A freezer floor held at minus 10 degrees will freeze the soil beneath it unless something keeps that soil warm, and frozen soil swells. The result is frost heave, a slab that lifts columns and racking out of tolerance, and a building that is damaged from underneath. Every freezer built in Colorado carries an under-slab heating system for this reason, and it is the first place we look when we review a cold storage design.
We build cooler and freezer buildings for food processors, distributors and third-party cold chain operators. The building is a refrigerated machine: an insulated envelope, a vapor barrier that has to stay continuous for the life of the building, a floor that is simultaneously cold, flat and heated from below, and a refrigeration system that must be sized for the Front Range climate and altitude. The structure and the refrigeration have to be designed together, and so does the construction sequence.
Because the penalty for an error is energy cost and product loss for decades, we spend preconstruction time on the interfaces. Where an operator needs to retrofit docks into an existing building rather than build new, we direct them to refrigerated dock retrofits. For new buildings, the discussion starts with product temperature, throughput and how the racking will work.
Soil, frost and the foundation
The Colorado Geological Survey states that most homes, schools and roads in Colorado are in areas of potentially expansive clay, and that volume increases of 3 percent or more are considered potentially damaging and generally require specially designed foundations. A freezer on expansive clay faces two movements at once: moisture-driven swell from the soil and frost heave from the cold floor. The geotechnical report must address both, and the foundation design often combines drilled piers with a structural slab or a thick insulated slab over a conditioned subgrade.
We bring the geotechnical engineer into the design early and ask the questions that decide cost: how deep is the expansive layer, does the report recommend pier-supported or slab-on-grade, and what moisture conditioning is required before the floor goes in. The pier option is covered in detail in deep foundations and piers, and the slab approach draws on our industrial concrete floors work.
The assembly from subgrade to roof
A freezer floor is built in layers: the prepared subgrade, the under-slab heating system (glycol loops, electric cable or air ducts), insulation board in multiple layers, a vapor retarder, a wearing slab with reinforcement and joints, and a surface treatment. Each layer has a tolerance, and the slab must meet flatness criteria if the building uses narrow-aisle or automated storage and retrieval racking. Walls are insulated metal panels with a continuous vapor seal, and the roof is an insulated assembly with its own vapor control.
The mechanical scope includes refrigeration plant, evaporators, piping and controls. Plant type varies: ammonia, CO2 or a hybrid design, with machinery rooms and safety systems to match. Fire protection is also special, with dry or preaction sprinklers in freezer zones and heat-traced supply piping. We coordinate these systems with the refrigeration contractor, sequencing the work so the vapor barrier is not violated by later penetrations.
Permits, energy and refrigeration codes
A cold storage building touches several codes. The building code is set locally; Commerce City, for example, adopts the 2021 International Building Code as its construction code with 49 local amendments, including sprinklers throughout S-2 parking garages and a flood hazard map based on a FEMA study dated March 5, 2007. Other jurisdictions have other editions, and the energy requirement follows HB22-1362 wherever a code update occurs. Mechanical codes and the refrigerant safety rules govern the plant, and the fire department reviews ammonia inventory and detection.
Permit strategy matters for schedule. We pre-meet with the building department, the fire marshal and, where relevant, the air-quality or environmental agency on refrigerant inventory. We submit the refrigeration design with the building package so the reviewers see the whole system, and we keep a log of comments and responses to avoid repeating review cycles.
Where the buildings go
Cold storage runs from a 20,000-square-foot cooler attached to a processor to a multi-hundred-thousand-square-foot third-party warehouse. Rail-served sites are valuable because rail moves bulk product at lower cost. Commerce Yards at 96th Avenue and Heinz Way in Commerce City is a 466,000-square-foot, three-building industrial project with rail access, financed with $77.1 million, with construction set for April 2026 through May 2027. Sites with rail and highway access are where a refrigerated operator can scale.
Food plants need cold space adjacent to production. In Fort Morgan, Cargill announced nearly $90 million in automation and technology for its beef plant in June 2025, and plants of that scale pull chilled and frozen storage into the surrounding region; our work in Fort Morgan and across the eastern plains covers that. See also cold storage facilities and food and beverage processing for building-type details.
Sequence, quality control and commissioning
We sequence cold storage in a way that protects the envelope. The slab and under-slab systems are built and tested first, with the heating loops pressure-tested before insulation covers them. Wall panels are erected with a continuous sealant program, and each joint is inspected before the next panel goes up. The roof is closed and the vapor barrier verified before refrigeration piping is installed, because later penetrations are where leaks begin.
Commissioning is staged. The refrigeration plant is started, then the building is pulled down to temperature gradually to avoid thermal shock to the slab. We monitor slab temperature, under-slab heating performance and moisture, and log them for the owner. Operators in cold storage and refrigerated distribution receive a turnover package with as-built vapor-barrier details, so the maintenance team can repair penetrations without guessing.
Start with product temperature and throughput
Tell us the product, the temperature zones, and the volume you need to handle. We will return a building concept with the foundation approach, the refrigeration interface and a schedule from permit to pull-down.
Common Questions
Why is an under-slab heating system required?
A freezer floor chills the soil below it. If the soil freezes, it expands and lifts the slab, columns and racking. A heating system keeps the soil above freezing. It is a design requirement for any freezer, and it needs a monitoring plan for the life of the building.
How does expansive clay affect a cold building?
Expansive clay moves with moisture, and a freezer concentrates loads and temperature stress. The geotechnical report tells us whether to use piers, a structural slab or moisture-conditioned fill. We coordinate the report with the structural and refrigeration designers before the foundation is finalized.
What flatness does an automated storage building need?
It depends on the system, but narrow-aisle and automated retrieval systems demand tight floor tolerances, often more demanding than ordinary warehouse floors. We use the racking vendor's tolerances in the slab specification and verify with floor surveys on the cured slab.
Is ammonia or CO2 better for a Colorado site?
Both are used. Ammonia is efficient but has inventory and safety rules that affect permitting. CO2 and hybrid systems reduce ammonia inventory but have different piping and pressure requirements. Altitude derating applies to either. We review options with your refrigeration engineer.
Can you build a cold addition to an operating plant?
Yes. We tie new insulated panels and slab into the existing building in phases, keeping product handling separate from the work and isolating the addition during construction. The vapor barrier at the tie-in is the detail we protect most.