Interesting Articles
Damage to a self-storage metal roof is a matter of when, not if. Learn to look for these six common problems and why restoration may be better than a full replacement.
Metal roofs, like those installed on many self-storage buildings, wear extremely well, but they can be prone to specific issues if not properly installed or maintained. Roofs are constantly exposed to two unavoidable elements: the sun’s ultraviolet rays and water. Though the roofing industry is researching and implementing innovative ways to to combat the damage caused by these threats, they can still wreak havoc on property and disrupt operation.
As a self-storage operator, you should regularly and thoroughly inspect your metal roofs. When you do, look for these six common anomalies:
- Surface rust: Panel rusting can become a major problem if left unattended. Apply an inhibitor on infected areas to keep it from advancing.
- Deflection: Crimped or bent panels can lead to water ponding. Leaks and rusting can be direct results of this issue.
- Punctures: Punctures often occur due to heavy foot traffic on the roof and can occur during construction, regular maintenance or the installation of HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) equipment. Sharp objects falling on the roof can also contribute to the problem.
- Incompatible metals: There are several types of metal used on roofs including copper, steel, stainless and galvanized, but not all of them play nicely together. Incompatible metals can cause cracking and rust spots and prohibit water flow.
- Fastener issues: There are two types of metal-panel attachments: clips, and fasteners with rubber washers. Clips fasten to the purlin. Fasteners are concealed once the laps on the panels are seamed or crimped together, typically with a sealant underneath. They’re self-drilled approximately every 2 square feet. Over time, the fasteners back out, leaving holes or gaps between the metal and washer, which opens the roof to water intrusion.
- Restricted movement: A metal roof should be designed to move. If a repair product is applied that doesn’t allow for proper elongation or flexibility, the panels will continue to move, but the patch won’t, causing problems beyond the original roof leak.
While regular roof management comes with its own set of expenses, ignoring small damage today can lead to major problems tomorrow. Failure to address leaks and other impairments can lead to widespread damage to units and their contents.
Restoration or Replacement?
When one or several of the above issues is discovered or recurs, it must be time for a roof replacement, right? Wrong. A restoration might be more cost-effective. With renovation work, the focus is on extending the life of the roof you already have, not jumping into an expensive and possibly unnecessary project that jettisons several years of remaining roof life.
Restoration isn’t just patchwork; it’s a permanent re-roofing solution. Keep in mind, too, that some contractors can perform the work in stages—sometimes over several years—allowing for budget flexibility. Another benefit is once a roof is repaired and restored, it can be covered under a new warranty, allowing you to reset the clock on its life expectancy.
Damage to your metal roof is a matter of when, not if. So once an area is compromised, consider a professional restoration to extend roof life and free up maintenance and operational dollars for other needs within your self-storage business.
This article about metal self storage facility roofs was written by
Anthony Vross of Simon Roofing in Youngstown, OH
See how a strategic, imaginative approach to developing self-storage can help you overcome these three common design challenges.
You might face numerous challenges when designing a self-storage facility, but no matter the hurdle, you can usually clear it with a bit of planning. In fact, when confronted strategically and with some imagination, obstacles can often be used to your advantage. Let’s examine three common design impediments and how to overcome them.
Challenge 1: Steep Slopes
I like steeply sloped sites because you can use the hill to design a multi-story building with drive-up access. This maximizes profit and even saves money, as you don’t need elevators.
For example, at a two-story facility in Auburn, Calif., we used the slope to enable drive-up access to both floors. Tenants can reach the upper level from the front of the building or drive down a ramp to the lower level on the other side. The advantage is there’s no need for an elevator or stairs, which increased the net leasable area. Plus, the lower level is somewhat insulated by the earth, making climate control much more affordable.
Challenge 2: Small Lots
Small sites can be very good for self-storage. In urban and suburban areas, there generally aren’t large lots for big, sprawling facilities anymore. Small parcels provide development options, though you do have to build up or down to get the square footage you need.
In Whittier, Calif., one developer built a three-story facility comprising 59,000 net rentable square feet on less than an acre, despite several city restrictions. Even with competitors in the area, the property leased up in just a few months.
Another facility in Newark, Calif., comprises more than 100,000 square feet of rentable space on just 1.96 acres. The three-story, 135,884-square-foot building features a 2,000-square-foot office to showcase services and amenities, including a workspace where customers can sit with a laptop, access the Internet and print documents. There’s also a conference room. This site even rents offices with attached storage space, similar to executive suites. These have proven to be very popular and are almost always full.
Challenge 3: Conversions
Large buildings that were originally designed for a different use (grocery stores, warehouses, big-box stores, etc.) can be redeveloped into very nice self-storage facilities. A primary benefit is the cost of conversion is generally a lot less than new construction.
