Under a freezer slab, the ground keeps trying to freeze, and that is the first design problem in cold storage. A floor held at minus ten or below, sitting on soil that sees a 36 inch frost depth at the surface in a city like Lakewood, will push frost down into the subgrade and lift the slab unless heat is supplied below the insulation. We design and build cold storage with that heat path, the vapor barrier and the insulation package specified before the structure is detailed, because everything above the slab depends on them.
Colorado's cold chain is driven by protein and dairy processing in the northern and eastern plains. The JBS beef plant in Greeley can slaughter roughly 6,000 cattle per day, about 5 percent of U.S. beef processing capacity. In June 2025 Cargill announced nearly $90 million in automation and technology for its beef plant in Fort Morgan, where the workforce is around 2,100 employees. Plants at that scale generate a constant need for chilled and frozen holding space, blast chilling, and dock capacity that keeps product at temperature from the processing floor to the truck.
We build the shell, the refrigerated dock, the insulated panel envelope and the support rooms, and we coordinate the refrigeration contractor from the first drawing. Our cold storage construction practice treats the building, the refrigeration system and the controls as one commissioning event, with a single turnover package.
Frost, snow, elevation and the code that applies
Lakewood's design handout lists a 36 inch frost depth, a 30 psf non-reducible ground snow load, a 30 psf minimum roof snow or live load, wind Exposure C and Climate Zone 5. Those are one jurisdiction's values, but they illustrate what a Front Range freezer must carry. Frost-protected footings, an under-slab heating loop or glycol system, and a roof designed for snow plus suspended evaporator and piping loads are standard parts of the structural package. Each jurisdiction sets its own values and we confirm them for the parcel.
Elevation matters to refrigeration. Denver sits at 5,280 feet, and thinner air changes condenser and fan performance, so equipment is selected with an altitude derating applied. Denver also ranks 10th among U.S. areas of at least 50,000 people for hailstorm risk, which pushes us toward heavier roof panels and protected condensers on the roof and at grade. Ammonia systems add a process safety review and a fire official conversation that should start before the building permit is filed.
What the cold storage package covers
The package starts with the subgrade: overexcavation, compacted structural fill, the under-slab heating system, vapor barrier, insulation and the structural slab. We follow with insulated metal wall and roof panels, vestibules, freezer doors, dock shelters and sealed levelers. The panel system is the building envelope, so we detail it with the panel supplier and test the seams and penetrations for air leakage before the interior finishes close.
Refrigeration is installed once the envelope is dry: evaporators, piping, compressors, condensers, defrost systems and controls. We build the structure to carry those loads, we sequence the roof penetrations with the roofer and we leave the mechanical contractor the access and laydown they need. Dock-heavy sites need a coordinated plan for door seals, dock lighting and trailer positions, and we also handle conversion of existing docks under refrigerated dock retrofits.
Adjacent scopes we pair with cold storage
Most cold storage projects come with processing. When the owner is also building cutting, packing or blast rooms, we coordinate those spaces with the cold shell so that drains, wall washdown finishes and room pressures match. Our work on food and beverage processing buildings covers those interior requirements, including sloped floors with drains, sanitary wall panels and hygienic zoning.
For distribution-based operators the companion building is a high-throughput ambient or chilled dock, and the questions about trailer staging and queuing are the same as in a distribution center. Buyers in the cold storage and refrigerated sector also ask about a future expansion, so we site the building, the utility service and the refrigeration plant with the next phase in mind.
Where the money goes
Cold storage costs more per square foot than ambient warehousing for four reasons: the insulated envelope, the under-slab heat system, the refrigeration plant and the controls. The ratio shifts with temperature zone, so a building with a deep-freeze zone carries more under-slab and panel cost than a cooler-only building. Racking and automation add more on top. We separate those components in the estimate so that owners can see the effect of a design change on each.
Energy cost over the life of the building is a bigger number than the construction premium on many projects, and it responds to design decisions such as panel thickness, door types, vestibule depth and defrost strategy. HB22-1362 requires a local government that updates its building code on or after July 1, 2023 to adopt an energy code equal to or better than the 2021 IECC, with the state model low energy and carbon code as the benchmark from July 1, 2026, so envelope performance is also a compliance matter.
A realistic cold storage sequence
The critical path runs through the refrigeration equipment, which can have long lead times, and through the slab, which needs time to cure and to be heated gradually. We release the refrigeration package early, order the panels as soon as the architectural layout is stable, and sequence the slab so that under-slab heat is running before the first freezer temperature pull-down. A rushed pull-down can crack a slab and damage insulation.
Commissioning is longer than in a dry warehouse. The refrigeration contractor charges and starts the system, we run the pull-down in stages, and the owner's food safety team inspects the rooms before product arrives. We include that period in the baseline schedule and we do not treat it as a punch list activity.
Tell us the temperature zones and the product
Send the zone temperatures, pallet positions, dock count and the date product has to move in. We will return a sequence that shows where the slab, the envelope and the refrigeration set the schedule.
Common Questions
Why does a freezer slab need heat underneath it?
Without it, the cold from the room travels down through the insulation and freezes the soil below. Frozen soil expands and lifts the slab, which damages floor joints and racking. An under-slab heating loop, powered by a glycol or electric system, keeps the subgrade above freezing, and we design it before the building is released for construction.
How long is a typical build for a cold storage facility?
It depends on size and the refrigeration lead times, so we give a sequence rather than a number up front. The slab and insulation package is slower than a standard warehouse slab, and the pull-down and commissioning add weeks after the structure is complete. We build those steps into the schedule during preconstruction.
Can you add a freezer to an existing building?
Yes, if the structure, floor and power allow it. We evaluate the slab, add an insulated subfloor or a new slab, upgrade the electrical service and add panels and doors. Often it is more efficient to build a new addition and tie it to the existing building than to retrofit a floor.
Does altitude affect refrigeration equipment?
Yes. At Denver's 5,280 feet, the air is thinner and condenser and fan capacity is lower than at sea level, so equipment is selected with an altitude derating. We make sure the mechanical engineer has the correct elevation for the site, which can be higher in places like Monument or the foothills.
What permits are specific to ammonia systems?
Ammonia systems trigger a process safety review, and the fire official in many jurisdictions will want to see the system design early. We bring the refrigeration engineer into the first permit meeting and submit the required documents with the building permit package.