Building a steel framed house?

[D-man313]

Everyone in here has the dream of living in their shop, I’d love it too but still like the idea of a house away from the shop. Plus the misses doesn’t want to live in a barn lol. Anyway with the way material prices are going up and quality is going down in lumber, I’ve started looking into framing a house out of steel. Now this isn’t going to be a pre fab kit or anything like that. Using the same idea as I would framing it with wood but just using steel. Has anyone done this personally or know of someone that has? My dad and I are both carpenters so the framing aspect of things doesn’t scare us, just somethings I’m not 100% sure about. If anyone has any pros and cons I’d appreciate those as well.

Thank you
David

 

[nadogail]

There was one built two blocks from me, a few years ago. A man and his wife put it up. They will not be overly concerned with termites.

Steel Studs are a lot lighter for a small woman to handle than a 2X4, screws drive easier than nails. But if I were to frame a house now, I would use a pneumatic nail gun.

 

[strutaeng]

Sure, not a problem. If you look on-line, manufacturers have load tables similar to the wood tables, and a lot of connection details. Traditionally, it was not used due to cost, but that obviously has changed in the last months.

I don't know how much steel has increased post-pandemic, however, if at all? May want to look into that...

Good luck!

 

[logical]

Its definately being done. The things I'd look at first is

1) will you local inspector (if required) understand it enough to deal with it?

1a) will it throw all of your other trades for a loop. Any commercial electrician or plummer has seen steel frames but you may need to educate window, drtwall, roofing, siding/brick, HVAC and other subs. Its all doable but you don't want the elec crew showing up with hammers, nail on boxes and wire staples.

2) I don't think you'll find it to be a cost save even at today's lumber prices but that doesn't of course mean you shouldn't do it. If Pulte is still using wood, you need to be sure you know more than them.

Sent from my garage.

 

[PugetDude]

My home is all steel framed. If you go this route, I'd recommend you do a hybrid design-pack the window and door openings with 2x4 nailers to make them easier to trim out. Same for hanging cabinets, etc.

Ours was built in 2005- not a single drywall nail pop, drywall stress crack, warped door frame etc- we didn't have to deal with wood shrinkage/expansion- except for one porch header where they used a massive glu-lam beam for a 40' span. Have had a couple of stucco cracks to deal with there.

Mine was built by a commercial contractor as his own home- he used heavier gauge studs and joists, 5/8" drywall throughout- it's a really solid, quiet house.

No termite issues, our wood-framed neighbors all have had issues with them.

 

[readhead]

It's been done for years for commercial framing. You do need to understand the components. All studs are not created equal. You may find that a point load requires some 12 gage studs welded together. Good luck with the build.

 

[D-man313]

My home is all steel framed. If you go this route, I'd recommend you do a hybrid design-pack the window and door openings with 2x4 nailers to make them easier to trim out. Same for hanging cabinets, etc.

Ours was built in 2005- not a single drywall nail pop, drywall stress crack, warped door frame etc- we didn't have to deal with wood shrinkage/expansion- except for one porch header where they used a massive glu-lam beam for a 40' span. Have had a couple of stucco cracks to deal with there.

Mine was built by a commercial contractor as his own home- he used heavier gauge studs and joists, 5/8" drywall throughout- it's a really solid, quiet house.

No termite issues, our wood-framed neighbors all have had issues with them.

This is something we’ve talked about as well, having to have some wood in the framing for all the doors and windows, cabinets, trim etc. I was thinking about that this morning, the steel won’t cause stress cracks or nails pops either. Being a commercial carpenter we deal with interior steel stud framing all day long.

 

[Lynden]

There were the Lustron steel houses of the late 1940s. My aunt and uncle lived in one in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lustron_house

https://www.google.com/search?clien...CSAQCYAQCqAQdnd3Mtd2l6yAEIwAEB&sclient=psy-ab

 

[djb25]

Wow. Those Lustron houses are the houses from the Fallout video games.

 

[Gotcha640]

How do steel frames handle slab settling? How long will you keep the house? I'm not sure how it would affect resale, if most buyers aren't familiar.

Would it be worth holding off another 6 months to see how the market changes?

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[PugetDude]

How do steel frames handle slab settling? How long will you keep the house? I'm not sure how it would affect resale, if most buyers aren't familiar.

Would it be worth holding off another 6 months to see how the market changes?

