Advice on buying a brand new home > General discussion

Buying a steel frame construction home

(1/2) > >>

Surfer Joe:
Has anyone bought or lived in a steel frame construction house, and what are your experiences with maintaining or repairing such a  property, heating and cooling issues and the effect on property value and increase?
Are lenders wary of giving mortgages for such properties?
Are there different sort of steel frame houses?
Is it just the frames that are metal or the actual wall sections too?
Any information or advice is appreciated.

New Home Expert:
I first built steel frame house way back in 1997 with what was then Taylor Woodrow.
It was a trail which in the end came out as too expensive.
We had issues with the build as it is a major problem to alter it if something isn't fitting on site.
Also there were issues with fixing to the frame and the staircases not fitting due to incorrect storey heights.

From a buyer's point of view a steel frame new home should be much better than timber frame -no shrinkage, steel does not rot, house less likely to catch fire, walls are not bowed etc etc

I cannot envisage the steel frame expanding and contracting with heating and cooling because of where it is and insulation.
I cant see any mortgage lender worrying about r sale value either. It will depend more on what the house looks like and where it is and how many rooms etc as with any other home. 

The few steel frame houses I built were steel frame with bracing with insulation in between and a brick outer skin and plasterboard inner skin.

Surfer Joe:
Thanks. I would be looking at older homes that are steel framed so perhaps those initial issues you mention would have been ironed out by then.

AC1979:
Compared to wood, steel has the following characteristics that make it a better building material. Steel has the best weight to strength ratio of all building materials. This determines the very high strength of steel houses. Floor spans can be longer, houses can have more floors, more open spaces can be designed. In addition, the connections of the structural elements are stronger: rivets and screws are used, instead of nails.

SCS steel structures are successfully used worldwide in seismic areas, mining damage, hurricane and tornado prone areas. Because of its light weight, steel framing is a technology that allows construction on low bearing capacity soils. Steel is also an inorganic, homogeneous material. This means there is no cracking, stretching, delamination or rotting.

The structure is not affected by changes in humidity, does not deform over time - walls and corners will stay straight all the time, and there is no cracking of drywall. Steel is also non-flammable and resistant to mildew, the structure does not need to be impregnated chemically. The SCS structure is covered with a thick layer of zinc, which completely protects against corrosion.

Finally, a small thing, but extremely important for the inhabitants of the house: partition walls are built on a much stronger steel structure SCS, and not, as in the case of wooden houses, from thin aluminum profiles.

New Home Expert:
Not all true!

Steel can and does RUST over time, especially in contact with the ground.

Steel is affected by humidity in that it is cold and condensation can form on it rust again.

Steel does expand and contract with heat, more so that other materials.

Steel can buckle and fail in a fire if not insulated.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page