Free Metal Education and Technical Resources Available on MCA’s Website

The Metal Construction Association (MCA) offers several new technical bulletins and white papers on its website. MCA continues to update its Education/Technical Resources section on the website, addressing practical and educational topics related to the metal construction industry, including working with metal roofing, insulated metal panels, metal composite materials, fasteners, fabricating, machinery operation and many others. All technical resources are available for download as a pdf document at no charge.

New resources include:

The technical bulletin “Roof Covering Repair Requirements and the International Code” offers input on what types of metal roof repair materials are required on an existing roof and what code supporting language exists. The two-page document briefly outlines the relevant portions of the 2012 International Existing Building Code for those who have questions about repairing a roof within code.

“Choosing Between Fire Retardant and Standard Core Metal Composite Material” is a six-page white paper that clarifies the allowable uses for standard and fire retardant MCM in accordance with the 2006-2012 editions of the International Building Code. Developed by MCA’s MCM Fabricator Council, the paper includes detailed diagrams on several standard MCM core installation options.

The six-page technical white paper “Insulated Metal Panels and NFPA 285” provides information on testing IMPs in accordance with NFPA 285. Specific IMPs have been tested and meet the conditions of acceptance of NFPA 285. This paper provides background on how when the “basic” IMP panel system meets NFPA 285, minor variations in items can be allowed without retesting or an analysis.

“Proper Tools for Fastening Metal Panels” is a two-page technical bulletin that is intended to be a guide to proper fastening of metal panels to wood or metal frame buildings. Several illustrations indicate how to properly tighten fasteners and recommended tools are discussed.