McNichols Steel Grating: A Buyer’s Guide (Without the Usual Fluff)

I’m the office administrator for a 140-person manufacturing company. That means I’m the person who actually places the orders for steel grating, wire mesh, perforated metal, and whatever else the plant says it needs. I manage about $180,000 a year in purchasing across seven or eight suppliers, and I’ve ordered more metal in the last four years than I ever expected to.

If you’ve searched for “McNichols” or “McNichols steel,” you’re probably trying to figure out what product you need. If you searched for “McNichols scrap iron & metal,” let me clear that up first: that’s not what McNichols Company does. It’s not a scrap yard. It’s a distributor and fabricator for bar grating, perforated metal, expanded metal, wire mesh, and related industrial products.

Here’s the thing: there’s no single “best” McNichols product. The right choice depends on what you’re replacing, what you’re building, and how much risk you can carry if it doesn’t work. So let’s break it into scenarios. Pick the one closest to you.

Start Here: Which Buyer Scenario Are You In?

I’ve been doing this long enough to know that buyers fall into a few broad groups. Not a perfect system, but it works.

• Replacing an existing panel. You have a rusty or broken piece of grating and need the exact same thing.
• Building something new. You’re working from a drawing or at least a plan, and need a product that can handle a specific load.
• Prototyping or small batch. You need a few pieces, maybe for a test rig or a quick repair. You’re worried about minimums.
• Still comparing materials. Steel vs. fiberglass vs. aluminum—you’re not sure which one makes sense.

Each one needs a different approach. Let me walk you through them.

Scenario A: You’re Replacing Existing Grating

This is the easiest one, but only if you measure first. I learned this the hard way.

A few years ago, I ordered replacement grating for a mezzanine. I didn’t check whether the old panels were galvanized or plain steel. I guessed plain steel. They were galvanized. The new panels started rusting within three months, and we had to replace them again. I still kick myself for not spending ten minutes with a caliper and a flashlight. If I’d asked the question upfront, we’d have saved $2,800 and a maintenance headache.

So, before you call anyone:

1. Measure the bearing bar thickness, depth, and spacing.
2. Check what material the old panel is—steel, stainless, aluminum, or fiberglass.
3. Check the coating—painted, galvanized, or bare.
4. If there’s a part number stamped on it, write it down. That makes it a no-brainer for the sales rep.

McNichols has a lot of stock, but they’ll ask for these details anyway. Don’t treat it as a hassle. Exact replacement is really about matching the old spec, not picking something “nicer.”

Scenario B: You’re Building Something New

New projects have load requirements. I’m not an engineer, so I don’t guess on this part. I have an engineer or a spec sheet tell me the live load and the clear span. Then I order from McNichols based on the published load tables.

Steel grating is usually made from carbon steel—ASTM A36 or equivalent—and the load tables are based on bearing bar size and spacing. For most industrial walkways, you’ll see patterns like 19W4 or 19W2. The numbers might look like code, but they’re just a shorthand for bar thickness and center spacing. If you don’t know what they mean, ask. The McNichols detailer will walk you through it.

For steel bar grating, the industry manual you’ll hear about is NAAMM MBG-534. I’m not going to pretend I read it cover to cover, but I do know to ask one question: does this product have a published load table based on standard engineering data? If yes, good. If not, that’s a red flag.

One common mistake: people think a big supplier like McNichols is automatically more expensive, so they spec something “cheaper” on their own. That’s a classic causation problem. People think a higher price causes better quality. Actually, products that meet spec cost more because the material and manufacturing steps are more predictable. The expensive part isn’t the metal—it’s ordering the wrong thing and paying for freight twice. I’d rather order the right material once, even if the unit price is higher.

Also, don’t buy more open area than you need. More open area means more light and drainage, but it also means less solid surface underfoot. For a maintenance platform, that can be a real safety issue. If you’re not sure, go with a standard industrial pattern. It’s a safer default than the “looks wider open” choice.

