* Behavior in fire :
Walls are classified type FR (non-combustible).
External and internal walls are assessed as having a 30 minute fire-resistance rating.
* Thermal Performance :
The thermal performance without insulated ceilings will be inferior to that of the Standard Brick House.
Light Steel Frame houses are building with 75 mm Isotherm, insulated in ceilings that will perform better than the Standard Brick House. The energy required to heat a Light Steel Frame house without ceiling insulation will be up to 1,5 times that required to heat the Standard Brick House, however with 75 mm of Isotherm fitted energy heating requirements could drop to about half that required to heat the Standard Brick House.
* Condensation :
When uninsulated ceilings are fitted, condensation performance will be similar to that found in the Standard Brick House, However when 75 mm Isotherm insulation is fitted above ceilings performance will be superior to that expected to occur in the Standard Brick House.
* How does steel compare to wood? :
This is easily the most commonly asked question. First of all, wood is an organic material. It was a living organism. When wood is cut, the wood begins to decompose. During this drying process, wood may warp or twist affecting the structural integrity of your home.
Did you know that it can take as long as 5 years for a piece of wood to complete dry out?
Steel, on the other hand, is a mineral. Its strength and dimensions are absolutely consistent. Steel will stay where you put it, for as long as you leave it there. Since steel is lighter, stronger, and consistent, your home will last for generations.
It is unfair to compare wood framing to a Light Steel Home.
Wood frame homes are not engineered to withstand earthquakes of Seismic Zone 4. Wood frame homes do not have 8-inch exterior walls or R-30 insulation. Simply put, steel is a stronger and more durable material than wood.
* Does the Steel Transfer Heat & Cold? :
Yes. Insulation companies performed energy efficiency on steel framing and found that when a steel home is insulated properly, the transfer can be reduced or eliminated. One of the important differences between Light Steel framing systems and prescriptive steel framing that replaces wood studs with steel studs is that the Light Steel homes have 8-inch thick walls and can use 9-inch, R-30 insulation.
Also, because the Tri-Steel steel framing system uses 4-foot and 8-foot centers rather than the 16-inch to 24-inch centers of prescriptive steel framing, thermal transference is not a problem for us. Additionally, we recommend using house wrap to enhance the building envelope even further. In short, your Light Steel home will not have a problem with heat and cold transfer.
* Is Steel Energy Efficient? :
In short, yes. Light Steel Home owners experience significant reductions in their heating and air conditioning bills. Many find that once their homes are heated or cooled, it takes much less energy to keep the home at a desirable temperature.
*Does the Steel interfere with Radio & TV Reception? :
The short answer is NO. If you understand the electronic properties of Radio and TV waves, you know that they pass right through.
*Do steel homes attract lightning? :
No. Actually steel homes are safer in a lightning storm than a wood frame home. Wood is a poor conductor of electricity, offering so much resistance to passage of electricity that a part of the current from a lightning strike may flash out and strike any nearby object. Since wood can not conduct electricity effectively, it tends to superheat the moisture still resident inside the framing causing an explosion or fire. That is why it isn't safe to stand beneath a tree in a thunderstorm. Steel framed homes from Light Steel are grounded and offer a perfect path for lightning to pass harmlessly to the ground.
The Lightning Protection Institute, which assesses the risk of lightning striking a building, concludes that a steel framed structure which is electrically continuous from roof to frame is "highly unlikely to suffer lightning damage, while a wood-framed house with a wood roof would be at greatest risk."
*Will my home look different than the rest in my development? :
No. In fact, because of steel's strength you can design your home with larger open spaces. With a steel frame, the walls will remain straight and true and can be finished with the same materials traditionally used.
*Will my home look different than the rest in my development? :
No. In fact, because of steel's strength you can design your home with larger open spaces. With a steel frame, the walls will remain straight and true and can be finished with the same materials traditionally used.
*What about cost? :
The price of steel has been relatively constant over the last decade. While the price of traditional framing materials has been erratic and growing at a rate much faster than inflation, steel prices have only experienced small quarterly adjustments. Builders interviewed nationwide have affirmed that framing with steel is commonly less expensive than traditional framing.
*Will my home rust? :
The use of Red Oxide painted and galvanized steel frame components protect your home against rust. Mittle also gave 50 year warranty if your house is 500 meters from the see.
