Building with Light Gauge Steel

CLADDING OPTIONS

There are many cladding options when building with light gauge steel including:

• brick veneer,

• light weight concrete,

• hebel (aerated concrete),

• linear board,

• tiled roofs and many other options.

Essentially any cladding used with traditional wood frame construction can be used with steel.  Also most traditional methods of cladding can be adapted to work with light gauge steel framing.

SUPERIOR STEEL

Steel is a superior construction material

• Highest strength-to-weight ratio of any building material

• 100% recyclable

• Non-combustible - does not burn and will not contribute fuel to the spread of a fire

• Inorganic - will not rot, warp, split, crack or creep

• Dimensionally stable - does not expand or contract with moisture content

• Consistent material quality - produced in strict accordance with national standards, no regional variations

STEEL THE NEW GREEN

• Steel is 100 percent recyclable. Each year, nearly 68.7 percent of all steel scrap is North America is recycled (Source: Steel Recycling Institute) 

• Steel does not contribute to the growth of landfills. (Source: Steel Framing Alliance)

• Steel framed structures stay straight and true and do not expand and contract with humidity and temperature changes.  This means that door and windows openings framed with steel remain stable and this saves on energy costs. (Source: Steel Framing Alliance)

• Cold-formed steel has the highest strength-to-weight-ratio of any structural building material. As a result steel projects can be built with fewer materials (Source: Steel Framing Alliance).

CONSUMER BENEFITS

Steel provides a number of benefits to the consumer including:

• High strength results in safer structures, less maintenance and slower aging of structure

• Fire safety

• Not vulnerable to termites

• No additional preservative chemicals are required over and above the galvanising process to treat steel, unlike the treatment of timber

• Not vulnerable to any type of fungi or organism

• Less probability of foundation problems - 5 times lighter than wood which results in less movement

• Less probability of damage in an earthquake - lighter structure with stronger connections results in less seismic force

• Less probability of damage in high winds - stronger connections, rivetted and screwed versus nailed

BENEFITS FOR BUILDERS

• Highter than other framing materials - no lifting equipment required on site. One person can easily carry a 5-metre fabricated panel

• Easy material selection - no need to cull or sort

• Straight walls and Square corners

• Calls backs due to cracks are eliminated

• Windows and doors open and close as they should

• Less scrap and waste (2% for steel vs. 20% for timber)

• Environmental selling and green positioning

• Consumer perceives steel as better

• No drying out period in wet weather, resulting in no delays