Ask any builder or architect what major metal 
building trend is on their radar and they’ll likely mention commercial energy codes. As anyone in the metal building industry can attest, energy codes are changing rapidly and they can vary substantially from state to state.
“We are witnessing unprecedented changes in how to construct a metal building system, and in construction in general,” says Mark Engebretson, director of marketing and business development at North Olmsted, Ohio-based Therm-All. “Since building codes are evolving, customers are demanding solutions to meet the increasingly stringent codes.”
New metal building technologies and products focus on lighting, HVAC and the building envelope to minimize the impact of buildings on their environment. Systems such as OptiLiner, a high-R insulation system from Toledo, Ohio-based Owens Corning, are becoming more widely used to help builders comply with the latest codes over older, more traditional insulation systems.
In the past, the standard has been a single layer of insulation on roofs and walls. But the Opti- Liner system is different. OptiLiner offers multiple layers of insurance to achieve a higher R-value for a more energy-efficient building. “With the new energy codes and the new standards, we have evolved a more complex system, which means thicker insulation in the walls and the roof. It has been a game-changer in insulation systems and what people are going to be doing to insulate their buildings,” says Engebretson.
The system uses a series of 1-inch galvanized steel straps to support a bright white or black polyethylene fabric that serves as the low permeance vapor retarder for the system. The fabric sections are custom fit for each bay to ensure a swift installation and a clean interior finished appearance, which allows roof cavities to be completely filled with uncompressed insulation and maximizes the thermal performance.
Ryan Grouws of CHG Building Systems Inc. in Renton, Wash., says that the system has been a hit in Washington, where energy codes are increasingly strict. “In Washington state, they have made a move to very high R-values for energy code compliance We like to use the OptiLiner system because it helps us to meet those new energy code requirements.”
In addition, the system improves the quality of the buildings. “It also is a very high-quality end product for building owners because it provides a very clean, finished appearance in the roof and walls and gives them an almost ceiling-like finish,” Grouws says. “The white color also helps the area seem lighter. It is a clear, crisp ceiling finish that hides the underlying structure. Instead of looking at the ceiling and seeing metal purlins with insulation on top of the roof, there is a finished look which is a continuous vapor barrier.”
The system is tailored to metal building insulation. Grouws also said OptiLiner is easier to install than other systems. He first used the system two or three years ago at Markey Machinery in Seattle, and is using it in about a dozen buildings a year since then.
Grouws says that when all is said and done, the cost is comparable for the value. “The cost of the materials can be compared to a sag and bag, but that does not achieve the required R-value,” he says.
“Second, it does not have the same clean appearance, and third, typically the labor used to install a sag-and-bag-type system and make it look good actually ends up being more costly than it is to install the OptiLiner system.”
The benefits of the system are so great that Grouws suggests that others try the system on their next projects. “I would definitely recommend the OptiLiner system to other contractors, even if you don’t have to use a very high R-value product, because I believe the benefits in both the aesthetics, as well as in energy performance, would be a great value added for their customers and for their building owners.”
Therm-All is the only current laminator of the OptiLiner system.
Bridget Mahovlic is the marketing manager at Therm-All, North Olmsted, Ohio. For more information about OptiLiner, visit www.therm-all.com/ highr.php.
