Cold air settles in the Gunnison valley at night, and the equipment inside an industrial building feels it first. Gunnison sits at about 7,710 feet in a mountain valley, and its coldest recorded temperature was minus 47 F on December 25, 1924. That record is a century old, so we design from the current code and the owner's process requirements, but it shows why freeze protection is a first-order design item here: piping, sprinkler mains, condensate lines, wash-down water and fuel systems all need an explicit plan.
We build shops, process rooms, equipment buildings and storage with that plan written into the drawings. Insulated slabs, thermally broken envelopes, heat trace on exposed piping, dry-pipe or antifreeze sprinkler systems where appropriate and redundant heating for critical rooms are standard options. We discuss each with the owner in terms of what happens to the operation if the heat fails for twelve hours. For owners in utilities and power and public works, where a service yard must keep running through storms, that conversation is the first line in the scope.
Primary access to Gunnison is from Salida over Monarch Pass or from Montrose via Cerro Summit, on U.S. 50 and State Highway 135. Each route crosses a pass, so we schedule deliveries with weather in mind and keep key materials staged on site before erection.
Designing for loss of heat, not just normal operation
We run a simple failure review with the owner. If the main heater fails, what freezes first, how long does it take and what does it cost? The answer drives where we place redundant heaters, which circuits go on backup power and which pipes get heat trace or are relocated inside the thermal envelope.
Mechanical rooms, sprinkler risers and water services are placed in conditioned space whenever possible. Where a line must pass through a cold zone, we insulate it, trace it and provide a drain-down method. The turnover package includes a one-page winter operations guide for the owner's maintenance staff.
We also check how the building behaves in the first winter. During the warranty period we review heat trace performance, door seals, condensation at the envelope and ice formation at the eaves, and we correct what we find. Cold valleys expose weak details quickly, and a building that passes its first January usually passes the rest.
Shops, process rooms and equipment buildings
A typical Gunnison industrial package includes a heated shop with a drive-through bay, a storage building and a fenced yard. We erect a pre-engineered metal building on a frost-protected foundation, install insulated wall and roof panels with continuous air and vapor control and add overhead doors with weather seals and insulated sections.
Process rooms add requirements: floors sloped to drains, washable walls, ventilation and air handling sized for altitude. Our light manufacturing and flex industrial package covers power, compressed air, exhaust and clean zones, and we coordinate them with the owner's equipment vendor. Power quality matters too: sensitive controls may need a dedicated panel, surge protection and a standby source, and we place those in the electrical room design from the start.
Airport and campus support buildings
Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport, owned by Gunnison County at 7,680 ft elevation, has a 9,400 by 150 ft asphalt Runway 6/24 and service by American, JSX and United Express. An airfield of that size generates demand for a hangar, a ground support equipment building and a fuel or maintenance facility, all built to cold-climate and snow requirements.
Western Colorado University in Gunnison had 3,568 students in fall 2024 on a 350 acre campus. Campuses need maintenance shops, central plant buildings, storage and grounds facilities, and we build those as service structures: durable, easy to maintain and sized to the equipment inside. We work with the owner's facilities staff so the building fits their operation.
Cold, altitude and the discipline of the winter jobsite
Cold exposure is a hazard in itself. Our winter safety plan covers warming areas, layered clothing, hydration, ice and snow removal, carbon monoxide control for temporary heaters and wind limits on crane and lift operations. Altitude adds acclimatization and a slower pace for strenuous tasks.
We also control fire risk from temporary heating. Heaters are placed on stable surfaces, clear of combustibles, and fueled by trained workers. At the end of each shift, a supervisor checks the heating and the enclosures, because a failed heater can freeze a fresh slab overnight.
Planning around passes and a short outdoor season
Foundation and envelope work are scheduled for the part of the year when cold-weather costs are lowest, and interior work is arranged for winter. Because both access routes cross passes, we stage materials early and avoid shipping critical loads in forecast storms. For items with long lead times, we use phased construction on occupied sites when the owner needs to keep operating.
Neighbors such as Salida and Montrose provide crews and suppliers, and we line up those contacts in preconstruction. Owners with several valley projects can use one schedule and one set of standards.
Site, yard and utility work
Yards in a cold valley need drainage that does not freeze into ice sheets. We grade to a defined outfall, place culverts below frost, design snow storage areas and build stabilized parking lots that tolerate plowing. Lighting, gates and cameras are included in the contract.
Utility trenches get the same frost attention as footings. Water services are buried below the frost line or insulated, sewer slopes are verified before backfill and electrical conduits are sealed against condensation and meltwater. Where a trench crosses a driveway or yard, we use compacted backfill to avoid settlement that would show as a dip in the first thaw.
Share the process and the winter plan
Send the equipment list and what you can tolerate losing in a cold snap. We will return a freeze-protection plan, a building concept and a priced scope.
Common Questions
How cold should I design a building for in Gunnison?
Use the design temperature and loads set by the adopted code for the parcel, and size heating from the process, not from a record. The lowest recorded temperature was minus 47 F in 1924, but design values come from current code tables. We confirm them with the building department.
What happens if the heat fails overnight?
It depends on what is in the building and how it is protected. We run a failure review with the owner, add redundant heating and backup power for critical rooms and protect piping with insulation, heat trace or drain-down. The goal is that a failure becomes an alarm, not a flood.
Can I build a hangar at the regional airport?
The airport is owned by Gunnison County and has a 9,400 by 150 ft runway, so hangar space is subject to the county's leasing rules and airport layout plan. We coordinate with the airport manager on location, height limits and utilities before design.
How do you schedule around the passes?
We stage materials early, plan large deliveries for weather windows and keep a buffer on site. If a pass is closed, the crew moves to interior or ground-level work so the day is not lost.