Building with steel: Strong and sustainable

British Columbia can get some pretty severe weather – from rain, sleet and snow, to everything in between. Our West Coast weather can really take a toll on our homes. But there is a building material that stands up to water, wind and bugs: Steel. Stronger than wood, it’s fire resistant and bug proof.

When Liwell Properties decided to frame its newest four-storey condominium project, Copper Beech in Kelowna, they chose steel.

“The developer chose steel versus wood because they wanted to have a higher-end finished product available to consumers in Kelowna,” says JP Letnick, a real estate professional at Letnick Estates. “This will be one of the only low-rise steel frame condos in the Okanagan.”

Compared to wood-framed homes, steel is “a better building material, strong (three times the strength to weight ratio of wood), durable and it doesn’t warp, crack, split, nor is it combustible,” says Carly Crough, director of business development at LifeTec Construction Group, the company that framed Copper Beech.

“At LifeTec, we use cold form steel (CFS), a lighter gauge steel, which is different than the traditional hot steel that you might see in construction,” Crough explains. “CFS delivers many advantages in the construction of wall panels, floor joists, roof trusses, and structural walls as well.”

Another real advantage of steel is to the builder’s bottom line. During the framing stage when a house is exposed to the weather, a wood frame gets wet, and takes time to dry out.

“If the building gets wet, builders have to wrap it and dry it out before they can continue, resulting in time wasted,” says Crough. “Later, after the building is completed, there can be signs of the wood drying by cracks appearing and nails popping as the building settles. That will cost builders a lot of time and money to correct.”

Consequently, steel stands out for its speed and efficiency in construction.

Because moisture doesn’t seep into steel studs, installation is much faster and there is minimal expansion and contraction of construction materials around doors and windows where leaks can occur.

Yet a completed steel-framed house looks just like its wood-framed neighbours.

‘’Steel framing is compatible with other building products,” says Crough. “You can install such features as wooden windows, doors and mouldings and use any exterior finish. Both the exterior and interior of the house or building will have a very traditional appearance.’’

Its advantages don’t end there. Since steel framing stays straight and resists warping, and as the price of construction-grade lumber rises as the supply shrinks, steel becomes very cost effective. Materials can be pre-cut to desired lengths so there is almost no waste, which translates into more savings.

However, in B.C., where “sustainability” is nearly a religion, one of steel’s most important advantages is environmental. Steel not only gets bragging rights as the world’s most recycled material, it also generates no off-gassing and does not require toxic chemicals to prevent depletion.

“On-site waste is reduced to less than one per cent and job sites are kept clean from sawdust,” says Crough, adding LifeTec uses between 20 to 25 per cent recycled raw steel. “It lasts longer than wood – in fact, CFS has no degradation in residential framing, and therefore can last 200 years versus 20 years for wood.”

The need for skilled resources to build a structure is primarily in the design stage and less so on-site.

“As 90 per cent of the process is completed before materials ever reach a building site, LifeTec can typically erect a structure in 25 per cent of the time that it would take to build in wood or concrete,” adds Crough.