen some car washes that use a steel framed building (pemb) with an internal waterproof liner in the shape of a tunnel that the vehicle would drive thru. i am not sure how the liner is sealed to the ends of the building to prevent moisture/humidity from escaping into the surrounding structure.  
i would use a premanufactured steel building, hands down.  it;s a lot lighter than either of the other options so the foundation costs will be less too.
mike mccann
mmc engineering
i worked for a prefab steel erection company for years and think that most pre engineered buildings are really low quallity and are not designed to last, no matter how well they are built. 100% of the emphasis is on budget.
go cmu all the way. around here steel pan siding will rust from the ground up (on the ouside edge towards parking lots where salt is used) in less than a decade.  
concrete or cmu
i would use steel portals, hot dipped.  precast concrete wall panels inside the frame, steel roofing.  
i like mike mccann's use of the term "premanufactured." i, as well as everybody i know, typically say "pre-engineered metal building."  

pemb - you will need waterproof liner on the interior.  exposed steel will need to be protected from corrosion.  structure itself relatively inexpensive, but additional design required for protection.  i have done a truck maintenance facility with a wash bay using a pemb.
other option, precast concrete wall panels (or tilt up) or concrete masonry block.  i have one currently in the bid stage.  the contractor convinced the owner that concrete masonry block is less expensive than insulated precast concrete wall panel.  probably not the case, but we made the change.  masonry or concrete offers a durable structural wall system with out needing to protect it from corrosion.