Frequently asked questions

City or county zoning staff review the site plan, a plans examiner compares the sealed structural drawings with the Florida Building Code before issuing the permit, and the fire marshal's office reviews the plans under the Florida Fire Prevention Code. An office open to clients and visitors also has ADA accessibility requirements for parking, entrances and restrooms.

Yes. The Florida Building Code includes an energy volume, and a conditioned office has to show that its walls, roof, windows, lighting and HVAC meet it. Steel framing conducts heat readily, so the designer accounts for it in the insulation details. The building department checks the energy compliance paperwork with the permit set.

Only if you want it to. The steel is the skeleton; the exterior can be brick, stucco, fiber cement, glass or a mix, with a parapet or a pitched roof that hides the panels. Inside, furred walls, drywall and ceilings cover the frame, so tenants and clients never see it.

A single story is simpler and avoids stairs, an elevator question and a structural floor, but it needs more land. A second floor halves the footprint and roof area at the cost of the floor system, the stair and, depending on size and use, an elevator. Lot size and parking often make the call.

A clear-span frame can leave the interior free of columns, which keeps future layouts flexible. Wider buildings and two-story frames usually add interior columns, and the goal is to land them inside walls or at corridor edges rather than in the middle of a room. Settle the floor plan before the column grid.

A common approach is rigid or batt insulation in a stud wall built inside the steel girts, with a vapor strategy designed for the climate, behind drywall. The roof gets insulation sized for the energy code. Thermal breaks at the frame keep the steel from carrying heat into the conditioned space.