*Will I be able to remodel my home? :
Yes, since steel framing allows for larger spans, a home can be designed without interior load-bearing partitions, making it easier for homeowners to complete alterations without affecting the structure.
*How do I attach pictures to the wall? :
It is very easy to attach pictures and artwork inside a Light Steel home. The most common approach is to use mollies and screws. And it is quite easy to find the studs using a magnet.
*How do I put up molding and trim? :
Molding and other trim is easily attached to the wall with screws and glue-adhesive.
*Will I be able to sell my home? :
Your home does not need to look any different than your neighbors and should sell just as easily. Because of steel's high strength and durability your home should last and retain its value for a long time. In fact, if you take advantage of steel's strength and flexibility by designing wide open spaces, you will have additional selling features.
*Can I invest in Light Steel House? :
Light Steel is a growing company with many different business opportunities. If you have a serious investment interest, please contact us by telephone at 082 876 0474
*Benefits of Steel :
If you’re like most people, a home is a large and important purchase decision. At Light Steel Frame Houses, our mission is to help protect the largest investment of your lifetime.
Light Steel Homes use steel instead of wood for the structural system. The result is an attractive home with a strong, safe framework that is built to last. Because of the unique properties of steel, our homes provide added protection from mould, termites and natural disasters including tornadoes, earthquakes, fires and hurricanes.
You can count on Light Steel Frame Houses to be pre-engineered and manufactured to exact specifications. With a Light Steel Home, you will enjoy unique design options, substantial savings in energy and maintenance costs, often higher resale value, and the peace of mind that your largest investment is well protected
*Benefits of Steel :
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*Light Steel Frame Houses Insulation :
*Cladding :
*Roofing :
*Innovative home building
Building your own home is far more stressful than buying one. However, there are several construction products on the market that can make the process easier and more cost-effective. Here are four alternatives to conventional bricks and mortar.
Any construction project is a significant investment in time, materials and resources. This is why more owner-builders are educating themselves about alternatives. At the same time, builders and property developers are also recognizing that, by continuing to use the same materials and methods that have always been used, they are not addressing the problem of high building costs. The ideal alternative material offers design flexibility,
environmental responsibility, energy efficiency, long-term structural integrity, durability and lower home-operation costs. It is along these criteria that we have isolated the following methods. Apart from timber-frame houses, maintenance costs and requirements for the other three methods are similar to those for conventionally built homes. Foundations are standard across all processes.
*STEEL-FRAME HOUSING
Right: Lightweight steel-frame housing has evolved to be the dominant means of construction for domestic housing in many countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.
Lightweight steel-framed housing was developed in the United States during the 1970s in response to similar issues as those currently affecting the South African building industry: productivity, quality control and availability of skilled trade labour. Even though lightweight steel framing is widely used in half a dozen countries, it is a relatively new process in South Africa. A completed home utilizing an internal steel frame is virtually indistinguishable from homes erected using standard methods. The quality of construction can, in most cases, be superior to that of bricks-and-mortar structures.
Steel-frame housing involves modular construction in which sections of a complete home are built in the factory and then erected on site, often without the need for cranes. Houses are then clad with face brick, plastered brick (single- or double-brick layers), plasterboard, timber or corrugated steel.
*Advantages
Steel-framed homes can be produced and built to precise specifications in a controlled environment using computer-assisted design and manufacturing technology. These homes can therefore be custom designed to include almost any variety of features or architectural preferences. Once the homes have been transported to the site, walls can be erected within hours. Unlike the problems that occur in bricks-and-mortar homes, walls will not only be perfectly straight and square, they will also be precisely positioned according to drawings. This will make it easier and quicker to lay tiles accurately and complete internal carpentry work, thus representing major savings in labour.
*Applications
Often building sites have inherent problems such as extreme gradients. Steel-frame structures offer greater structural integrity in these instances.
Comparative savings
Steel-frame building could represent a 10% saving on the overall project cost and a 14% saving on the builders' cost. Unlike a conventional home, a steel-frame home can be erected in 40% less time, using 40% less labour. This is largely due to concurrent trade activity: follow-on trades (plumbers, electricians,
carpenters) can work under cover sooner. You will save somewhere around 15% on building a single-storey home and as much as 25% on a double-storey home. The reduced contract duration, site resources, supervision and labour costs could end up representing a saving of around R85 000 on a R600 000 home.
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