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Residential
 Why light gauge steel framing? 
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Answer: The short answer is, higher quality for a competitive cost. Steel framing discourages mold, frustrates termites, provides more safety in electrical storms, and just generally stands straighter, stronger and longer. Do you live in an earthquake zone? Steel framing is stronger than wood, giving it more stability against surprises. Are your soils subject to settling? Steel framing weighs less than wood, putting less pressure on the foundation systems.
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Will a steel framed home look different than other
homes in the development?
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Answer: A steel framed home will look like any other home because the same exterior finishes can be applied to a steel frame as a wood frame.
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Does steel framing interfere with wireless internet,
radio or television reception?
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Answer: Radio, television and satellite waves pass through the spaces between the studs, allowing the use of all household appliances, including computers and telephones, without interference.
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Is it easy to hang pictures on steel framed walls?
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Answer: Attaching things to walls may be easier, for it's easier for a magnet to find the steel stud. Lighter pictures hang on the drywall just as with wood-framed walls, with toggle bolts or hangers.
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Is a steel frame safe in lightning storms?
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Answer: Steel framing is safer than other frames in a thunderstorm! Steel directs an electrical strike straight to the ground, reducing the likelihood of explosions or secondary fires.
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Can a steel framed home be remodeled?
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Answer: Yes. Since steel framing allows larger spans, the structure requires fewer interior load-bearing walls. And members are screwed together, which allows them to be disassembled and re-used. As a result, renovations are easy, and you have more flexibility in design.
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Will a steel framed home rust?
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Answer: No. A zinc coating on the steel protects it from corrosion. In high-stress environments such as the seashore, Steel Elements can recommend optional coatings to ward off salt air.
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What will a steel framed home cost?
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Answer: If you have drawings, send them to Steel Elements and we'll quote a price. Click here to contact us.
More generally, light gauge steel may raise residential building costs about 10 percent above those of wood.
Fortunately, the steel industry continues to improve the processes by which steel homes are built, bringing total construction costs down to a stable, competitive price.
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Commercial
I'm familiar with wood framing methods. Is steel much
different?
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Answer: Steel framing uses the same layout, spacing and general framing techniques used in traditional wood framing. The only difference lies in fastening and cutting. Instead of nails and nail guns, you fasten steel framing with screws and drills. (Sheathing boards can still be fastened with pneumatic nailing guns.)
You cut light gauge steel with a carbide or metal cutting blade or plasma torch.
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As a builder, how can I get started with steel?
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Answer: If you'd like to start slow, use steel in just one or two areas. We recommend starting with floors and interior walls because of their cost advantages over wood.
Steel studs in interior walls can be less expensive than wood, especially when steel studs are spaced 24" on center, a wider spacing that steel makes possible. Steel also creates an uncommonly straight wall.
In the floor, steel joists are generally cheaper than dimensional lumber and perform better. Once your framing contractor and other subcontractors see how easy steel framing is to learn and master, it's a simple matter to use it in ceilings, roofs and rafters.
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Is there a training manual that I can use to train
my framing contractor and other subcontractors
on steel?
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Answer: We recommend the Residential Steel Framing National Training Curriculum, available on paper or CD-ROM. It's a self-study curriculum used in vocational schools, community colleges and apprenticeship programs. It provides a step-by-step illustrated guide to building with steel. Order it online at www.SteelFramingAlliance.com, or by calling the Steel Framing Alliance at 202-785-2022. Or download it from our online document center.
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How do I insulate my steel framed home?
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Answer: You will need at least as much cavity insulation (providing the same R-value) in a steel framed home as with wood. In some markets, you will need to add exterior rigid insulation. Consult the Steel Framing Alliance's Thermal Design Guide for Exterior Walls available on-line at www.SteelFramingAlliance.com.
Note: Open shape metal studs will require the use of full width batts, commonly used in commercial framing and available at most building material dealers. This increased insulation may offer energy savings for the life of the building!
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What fastening system should I use with a steel
framed structure?
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Answer: Use self-drilling, self-tapping screws to fasten steel members together. They work for sheathing, subflooring, drywall and siding. Pneumatic fastening systems work, also.
Free downloads that offer more information are available at the Steel Framing Alliance's Web site, www.SteelFramingAlliance.com, as are publications that provide more in-depth guidance.
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How fast can you deliver?
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Answer: For a 90,000-square-foot storage facility in Avon, Mass., we had the first shipment ready and delivered in two days. That was 3,200 studs, 10' 1-1/2" tall - the entire first floor.
The whole job - 25 truckloads - took two weeks. Crews never had to wait for a delivery.
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How experienced are your engineers?
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Answer: In terms of hands-on experience - not just designing light gauge steel-framed structures, but erecting them as well - our engineer is among the nation's top 20 most-experienced.
In fact, our technical people and company owners all have hands-on experience. Tell us about your project and we'll tell you about a similar job we've already done!
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Where can you deliver?
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Answer: We deliver wherever you're building, Boston or abroad.
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What's the difference between light gauge steel and
light gauge steel systems?
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Answer: Anybody can design one truss or one wall, but a system requires looking at the roof or the structure as a whole. That way, we avoid under-designing one area and over-designing another. We can see where strength in one area will lend strength to another, offering opportunities for efficiencies. Or we may see where reinforcement is necessary because of seemingly unrelated forces.
By viewing the building as a whole, the whole system works as one.
How do we do it? Experience is one key. Technology is another. Our custom estimating software shows us the design in three dimensions, literally giving us the big picture.
We also run what-if scenarios, gauging the impact of different thickness metals in various parts of the structure, or altering the spacing of studs or trusses to see the impact on overall costs and strengths.
For labor-saving implications of our systems approach,
click here.
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What will you build with cold form steel?
- Commercial facilities
- Developing world housing
- Emergency housing
- Export housing
- Extreme weather shelters
- Fire stations
- High-end homes
- Military barracks
- Prisons
- Schools
- Self-storage warehouses
- You name it, we do it!
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(p) 603-466-2500 