In Pasadena, Calif., a developer converted a warehouse into self-storage. The original structure, a small office, was built in 1945; but over time, seven single-story buildings were added. Fortunately, there was enough clearance inside the buildings to create a second floor, which dramatically increased the square footage. The finished product is 134,000 gross square feet with 100,000 square feet of net leasable space, including 5,000 square feet of high-security art storage and 10,000 square feet of wine storage.
Elsewhere in Pasadena, a four-story building with a basement and parking garage was converted to 123,000 square feet of leasable space. Since the retail building already had an HVAC system, the designer made the entire facility climate-controlled.
Another option with conversions, particularly where there’s a large existing parking lot, is to add new storage buildings against the current structure to offer drive-up in addition to interior units. This was done on one project in Hawaii, where an existing metal building was converted to self-storage. The designer simply added doors to the existing exterior at very little cost, and then added two buildings, including one with a covered loading/unloading area. The result was 48,000 rentable square feet. The approach cut down on the number of openings that needed to be cut into the walls, which can be expensive.
Overcoming design challenges means thinking outside the box. While there will always be sites on which you just can’t build, with careful planning, smart strategy and some imagination, even challenging properties can produce outstanding self-storage facilities.
Article by Kenneth Carrell for www.insideselfstorage.com
Vehicle storage can be a great addition to a new or existing self-storage facility, but it isn’t right for every location. Here are some pros and cons to help you decide if it’s a good fit.
As the self-storage landscape becomes ever more competitive, site operators are exploring all options for increasing business and market share, seeking ways to produce a better return on investment. One idea is to add the lucrative option of vehicle storage, namely for boats and RVs.

More than 355,000 RVs are sold each year in the United States, including travel trailers, motorhomes and folding-tent trailers. Boat sales are also on the rise. All these vehicles need a place to park, and many of their owners don’t have the space to accommodate them at home, particularly as most homeowners’ covenants and associations don’t allow it. Often, the best and most secure option is self-storage.
Vehicle storage offers distinct advantages to self-storage owners:
- Being able to rent larger units ranging from 10-by-20 to as big as 15-by-50 can dramatically improve revenue, commanding anywhere from $120 to $500 per month.
- These renters tend to stay longer.
- Boat/RV owners often make great tenants. They have a lot invested in their vehicles and, as such, they typically take good care of the vehicle and storage unit. They can’t afford to be delinquent on their payment and risk losing the vehicle to repossession or auction.
- Your facility can serve as a “one-stop shop” for those needing both vehicle and traditional storage. Robert Johnson and Dave Tsai, managers of North Plains RV and Self Storage in North Plains, Ore., say close to 20 percent of their boat/RV-storage clients also rent a standard unit.
Let’s look at some other aspects of this add-on profit center to help you decide if this ancillary business could work at your self-storage facility.
Operational Considerations
With the addition of vehicle storage, your facility may see increased traffic. In the summer months, Safeguard Self Storage in Kent, Wash., often has 30 to 40 vehicles coming and going each day, according to facility manager Paul Pankow. This means facility staff needs to be extra vigilant for security issues and unit blocking.
Cleanliness should always be a focus at your storage site, but it’ll become even more important once you add boat/RV storage. Why? High-end vehicle owners are likely to be more scrupulous than the average tenant. Trash, oil spills, building disrepair and broken blacktop will cause them to worry about whether their vehicle is safe in their absence.
That said, it can be difficult to keep vehicle-storage spaces clean. Some renters attempt to store things like barbecue grills, bikes, coolers, etc., around their vehicles, which can get out of hand. To curb this behavior, provide specific instructions to each tenant regarding your facility policies and procedures.
It’s also paramount to keep up-to-date, accurate paperwork for each of your vehicle tenants, according to Johnson and Tsai. Having proof of ownership and insurance documentation is critical should anything happen to the vehicle while in your care.
Additional Amenities
These days, it isn’t enough to offer simple vehicle storage. Many customers want additional amenities to help care for their investment. For example, if you’re renting to RV owners, consider offering a dump station. A campground might charge $30 to $50 per dump, so this can be a really nice selling feature and make the difference between a customer storing with you or at the facility down the road.
Water access is also important. Pankow’s facility brings in fresh city water, allowing RV and boat owners to fill their on-board tanks and wash their vehicles.
Sentinel Self Storage in Sherwood, Ore., offers a propane and diesel fill-up station so customers can gas up on the spot rather than visit a gas station. The facility also features electric roll-up doors and electrical hookups in its fully enclosed spaces.
High-end customers typically expect a boat/RV-storage facility to offer 24-hour access because they often start their trips in the middle of the night or early morning. They also demand a higher level of security. Sentinel has 15-foot-high walls around the entire property in addition to its numerous video cameras and LED lighting, which give vehicle owners peace of mind.