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

Reduced fire risk.
Termite-free
Rot-free
No drywall cracks due to settling as frame dries out and shrinks.
No warped or twisted walls due to inconsistencies in framing lumber.

How a house was framed has little or nothing to do with slab settling It's usually due to improper base prep, water intrusion, or improper design, i.e. failure to accommodate point loads.

 

[My Old Tools]

Mine was a hybrid. Steel red iron insulated shell, 2x4 framed walls inside. Worked out well.

 

[MushCreek]

I built my house ICF, but used steel for the interior walls. It starts straight and stays straight. Adding wood to all of the openings for doors and trim does add a lot of work. Electrical and plumbing is easy because the holes are already punched, but you need to use plastic grommets to protect cable and PEX from sharp edges. Of course, structural light steel framing is different than the light gauge stuff used for interior walls, but steel studs were slightly cheaper than equivalent wood five years ago.

Termites can still attack a house, regardless of what it is built out of. If they can get in, they'll find wood floors, wood cabinets, even furniture! In my concrete house in FL, they were eating the paper in the drywall after getting in through a crack in the slab. Unless there's ZERO wood in the house, you should use preventative measures.

 

[jbwilkins]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is insulation. Steel transmits heat/cold much better/faster than wood. While it might not be preceptable, the home will not be as energy efficent if you use 'standard' insulations methoids.

Another issue is going to be electircal, you may have to install armored cable for all the wiring, but I'm not sure about this. Much more expensive than 'regular' old romex.

There's a reason builders use wood over steel. A decade or two ago it was tried by by some builders, but they soon went back to wood due to cost and the extras (additional blocking for cabinets, windows, even for curtians or blinds, insulation values, etc.) If you're doing the work yourself you can offset some of the costs so it could make sense.

 

[MushCreek]

That's a good point about insulation. Plan on putting a layer of rigid foam on the outside of the framing to break the thermal transfer. That's not a bad idea with any kind of framing. Framing can contribute up to a 25% loss in insulation effectiveness.

 

[iSpark]

My home is steel.
Hard to believe my wife and I built this twenty years ago, I feel old now...

Red iron ranch style up front with typical "light gauge" metal stud construction in the back area.

 

[Chevy-SS]

Good luck with your project. I was contemplating building about 5 years ago. I was going to use steel & concrete and everything hurricane/fire proof, with my eventual goal being the elimination of property insurance..... maybe something to cover contents and valuables, but my idea was to make the house virtually bombproof. But another 'regular' property came up for sale and I bought that instead.

I truly like the idea of building a house that is impervious to just about anything we can throw at it. I hope your steel house comes to fruition!

 

[50pascals]

Insulation was mentioned above, but let me expand on it. Don't bother insulating the walls.

I mean that literally - The steel studs will conduct heat past cavity insulation so fast that the insulation is essentially worthless. Even spray foam will not help this. The steel is so conductive that the "path of least resistance" for heat flow is about 8 inches wide at each stuf.

The proper way to do this is with an exterior insulation board (foam, Roxul). Wrap the entire walls and roof in one continuous layer.

Add the roof overhangs after the foam is put on.

This advice comes from someone who ran an infrared camera for 15 years.

Where you typically see steel studs lauded are temperate climates that are only a few degrees away from the ASHRAE comfort zone.


NW Indiana gets cold in the winter, your house will too.

 

[dcg9381]

Main con here would be a lack of familiarity with steel framing and the impact on the electrical and plumbing trades (both who like to put **** in the walls).

I do believe you'd save on materials, but what I don't know is how much additional cost you're incur by spending more on trades that can work with it...

I know it's common in commercial.

I'd love to build an ICF home and can afford the materials. What I can't afford is the cost difference in a crew to install it properly... But down south there is a lot of competition with stick and brick crews, even if the building industry is exploding.

 

[SALIV8]

I used steel studs in a basement I built myself. Very easy to work with and goes up fast. I used tek screws self tapping and then metal screws for the drywall. I put 5/8 or close size plywood across the face where any mounting would be like kitchen cabinets, etc.

I like that it doesnt soak up water or give mold or mildew a place to grow. Plumbing and electric through the studs was different than wood but there are a ton of fastener options out there.

If i did it again I would use the thicker gauge studs myself everywhere. And as been mentioned use wood studs for window openings, doors, etc.