What are the advantages of steel frame construction?
- Durable
- Cost-effective
- Can be manufactured in various sizes
- Handles wind uplift
- Better fire rating
A building’s framework serves as the backbone for all buildings. Its quality defines just how well a building is able to resist environmental conditions and other potentially harmful natural disasters that can affect the structure. The construction industry recognizes this need, which is why they are able to understand the many advantages of steel frame construction and how important this aspect is, in defining a building’s physical stability and durability for the occupants.
Constructing with steel frames has a number of benefits: The material is durable, cost-effective, resistant to corrosion, and environmentally-friendly. It’s also a preferred material due to the capacity of fabricators to cut steel frames in various sizes that are able to meet building codes and safety standards. Read on to learn more.
Durable
It need not be said, but steel frames are some of the most durable materials in construction. Compared to other framing materials like wood, steel doesn’t easily get damaged from physical impacts. Builders keep this in mind not just for meeting guidelines, but also to make sure that the structure remains standing even in the midst of a disaster.
While it’s true that steel is far denser and heavier compared to wood, the former scores better on the strength-to-weight ratio. Meaning that for every steel beam, pipe, or section used for construction, the strength rating is definitely higher compared to the same quantity of wood used for the same purpose. Steel also does not contain brittle fibers that can rot and degrade over time when exposed to the elements.
Cost-Effective
Another great property of steel is that it is infinitely recyclable. It’s also a widely-used construction material, meaning that it has already undergone market saturation — procuring, manufacturing, and using this material has finally become more affordable.
Using cost-effective materials enables structural-based construction projects to better anticipate any further costs and expenses on the budget. Furthermore, due to steel’s recyclability, old building frames can be repurposed without a compromise in their benefits.
For example, if a project requires recycled steel beams, these materials would need only to undergo a technique called abrasive blasting in order to remove impurities on the surface. The method is cheap and is effective at removing corroded portions on the steel alloy, provided that there are no pitted areas. The resulting product can then be combined with fittings, flanges, and other components to design the structural component of any building project.
Can Be Manufactured in Various Sizes
Using many types of heat treatment methods, it’s possible for steel frames to be cut in varying sizes. These methods essentially improve the machinability and ductility of the material to accommodate further modifications. Cutting and other fabricating methods on steel can be done both on-site or off-site, depending on the project requirements due to its simplicity.
Different sizes for steel frames allow buildings to meet requirements on load-bearing capacities — i.e. dead loads, wind loads, earthquake loads, temperature loads, and the like. For example, a small or mid-level steel building project may require higher loads compared to high-rise buildings. For this situation, it’s better to use steel frames that are specifically cut for the purpose.
Handles Wind Uplift
In cases of typhoons, wind uplift is another factor that building designers have to take into consideration. Wind uplift can be caused by a number of correlating factors that not only have to do with the type of natural disaster, environment, and location, but also to do with the building height, design, and quality of framing materials used.
Unlike other materials, steel frames are able to handle wind uplifts much better. Any changes in pressure that take place in the building’s exteriors and interiors won’t affect a steel framing that has been installed in the most optimized way possible. For any current occupants of that building space, they can be sure that both the building’s roofing and framing components will remain stable.
Better Fire Rating
Fire is usually caused by faulty wiring or human error. In areas where structures aren’t really made with fire-resistant materials, this can pose an issue, as it may cause the fire to spread quickly and affect other structures in the same vicinity.
Aside from offering adequate protection against wind uplift, steel frames are also fire-resistant. In cases of severe fire emergencies, the steel framework helps protect a structure and contain the spread of the fire in only a small location.
Compare this situation to when building frames or rafters are made of wood instead — the material can ignite almost instantaneously. This may cause other building materials to disintegrate and may also harm the inhabitants and other occupied buildings nearby.
Key Takeaway
Several advantages of steel frame construction can be classified according to how well the material gives stability to a building or how safe for use it is as a construction material. In this guide, you’ve learned that steel is durable, cost-effective, and machinable. Steel frames also have a number of safety benefits — it protects against wind uplift, limits fire spread during emergencies, and protects any occupants inside.
There are limitless ways by which building designers can work with steel frames. There’s no doubt that this material will still be one of the first choices for construction projects for many years to come.