The Drawbacks
While this profit center has many positive aspects, there can be a few cons associated with vehicle storage. If you’re trying to maintain a certain price per square foot, boat/RV storage will likely bring down your average. These are big spaces, and trying to hold to the same price per square foot as your traditional self-storage units would put these out of reach of nearly all customers.
Additionally, these customers typically expect more individual attention. They pay a lot each month to store their toy with you, and they want you to cater to their needs. This can be a challenge for facilities that have inexperienced employees or a small staff.
Taking the Leap
If you’re thinking about including vehicle storage as part of your unit mix, consider the following:
Space requirements. If you’re going to offer the service, you need enough space to do it well, say Johnson and Tsai. You should have room to install a variety of options, whether it’s pull-through spaces, angled parking or fully enclosed units, so you’ll have a solution for every type of vehicle. Plus, you want to install wide drive aisles so renters feel comfortable maneuvering.
Unit size. Pankow recommends spaces in a variety of lengths including 20, 30, 35, 40 and 45 feet, plus a few 50-foot spots. His facility contains 170 units consisting of all these sizes, and he wishes he had more. The minimum width should be 12 feet, he says, because many RV clients are older and seem to have difficulty navigating into tight spaces.
Unit type. A good vehicle-storage ratio consists of 75 percent covered units to 25 percent uncovered, Pankow says. The uncovered spaces are good for targeting the budget customer, whereas the covered spaces will cater to the average tenant. You may also want to add some fully enclosed spaces to target high-end customers who want to fully protect their vehicle. If you do this, Johnson and Tsai recommend 15-by-50 spaces for the large coaches and fifth-wheels, and 12-by-35 spaces for smaller RVs, boats and cars.
Partnerships. Consider partnering with RV dealers and offering a finder’s fee to those who refer business to your facility, Pankow advises. Word-of-mouth is also very big in the RV community, he says. By keeping your customers happy and their vehicles safe and secure, word will spread quickly.
Vehicle storage can be a great addition to a new or existing facility. By considering the pros and cons, you can determine if it’s the right solution for you.
This article was written by Derek Hines, a writer for West Coast Self-Storage, a self-storage management, acquisitions and development company with facilities in California, Oregon and Washington. He writes extensively on all subjects related to the storage industry.

GATES Construction has been awarded four 2018 Sand Dollar Awards by the Collier Building Industry Association (CBIA) in the following categories:
- Best Healthcare Facility
- Best Assembly
- Best Commercial Project
- Best Clubhouse – Interior.
The projects represented by these wins include All Seasons Senior Living Community (Best Healthcare Facility), Vanderbilt Presbyterian Church (Best Assembly), CubeSmart Self Storage (Best Commercial Project), and Pelican Isle Yacht Club (Best Clubhouse – Interior).
The new 290,000 square foot All Seasons Senior Living Community is located at 15450 Tamiami Trail and features independent living, assisted living, and memory care housing along with an abundance of amenities. The community has 189 one and two-bedroom apartments housed in a 4-story building with multiple wings attached, complemented with courtyards, balconies and high end finishes. The 10,628 square foot Vanderbilt Presbyterian project entailed renovation of the Chancel, Sanctuary, and Narthex along with an addition of a welcome center at the main entrance. The renovation resulted in increased capacity for 900 people, new energy efficient mechanical, electrical, and audio/visual components, as well as accommodating the new multi-million dollar pipe organ that was built specifically for the Church.
The 2-story, 131,234 square foot Cubesmart storage building was constructed to house approximately 1,000 climate controlled storage units made of masonry stone, structural steel, concrete and glass. At the newly redesigned 20,000 square foot Pelican Isle Yacht Club clubhouse, a contemporary design was featured throughout, with an upgraded dining room, enhanced water views, expanded indoor and outdoor casual dining areas, and banquet space.
New outdoor activity features include 2 bocce courts and fire pits. The awards were presented at the 2018 CBIA Sand Dollar Awards Banquet held at The Ritz Carlton Beach Resort.
Celebrating 25 years, GATES provides construction management, general contracting and design-build services. Their diverse portfolio of commercial, healthcare, multi-family, club and hospitality, institutional and special projects showcases numerous landmarks successfully constructed over the past quarter of a century. As Florida’s premier builder, GATES serves its clients from offices in Bonita Springs, Sarasota and Palm Beach Gardens, and operates throughout the Southeast United States and Latin America.
For more information on GATES, please call (239) 593-3777 or visit the website at www.GATESinc.com.
BONITA SPRINGS, Fl. (October 30, 2018)
Contact: Vincent Varallo
Marketing Assistant
GATES Construction
T| 239.593.3777
E| VVarallo@GATESinc.com