Ok, I checked the archives , for two hours and didnt find any posts on this.....

Dave and I found a website ( thru countryside mag.) that sells all steel homes... NO WOOD... the prices are great, but we wondered if anyone has ever had or knows of anyone who has built one of these. Due to Daves job, we already own all the tools shown in the on-line demo, ( what is involved in construction), so that would be easy. But do they really have as good a R rating as claimed? To build a home in the dry, would be 1/2 of what we paid for our first home, with twice the sq footage... Is this possible?? I would think that this would be possible as steel is certainly more available than wood, your opinions please.... Thanks..

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), March 30, 2002

Answers

I put up a steel framed barn that measured out at 20 by 60 with a 22 foot peak that was to become living quarters, a few years ago. The guy who put it up hired just two helping hands to erect the building, plus hired a crew to lay the concrete slab (6500= repairs to slab) and a crane (1200)(which, as it turns out was not necessary as the back hoe would have done fine to raise the beams). The building had very thick concrete floors, as a large back hoe was to be parked over some of the that. The concrete crew messed the whole project up- the slab was 15 inches short on both sides AND 3 inches out of square AND 6 inches out of level, problems which I and the owner spent many days figuring ways around. If everything had gone right, the project would have cost around 20k. As it was, it came in at 30k. I had no previous building experience on steel, and with that said- it was easy to put up, two people with strong backs and a bit of mechanic aptitude are all that was required, and some good scaffolding! The building was guaranteed to withstand winds of 90+ mph. Im sure that it wasnt very well insulated (think barn converted to temporary house) as a house kit would be. I will say that I dont believe a steel building with the same type of insulation used in a wooden studded house will insulate as well because metal carries heat/ cold much easier than wood. But, all things considered, go for it: it wont rot out or get termites, or blow down (they flex instead of break), and if the cost is really that much cheaper, add some extra insulation and youll come out ahead. But, of course, dont be misled completely by anyone who is offering something too good to be true. If codes in your county arent a consideration you will come out far cheaper to buy rough cut lumber and build a wooden stud house.

-- Kevin in NC (Vantravlrs@aol.com), March 30, 2002.

Are you talking about steel stud house framing or a complete steel structure using red iron? Not that it really matters, I'm just curious. Share the link? Anyway- yeah, if the price is comparable to wood, I'd do it. They're fire and wind resistant and termite proof. I wouldn't think that the price would be much cheaper than wood, though. Figure you have to use (more expensive) screws rather than nails to hang all your sheetrock, and I would guess that trim moulding would have to be glued in place, etc- little things like that can add up. I haven't any experience w/ red iron, but I love steel studs. You can cut a whole bundle at a time w/ a chop saw, they're lightweight, go up quick, and they're always straight and true. And there's already holes in them to run electric wire thru!

We'll be building a new house, hopefully this summer, and have pretty much decided on insulated concrete forms(ICF's) for the basement and exterior walls, and steel studs for the interior walls.

If you're looking for an inexpensive home package, you might want to check out your local lumberyards, like 84 Lumber or Carter Lumber. I believe both chains have stores in IN. You're in IN, right? I priced a couple of their packages a few months ago. Example 1- 1600sf 3br ranch shell pkg $16000, complete pkg $39500. Example 2- 1800sf 3br Cape shell $20000, complete about $40000. Of course this is materials only, you still have site work, foundation, utilities, labor, etc.etc.

-- shakeytails in KY (shakeytails@yahoo.com), March 31, 2002.

The link is:

www.heritagebuildings.com

Check it out and tell us what you think??

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), March 31, 2002.

check out www.futuresteel.com

They have steel buildings that have been converted into alternative housing. Cute and cheap!

-- Najia (najia274@yahoo.com), March 31, 2002.