5 Advantages of Steel Frame Construction
Steel frame construction is steadily increasing its market share in the construction and civil engineering sector. However, is steel framing an effective construction method compared to the alternatives? In this article we will weigh out the pros and cons of structural steel frame construction as a guide for developers and design engineers exploring different construction options.
Understanding Steel Frame Construction
Steel frame construction used to be primarily used for large, simple structures, such as garages, large agricultural buildings and warehouses – as well as high-rise buildings. This is how steel frame construction is still understood in popular belief, but it is now also used for a wide range of other types of development, including offices, factories, schools, public buildings and some residential dwellings.
Steel frame construction is a good option for a diversity of projects for many reasons, including:
- Durability
- Affordability
- Sustainability
Structural steel components can quickly be fabricated off-site and then transported to the construction site when needed, minimising onsite labour requirements and reducing the impact of variables that can delay a project, such as adverse weather.
This aside, there are several distinct advantages to steel frame construction from the point of view of fabrication, as well as a couple of disadvantages. These will be noted below:
Advantages of Steel Frame Construction
Steel frame constructions offer the following advantages compared to brick, concrete and wooden constructions.
1) Strength & Durability
Structural steel components are lighter and stronger than weight-bearing wood or concrete products. A typical weight-bearing steel fabrication is 30% to 50% lighter than a wooden equivalent. This makes steel frame construction far stronger and more durable than traditional wood framed alternatives.
2) Easy Fabrication In Different Sizes
Steel studs are available in a variety of sizes and can be fabricated order. This means they can be customised to bear specific loads in buildings of all different types and sizes.
3) Fire Resistance
Steel frame constructions are highly resistant to fire, reducing the fire risk to a building and retarding the spread of a fire should one occur. Special flame retardant coatings act to increase this property of structural steel.
4) Pest & Insect Resistant
Structural steel components are immune to the degrading effects of burrowing insects and mammals – which can cause a problem for wooden framework unless adequately treated.
5) Moisture & Weather Resistance
Structural steel can have good moisture resistant properties, depending on its carbon content. Hot zinc coating and extra powder treatments for enhanced rust resistance will make a structural steel component even more immune to the effects of water – an important consideration for components exposed to the weather.
The Disadvantages of Steel Frame Construction
Steel frame constructions do have a couple of disadvantages, the most regularly cited being:
1) Thermal Conductivity
Steel is not known for its warmth, due to its high efficiency in conducting heat. The insulation value of walls can be reduced by as much as half when heat is transferred away through steel studs, which is not good news for energy retention in a building. Where steel frame construction is used, insulation measures need to be put in place to counteract the thermal conductivity of steel.
2) Reduced Flexibility On Site
One of the benefits of using wooden structural components is the ability to adjust them on site. A component can be cut down to size, nails hammered in to strengthen the join and so on. This obviously can’t happen with steel. The measurements of steel need to be precisely calculated in advance, because a steel fabrication is delivered to site in its final form, ready to be slotted into the building. This is of course one of the big advantages of steel, but if the fabrication has resulted in an inaccurate component for whatever reason, the project may be held up while the framework is sent back to the workshop for adjustment. You can avoid this issue by working with a fabrication company such as GLW, where we take a consultative approach to accuracy and measurements from the very beginning, to avoid any unpleasant surprises on site.
3) Supporting Structures
Steel frame constructions rarely work on their own. They usually require drywall, sheathing, insulation and supplementary wooden components to bring a building together. In the opinion of some construction businesses, this longer construction time is an argument against steel frame constructions, although usually the time savings outweigh any adjustments that need to be made on site.
Steel Frame Constructions For Your Project?
If you are in the planning stages of a development and want help deciding whether steel frame construction is a good choice for you, please get in touch with one of our engineers today. We can talk you through your different fabrication options and explain how structural steel fabrications can increase the sturdiness of your building, reduce building costs and cut construction time.
For a guide to working with subcontractors on structural steel fabrication, please download our new guide: How To Ensure Quality, Compliance & Lead Time When Hiring Steel Fabrication Companies. With sections covering legal compliance, metal finishing, selecting a fabrication partner and common mistakes to avoid; a complimentary copy of the e-book can be accessed by clicking here.