What are the advantages of using light steel frame in constructing houses
Wood is a natural resource that used to be used in abundance for the construction of Houses. However, with the diminishing supply of wood owing to depletion of wood reserves, alternate materials are being looked into for the construction of houses. Over the past decade overall lumber prices have both increased and become more volatile. Surprisingly two of the most admired modern houses are made of steel. One by Philip Johnson known as Glass House and the second by Meis van der Rohe known as Farnsworth House. In spite of these excellent landmarks built in the first half of the 19th century, we are just now on the threshold of steel construction for house design.
Steel may not have caught the eye up until now owing to the fact that the tooling required for steel home production is more exacting than that for wood or masonry, and the market was limited. Manufacturers typically don’t do one-off designs, preferring to do multiple units to achieve economies of scale. This is the main cause for not accepting steel as the main building material used by architects. It limits the designs. But housing as a dwelling is not guided by design, but instead it is the durability and the cost effectiveness of the building that is of paramount concern for an average person who wants to build a house.
In 1991, for the market in the United States, lumber costs for a 2,000 square foot home averaged about $5,000. In 1993, the lumber cost for the same size home was about $12,200 (up to $491 per 1,000 board feet). As the framing costs are accounting for almost 20 percent of the total cost of the home, and a homebuilder always tries to strive for maximum benefits from optimum costs, alternate products are always being…
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Tags: buidling, Housing, lumber, new homes, recycled steel, steel, steel frame
