Steel Frame House

[Kuhlryde]

Anyone have any suggestions for an all steel frame house? I am not sure what the cost benefit would be vs a wood beam house. We would like it to be barn-like (open and lofty). I have not done too much pricing research, but from what I have read here, using Miracle Truss seems to be an expensive option.

 

[carguy123]

I am in the process of building 2 (kinda) steel frame homes. The bennies are mostly cost and time to build.

I understand that there are some insurance cost reductions too but I haven't researched them.

I have seen a number of builders build a true steel frame house and the cost and time to build seem to far outweigh the benefits. Electricians, plumbers and the sheetrockers don't want to work on them and they charge you more than with a traditional frame house.

The 2 I am building will be built differently from each other to determine the cost/hassle differences.

One will be a true totally steel frame with steel studs. One is basically a metal building frame with 4' perlins run horizontally at 2' centers. I will attach 1x3s on top of the perlins so that the sheetrockers can finish the house with nails.

Both will be rock/brick and Hardi plank.

 

[Kuhlryde]

Thanks for the reply! I think I should have posted this link

http://homepage.mac.com/bencrawford/PhotoAlbum4.html

It's real close to what we would like to do. Would it be cheaper to go with a wood beam construction?

 

[carguy123]

So you are building into a hillside? Are you going to use the poured concrete walls as well? Are you just wondering about using steel for the interior walls?

 

[beardking]

From what I could glean from a quick lookaround on the site you posted, the only "steel" on that building is the steel bar joists and some steel columns. The benefit of the bar joists is that you'd be able to span larger distances without needing intermediate columns.

If you are talking about wanting to have the actual framing done with steel studs, then unless your contractor also does commercial work that requires steel framing, it's quite likely that he won't want to mess with the steel framing as he's just not used to it. Same with his subs. If they do mess with it, it's quite probable that there is going to be an additional markup based on that.

 

[kbs2244]

I go with BeardKing on this one.
If the final look you are after is a "one big room" with some privacy walls for the bedrooms and bathrooms inside the outer "shell" then it will work.
You will have thick outer walls, but any builder that has worked with 2 x 6, "super insulated" walls, should feel at home.
From a structural point of view, what you are doing is the same as a simple ranch with a truss roof. Only the outside walsl carry any load and you put the inside walls anywhere you want.
Your outside siding contractor may not have experience working with a horizontal vs. vertical nailing scheme, so talk to him up front. The same for your drywall guy on the outside walls. They both will be used to vertical studs to fasten to.
Go with normal construction inside the shell. It is a lot easier to find stuff that fits together, And the construction guys are used to it and will work faster since they are learning something new on your time.