Residential steel frame construction is a durable alternative to building homes with standard wooden frames. Steel frames are becoming increasingly popular in basement and full home building projects. They offer numerous benefits, ranging from enhanced moisture resistance to additional customization options. Read on to discover more about steel framing, including the pros and cons as well as the answers to some frequently asked questions.
What Is Steel Frame Construction for Homes?
Residential steel frame construction involves building homes and basements with steel beams, columns, and studs instead of wood and nails. Steel framing is strong, long-lasting, and resistant to moisture, fires, pests, and insects. The frames are available in a variety of shapes and sizes, including light gauge and heavy gauge steel.
When constructing houses, light gauge steel framing is most commonly used. Residential steel framing systems can bend and shift without cracking or altering the stability of the structure. This makes them ideal for homes built in areas that are prone to extreme weather such as earthquakes, flooding, and tornados.
Pros of Structural Steel Framing
As an innovative addition to modern construction, residential structural framing has many benefits. Here are some of the advantages to choosing steel frames for your home or basement construction project:
- Customizable: With the help of advanced computer and manufacturing technologies, contractors can customize your steel frame to any specification. If you want to add onto your home in the future, contractors can easily modify, remove, or relocate your residential structural steel beams for a fast and cost-effective renovation. You can use a range of materials with steel frames including cement, wood, and brick.
- Time-Efficient: Whether your steel frame is assembled on-site or you opt for prefabricated framework, building residential steel frames takes far less time than building wood frames. The steel components are manufactured off-site, including pre-punching holes for wiring and pipes, which significantly reduces time and cost of labour.
- Durable: Steel is stronger than both wood and concrete with great shock and impact resistance as well as a high load capacity. These characteristics aid in its ability to withstand strong winds, falling trees, and other forms of impact, such as a car crashing into the side of the home.
- Moisture Resistant: Steel handles the effects of water infiltration better than wood, as it’s inherently moisture and humidity resistant. This protects your home from mould development, rot, decay, and warping. You can also treat your steel framing with zinc or galvanized steel coatings to improve its resistance to rust.
- Fire Resistant: Residential steel structural frames are non-combustible, so they won’t burn like wooden frames would in the event of a fire. The fire-resistant properties in steel decreases the likelihood of a fire starting within the walls and limits the spread of any flames throughout the home.
- Insect and Pest Resistant: Unlike wooden structural frames, steel doesn’t attract termites or other harmful insects. This lowers maintenance costs and extends your home’s lifespan. The steel is also harder to infiltrate and keeps pests from chewing or clawing their way into your home. Houses with wood framing act as a food supply for termites, which can lead to costly and dangerous structural damage.
- Eco-Friendly: Residential steel framing studs, beams, and columns are all 100% recyclable. There are also zero hazardous materials or chemicals in steel. Processing facilities can take old steel, shred it, melt it, and remove impurities to be made into new steel products. Furthermore, over the years steel production furnaces have become more energy efficient, using less energy and reducing gas emissions.
Cons of Structural Steel Framing
As with any material, there are a couple of cons that come along with all the pros. In order to determine if residential steel framing is right for, it’s important to examine both the advantages and disadvantages. Cons of steel wall framing include:
- Upfront Costs: Steel framing costs are approximately 10% to 20% higher than wood framing. There may also be additional expenses for rust prevention treatments or modifications to your basement walls. However, the long-term savings can outweigh the upfront cost, as maintenance expenses and insurance fees are often reduced.
- Roof Design Limitations: Despite the array of customization opportunities with steel frames, the roof is one part of the home that will have design limitations. Features such as dormers and high pitches cannot be added using a steel frame alone. To increase your design options, you may consider having a wood-framed roof on top of your steel-framed house.
Steel Framing Construction by Harmony Basements
Basements are incredibly important in terms of your home’s structural integrity. They endure the majority of the building’s wear and tear and are more likely to suffer from flooding and water damage. There are many basement construction companies that overlook the importance of steel wall framing, but Harmony Basements isn’t one of them.
Harmony Basements has years of experience and an exceptional structural engineering service team that values customer safety and quality workmanship above all else. Customers receive a free lifetime warranty on 100% steel framing construction and the peace of mind, knowing their basement is safe from pests, warping, and mould.
Why Choose Harmony Basements for Your Steel Frame Construction
Harmony Basements is the best company for your basement residential steel frame construction project. Structural engineering services are our speciality. We handle assessments, inspections, engineering drawings, and building permits. With our project management team leading the way, you can trust that your home is in good hands.
Contact Harmony Basements today to for more information on our basement steel framing services.
FAQs
How long do steel frame houses last? The lifespan of a steel-framed house ranges from 50 to 100 years. However, with professional installation and regular maintenance checks, your steel frame basement or house could hold up against wear and tear for over 150 years. The recommended frequency for maintenance checks and service varies based on your location and recent climate conditions.
Are steel frame houses worth it? Absolutely, steel frame houses are worth the cost of construction. The moisture, fire, pest, and insect resistance of steel framing lowers your maintenance expenses and results in substantial savings. Steel framing also gives you the assurance of a safer home for years to come.
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