The Beauty of Steel!  Why Lumber is a Loser!

Commercial builders and architects agree that steel is a superior building material over lumber. The moisture content of lumber, even kiln dried lumber, leaves chance to drying, warping, twisting and splitting as moisture dissipates. In the competitive nature of things, lumber is a loser. Taking the lime light, steel wins every time.  Fire? Steel wins. Dry rot, mold,  mildew and termites?  Steel wins. Building in the rain and melting snow? Wood loses. Steel wins. How about hurricanes and earthquakes?  Consistent in its weight yet lighter than lumber, a light gauge steel stud is multiple times stronger than wood!

The good builders worthy goal may be to provide a more cost effective, energy efficient, longer lasting, healthier and better built home. Steel allows for all of this with gleaming attributes. Steel stud framing, with its ductile, seismic and tensile strength superiority “... is some 20 times stronger than lumber in every way,” according to Nabil Taha, Ph.D. Precision Structural Engineering.  He further states, “It creates long lasting and safe stability like no other material used in building.”

This fire resistant house in East Medford is framed completely out of steel.

A serious arson fire was started in this garage which included a vehicle (since hauled away) It took approximately 500 degrees for 1 hour to sag this steel. However the fire was contained and the house still stands today completely remodeled.

If this was a stick built house it would be completely gone.