Building with Steel Framing
Advanced Living Homes has been designing and constructing in light gauge steel for over a decade. At that time, while the technology was mature, it only accounted for around 1% of the framing market.
Today it's nearing 10% and for good reason. Pricing is competitive with timber (but both fluctuate in price so it is not necessarily more or less expensive at any one time).
The major advantages of steel framing are:
- Steel has no toxic chemicals, whereas timber framing uses copper, arsenic and other dangerous chemicals to stop the framing from rotting
- Steel is 80% lighter than timber, and thus easier and quicker to stand up
- Steel is straight. It provides a perfect substrate for your wall linings every time
- Steel is both recycled and recyclable. Around 6 used cars can be recycled to create the framing for an average new home. In addition, while timber suppliers will say that the carbon footprint for steel is greater, they tend to forget that when their framing finally rots, as it will, the greenhouse gases it produces for the last part of their lifecycle will exceed those used in creating the steel by far
- Steel is long lasting. The zinc coating on the steel will last for around 250 years inside normal dry walls
- Steel doesn't burn. It will warp in a fire, but it will remain structurally sound and thus provides a safer environment for the occupants of your new home
- Steel dries quickly when it rains, so when your new home is being constructed it doesn't take long before you can put on wall linings - no waiting for timber to get below the moisture threshold required by the Building Code.
- Because steel is dry, there is no movement or warping once your new home is constructed, whereas timber framing will continue to move for some time afterwards as it dries
- Running of cables and plumbing pipes is much quicker and simpler than for timber framing, as the service holes are already punched into the framing, so the electrician or plumber simply has to put a snap grommet into each hole that they use
- Putting a picture on the wall, or connecting anything to the framing is no different to doing it in a timber frame - simply screw as you normally would.
- There is no noise from the framing when temperatures change. Timber homes will often creak and groan as the sun comes up or goes down, but the steel is not affected in this manner to anywhere near the degree that timber is.
- Lastly, there is no electrical "Faraday Cage" effect from steel framing - you can receive radio and TV, Wifi etc signals as easily in a steel-framed home as you can in a timber-framed or masonry one.
Assembling in Steel Framing
If you choose steel over timber framing, there are a few differences in the way your new home is designed and constructed.
Firstly, the framing needs to have a structural engineer look over our plans and prepare suitable documentation for the council to confirm that your new home is going to stand up to the environmental variables for your particular section (these include snow load, wind and earthquake zones).
Next, there is a requirement for a "thermal break" on the exterior of the framing. This means that once the building wrap has been put on, a thin strip, or a sheet, of a thermally insulating material is fastened to the exterior of the framing to avoid any cold temperatures being able to transfer mechanically through the framing to the inside of your new home.
Apart from your new home being screwed and riveted together, rather than nailed, that's the only differences from timber framing construction.