Steel Frame vrs Wood Frame House; Which is Better?

[JimBowie1958]

Planning for a home in the mountains, so a steel frame house being a heat sink is a bad thing, but as it is also a retirement house, and people might start living to 200+ years old in the near future, I want it to last forever.

Cost comparison
Steel vs. Wood Cost Comparison: Beaufort Demonstration Homes

So far the advantages of steel I have found are:

1) Re-usable versus one-time construct.

2) Straight versus warped, bended. - years from now a steel building will be as straight, as sturdy, and as beautiful as the day you moved in.

3) Safe from termites, rot and mold, and drying out - it won’t shrink, warp or swell.

4) Light weight versus heavy weight.

5) Office-wall/partition removable/movable versus residential/fixed code compliance

6) Sturdy and durable - free of high maintenance costs. Walls stay straight, floors are flat, doors and windows do not stick.

7) Steel is one of the strongest building materials available, many times stronger than wood.

8) Steel is non-flammable - it will actually contain a fire and keep it from spreading. Wood framing is one of the biggest hazards in a fire.

9) Steel has a long lifespan, long warranties on the structure, roof and painted exterior finish (a metal roof lasts 2-3 times longer than an asphalt shingle roof)

10) Steel is the most recycled material on earth- all new steel is currently produced with recycled steel

11) Steel buildings are pre-engineered for cost efficiency as well as ease and speed of construction. Steel studs and joists are pre-punched with holes to allow the passage of electrical, telephone, TV cables, etc.,- a huge time and money saver when erecting the building.

12) Steel buildings have a better track record in both earthquakes and hurricanes.

Advantages of wood frame:

1) Natural insulator and so is more energy efficient without coating, etc.

2) Cheap labor works with wood (not sure this is necessarily a good thing)

3) Lower material costs by about 5 - 10%.


But does anyone here have real world experience with steel framing that might add anything to this list?

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Another plus about using wood is that its a natural food treat for termites.

I'll never understand why we build anything with wood. The buildings that last the longest are built of some variation of naturally occurring, local mud. Brick, cement, etc.

The addition to our lake house is poured concrete with reinforcing steel. The insulation is liquid Styrofoam. We live in tornado country and its built to withstand 175mph wind.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

A couple of notes:

Steel framing isn't usually solid in commercial grade. It's flexible. In many instances, it can warp a line on install because of this. Otherwise, it's a much better option than wood stud work. In fact, it's code to ise here in commercial construction and installation.

 

[JimBowie1958]

A couple of notes:

Steel framing isn't usually solid in commercial grade. It's flexible. In many instances, it can warp a line on install because of this. Otherwise, it's a much better option than wood stud work. In fact, it's code to ise here in commercial construction and installation.

But what about residential?

 

[JimBowie1958]

Another plus about using wood is that its a natural food treat for termites.

I'll never understand why we build anything with wood. The buildings that last the longest are built of some variation of naturally occurring, local mud. Brick, cement, etc.

The addition to our lake house is poured concrete with reinforcing steel. The insulation is liquid Styrofoam. We live in tornado country and its built to withstand 175mph wind.

We are planning to use cement filled, rebar reinforced cinder block for the outer and load bearing walls. Considering steel frame for the joists, roof truss and interior walls. The lot is forest covered and we are concerned about losing the house in a fire, so we are trying to make it as fire resistant as possible.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

A couple of notes:

Steel framing isn't usually solid in commercial grade. It's flexible. In many instances, it can warp a line on install because of this. Otherwise, it's a much better option than wood stud work. In fact, it's code to ise here in commercial construction and installation.

But what about residential?

It's been years since I worked residential real estate projects. I'd say pound for pound, depending on the layouts, steel would be the way to go.

 

[Moonglow]

The advantage of steel over wood is many, the cost is more with steel because if you use the solid concrete blocks it's heavier and the foundation must be deeper, and you need to have an engineer test the soils to see it it is even capable of supporting such weight ratios. If the structure is short then control cables will be less, the taller the structure then you will need more tension lines for horizontal movement..

 

[TakeAStepBack]

The advantage of steel over wood is many, the cost is more with steel because if you use the solid concrete blocks it's heavier and the foundation must be deeper, and you need to have an engineer test the soils to see it it is even capable of supporting such weight ratios. If the structure is short then control cables will be less, the taller the structure then you will need more tension lines for horizontal movement..

In some instances, yes. But under the current context that's like prescribing a bay window for a wall that hasn't been put to concept yet. All of that depends highly on the type of structure, the layout, etc... Steel framing is actually lighter than wood, and stronger. Load is dependent on layout. Using steel for truss etc, is do-able with minimal load bearing concerns as long as the engineering design is proper.

 

[Zander]

Another plus about using wood is that its a natural food treat for termites.

I'll never understand why we build anything with wood. The buildings that last the longest are built of some variation of naturally occurring, local mud. Brick, cement, etc.

The addition to our lake house is poured concrete with reinforcing steel. The insulation is liquid Styrofoam. We live in tornado country and its built to withstand 175mph wind.

We are planning to use cement filled, rebar reinforced cinder block for the outer and load bearing walls. Considering steel frame for the joists, roof truss and interior walls. The lot is forest covered and we are concerned about losing the house in a fire, so we are trying to make it as fire resistant as possible.

Steel is superior. But make sure you have some local framing contractors who have worked with steel. It's not very common in residential, so you might need to hire some commercial guys.