For many hobby builders who plan to build a house with their own hands, wood is the first choice. What could be more charming than a traditional house with wood on the outside that blends in with the surroundings and the character and warmth of the wood on the inside? However, many people fail to realize that not only can the wood look be easily achieved with a steel frame home, but that there are significant advantages to using steel. Steel is termite proof, will not rot, and will not warp or shrink. A steel frame can be purchased as an unassembled kit which is much easier for a hobbyist to build than a wooden frame, and is a huge money saver.
A steel frame is not affected by termites. Even if a house is neglected and termites enter the wood from the outside or inside, the house will not be destroyed. Damaged wood can be replaced and the structural integrity of the house will not be lost. Properly treated steel will last for many years. Steel roofing sheets are treated with a protective coating that allows them to be exposed to all weathers for years before they deteriorate. The steel of a home frame has a similar protective coating and is of course protected from the elements. Wood can be successfully treated for termites and rot, but steel doesn’t need the chemicals many people worry about.
In most places, while the frame of a house is being built, it often gets wet in the rain and then dries in the sun. This exposure to the weather can cause wooden wall frames to warp. Warping can cause problems later on windows, doors, and internal trim. A steel frame will stay straight and true no matter the weather. There is a myth that a steel frame house is noisy because it contracts and expands as the temperature changes. This aspect of a steel house has been greatly exaggerated, and a properly designed steel frame is not noisy.
A hobby builder who wants to build the frame of a house out of wood can do it in two ways. The biggest money saver, but the most work, is building the frame on site, just like a professional builder would. This approach requires a fairly high skill level to cut and assemble a large number of pieces of wood. Many hobbyists find this approach too challenging and instead purchase a kit house in which the wall and roof framing is supplied in ready-made sections. This option is a lot less work, but it costs a lot more. Some steel framing manufacturers offer a different option. They supply a non-assembled frame kit that the builder assembles on site. All individual pieces of wall framing, ceiling beams and, if required, a steel sub-floor on stumps, are delivered cut to size with pre-drilled holes. There’s no measuring or cutting to do, and the builder just has to bolt the pieces together. Each piece is marked with a code showing which section of the house it belongs to and its exact position, and there is a plan of each section for the builder to follow. This option is much faster and requires much less skill than building a wooden structure. Although it costs more than building a wood frame on site, it is much cheaper than buying a kit house with pre-cast walls and ceiling joists.
When the steel frame of the house is assembled and the roof is placed, all the usual wood finishes can be applied inside and out. For example, the traditional wooden plank can be screwed to the steel structure in a similar way to how it is nailed to a wooden structure. Inside, any type of wood finish that can be used on a wood frame can be attached to a steel frame. The result has the look and appeal of a frame house, with the advantages of a steel frame that is completely hidden.