Replies

1. 
   Douglas_Christie | Feb 25, 2000 04:19am | #9

   *
   check out the American Iron and Steel Institute website-there is a section in the coldformed area devoted to residential. Also be aware that the same group offers a "Prescriptive Method" book on the site which will guide you through the material selection process in an informed way. It can be used for most residential housing, up to sizes that you could afford to pay someone else to build.
   AISI offers a steel framing curriculum using the Prescriptive Method. I found out about it through the Journal of Light Construction a few months ago.
   good luck, dcc

2. 
   Guest_ | Feb 29, 2000 07:02pm | #10

   *
   Steel frame homes have been around for quite a few years. The leader in this field is Tri-Steel Structures (they have been selling steel frame homes for over 23 years). I'm proud to say that I'm an independent authorized distributor for them. Steel framed homes is the Future!! If you are only interested in building yourself one, contact them for a distributor near you or if you want to be a part of this exciting future and build steel frame homes not only for yourself, but others, contact them about becoming a distributor.

   The only thing difference between a steel framed home and a wooden framed home is the structural members. Everything else is the same. The tools are a little different too. Screw guns vs nail guns, metal chop saw and snips vs circular saw and hand saw.

   There are too many advantages of steel vs wood to get into it on this board, but check out Tri-Steel's website http://www.tri-steel.com or my site http://www.steelhomesusa.com (it's not fancy right now, but we are working on it).

   Vince

3. 
   Stephen_Weber | Feb 29, 2000 09:30pm | #11

   *
   You may find the "Residential Steel Framing Manual for Architects and Builders" helpful.Find it at(www.steel.org) American Iron and Steel Instute 1 800-79steel. P.O. Box 4P..Chestertown, MD.21690

4. 
   Guest_ | Mar 02, 2000 11:03pm | #12

   *
   Hi Vice

   Thanks for the information on FFri-Steel. They were in strong contention for my personnel and future bbusies.rFri-Steelas some good people and you seem to wear a white hat, but their sales force appeared to me as an over bearing bunch that didn't have their facts straight. I also received the impression that their only concern was what they could earn by selling a structure.

   The last concern made me think that there must be some one out there with maybe not such ususedr salesman menmentality.'located someone with very similar products and a very good price. Their service quality is unknown at this time.

   culater

1. 
   Guest_ | Mar 07, 2000 06:24am | #14

   *The really sad thing about steel stud walls is that they make it nearly impossible to pay for the insulation installed in them. Even RFBI doesn't help much.-Rob

5. 
   Guest_ | Mar 07, 2000 06:24am | #13

   *
   Has anyone run across a forum that is oriented toward steel frame homes?

1. 
   Guest_ | Feb 17, 2000 03:23am | #1

   *Ken,I'm not aware of one, but I built a steel home in 1995, and if you have any questions about my experiance with it, I'd be happy to answer.John

1. 
   Guest_ | Feb 17, 2000 08:04am | #2

   *Hello JRS,Since I am planning to build a steel frame home, there are many questions. A few will be asked now:1 If you were to build another steel now, what would you do differently?2 Did you have purlins on your trusses?3 What type of decking and roof material did you use?4 What material did you use for substrate and siding? culater

1. 
   Guest_ | Feb 17, 2000 09:16am | #3

   *Hi Ken,1) I built a TriSteel home(for a customer, not for me). It consists of a red iron main frame and light guage metal studs. It goes up something like post and beam construction. The biggest thing I would do differently is bid more on the labor. ; )2) Yes, this system uses purlins. The red iron main frames form the trusses 8 ft. on center, and the purlins are 24" on center3)The roof decking was 1/2" OSB(not 7/16"), that was by spec. I actually prefer 1/2" doug fir 4 or 5 ply.4) 1/2" OSB was used for exterior sheathing. The outside wall studs were 8". Although it wasn't spec. I insisted on using 3/8 fan fold over the sheathing to create a thermal break for the screw heads(out of my pocket BTW). The front elevation was brick, and the other three sides were vinyl.I've got some pictures I'll try to post later, John

1. 
   Guest_ | Feb 17, 2000 09:27am | #4

   *Ken,Try this(it's a home page my son is setting up for me to show off some of my jobs)http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/trail/8406/steelframe.htmlWish I knew how to make it a link, John

2. 
   bullet | Feb 17, 2000 09:54pm | #5

   *here's one--http://www.steelframingalliance.com/

3. 
   Guest_ | Feb 17, 2000 11:31pm | #6

   *None of these steel framing WEB sites appear to have a forum, but perhaps you could talk them into sponsoring one:http://www.steelframingalliance.com/ http://www.teamsteel.com/ http://www.thenewsteel.org/ http://www.cfanet.com/steelhouse/index.html A fairly lengthy listing of various architecturally related links can be found at: http://architecture.miningco.com/arts/architecture/msubfor.htm or at its "parent" site:http://architecture.miningco.com/arts/architecture

4. 
   Guest_ | Feb 19, 2000 04:52am | #7

   *JRS, I am not sure what you meant on #4 "3/8 fan fold over sheating". Was the 3/8 fan fold actually glued to the OSB?The next questions concern:5 The type of insulation was used in the walls and atic?6 What type of roofing did you put on the OSB board?Looking forward to the pictures.

5. 
   Guest_ | Feb 20, 2000 12:07am | #8

   *Hi CR,Guess you have to replace all the steel that rust, therfore you have a lot of resources.thanks