Scenario C: Small Orders and Prototype Work

Here’s where my perspective gets a little opinionated. I started my purchasing career at a company that placed $250 orders. I know what it feels like to be the small fish.

If you’re ordering one or two pieces of perforated metal or a 6-foot section of stair tread, you don’t need to apologize. Good suppliers understand something that other suppliers don’t: today’s $250 order can become next year’s $25,000 order.

I’ve ordered small pieces from McNichols before—a handful of custom-cut panels for a machine guard. They didn’t treat me like a nuisance. They quoted it, cut it, and shipped it. Exactly what we needed. No drama.

So don’t be shy about asking for cut-to-size. McNichols does customized fabrication. The minimums are usually reasonable. Ask for a quote with the exact cutting tolerances and lead time. I try to get that in writing, especially if I need multiple pieces to fit together. It’s not that I don’t trust people—it’s that the plant manager will remember if I forget.

Dodged a bullet on a prototype order once. I was about to order 10 panels with a 1.25-inch bar spacing. Turned out the existing supports were spaced for 1.1875-inch. One typo would have meant ten panels that didn’t fit. The person on the phone caught it. I haven’t stopped checking decimals since.

Scenario D: Steel vs. Fiberglass vs. Aluminum

If you’re not sure what material you need, here’s the short version:

Steel is the default. It’s strong, easy to weld, and relatively inexpensive. Protect it with galvanizing or paint if it’s outdoors. That’s the McNichols steel product most people search for.

Fiberglass grating is for places where steel corrodes or where you need non-conductive, non-sparking material. Chemical plants, wastewater treatment, electrical rooms. If you typed “fiberglass grating” but autocorrect made it “fiber gummies,” this is the section you need. Not the vitamins.

Aluminum is lighter and won’t rust. It’s not as strong as steel under heavy loads, but it’s good for weight-sensitive or marine applications.

There’s also stainless steel for food, pharma, and corrosive environments. And there’s perforated metal for screens, guards, walls, or anything that needs airflow and visibility. If you’re putting a machine guard in a glass bottle filling line, stainless mesh or perforated stainless is probably what you want. It’s washable, resists bacteria, and can take impact. That’s one of those “I never thought about it until someone asked” things that made me better at my job.

What About “McNichols Scrap Iron & Metal”?

Let me address that search directly, because enough people land on McNichols’ website expecting something else. McNichols Company buys raw metal and sells manufactured products—grating, mesh, expanded metal, perforated sheets. It does not buy scrap metal from individuals. If you have a truck full of scrap iron and you’re looking for a yard, you need a different business. There are companies called McNichols in the scrap trade, but they’re not this McNichols.

Same with glass bottles: if you’re looking for empty glass bottles for a craft project, McNichols isn’t the place. But if you need stainless wire mesh or perforated panels to protect a bottling line, that’s exactly the kind of weird industrial request I’ve handled before.

How to Tell Which Scenario You’re In

Still not sure? Use this:

• If you have an old panel in your hand—Scenario A.
• If you have a drawing with a load requirement—Scenario B.
• If you need a few pieces fast and worry about minimums—Scenario C.
• If you’re comparing steel, fiberglass, or aluminum—Scenario D.

And if you’re still unsure, call McNichols and give them three numbers: the material, the bearing bar size, and the open area you need. That tells a sales person you’ve done your homework. They can fill in the gaps.

Bottom Line

Ordering from McNichols doesn’t have to be complicated, but you have to be willing to ask the basic questions. What’s the old spec? What’s the actual load? What’s the environment? What’s the minimum order?

I’ve made plenty of purchasing mistakes. Most of them happened when I was too embarrassed to ask a “dumb” question. These days, I’d rather ask twice than order twice.

Fair warning: I’m not going to claim McNichols is the cheapest supplier or the only one worth using. I will say this—they know the products, they don’t ignore small buyers, and they’re okay with a customer who asks a ton of questions. For a purchaser, that’s more than enough.