As a former electrician I can tell you that the electrical service may cost you a little more. I once had to wire about 12 spec houses that were built with steel studs. Instead of using a power drill to drill all the studs out and then run the wire through them, we would have to drill the steel studs out, or punch them out, then place a plastic drammit throught the holes and then run the wire through the holes. Then we would have reinforce each outlet box, cause if we didn't and somebody came along and plugged something in it would cause the steel stud to twist and then the cover plate would break. We would have to place a short piece of a 2X4 between the studs right below or above the outlet box and anchor it with screws. Also it takes special outlet and light boxes to mount to the studs with screws instead of using nail-on boxes like you use on wood studs.

How much different in cost in materials I'm not sure, it may not be very much. But the spec houses that I done seemed to take twice as much manpower to do than regular wood studed houses. Other savings may be big enough to more than make up for the extra manpower for the electrical part.

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), March 31, 2002.

Check the R values of the studs; here in OR, we don't use steel studs in the exterior unless we want to add a LOT of extra insulation in other parts of the house, plus add a rigid foam layer outside the studs. The steel studs are a thermal BRIDGE, and wick heat out of the home in the winter and into the home in the summer.

I'm a semi retired general contractor, for what it's worth.

-- joj (joj@home.org), March 31, 2002.

Hey, rh, I've only ever done commercial construction, so I forgot that regular house wire needs to be protected from the sharp edges of the punch-outs. But as far as labor hours, I still think it would be quicker to run electric thru steel. I'm sure I could punch several holes and put in the plastic dohickies in the time it takes you to drill thru one 2x4. I don't remember blocking the outlets, either- but if you do that's commonly done w/ a piece of track, not wood. Could it be that you were just unfamiliar with the material and that's what consumed more time?

Kristean, I looked quickly at the Heritage site. I think the shell pkg price is about on par with wood packages. The Heritage package though, doesn't include doors and windows. I'm not sure I'd like steel siding on my house, either, but that's jmo. I like a metal roof, but I'm not quite convinced that the bubble wrap stuff that goes under it is enough of a condensation stopper for a house if I can swing it I'm going to try it on my new barn.

Oh, and there's a lot more to putting up a house than just having the tools. I have access to all of DH's tools, and know how to use them, but I wouldn't attempt to build anything more complicated than a dog house- I just don't have the experience or know all the tricks of the trade that he does. (I also pretend not to know how to change my own oil-LOL!) It's not as easy as they make it look!

-- shakeytails in KY (shakeytails@yahoo.com), April 01, 2002.

We had a steel frame house several years ago. Very energy efficient. We live in NJ, our electric bill would average $100 a month in the summer with central air set at 68. We had gas heat a little more expensive but not bad. The only problem we had was hanging heavy pictures or curtains. Our house was already completed when we purchased it, so not sure what brand or where it was purchased from. We paid comparable to a conventional 3 bedroom home, but the energy savings were great.

-- Mary Spangler (spang@delanet.com), April 01, 2002.

shakeytails- it really may not have had taken twice as many manhours. I do remember that the steel studs where designed with stamped out holes so many inches from the ends and all you would have to do is incert a special made plastic drammit. But the problem was getting the carpenters to place all the studs so that these holes would line up. Most of the time they didn't care and if you ran your wires through these holes it would look like somebodys pulse hooked up on a heart monitor. So you ended up having to drill or punch more holes to make a straight run. You can pull your romex wire through a straight run faster than having to thread each and every hole. There is also two types of steel studs that is used in the house. The first one was a heavier steel that was used on the outside walls. If you had to make a hole you would have to drill these cause the steel is too thick to punch. The second stud was a lighter steel that is used on all the interior walls. These would punch out real easy except for near the corners where the studs may be doubled or placed to close together to use the punch. Then they would have to be drilled. If I remember right we did start using some light bar hangers to place between the studs next to the outlet box. But that also added to the cost.

When I would rough in a wood studded house I would use a right-angle drill with a 18" auger bit. With this set up I could drill a hole in just seconds and continue on and drill the next stud before pulling the drill out and moving to the next studs.

Believe me if there was a way to do it faster we would go for it. When your working in the construction business and having to compete with so many other contractors you try to do anything you can to keep labor cost down so you can be competitive.

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), April 02, 2002.