Ask Kevin: Steel vs. wood
16 Jan '07 from Kevin Contreras
Hello Kevin,
I stumbled across your site and was impressed with its polish. I applaud your efforts and wish you success.
I hope you will address how using steel frame in a straw bale virtually erases the green benefits of straw, however. The embodied energy in the manufacture of steel is huge, and makes your green project a paler green. It will take you decades to pay back in energy efficiency the energy debt you incurred by using steel. And since you are teaching about building green, other builders or owners might be misled into thinking steel is the way to go.
Now, conscious choices are better than unconscious ones, and it looks as though your project has a lot to offer. I would simply suggest that you address your use of steel in this project and recommend against it for your viewers.
Thanks for your time,
John
John,
You are right, steel framing is quite high in embodied energy. We really had a dilemma there. It’s one of those decisions that has to be made at the time of building. As we say in the show, wood is the better alternative, but because we are in earthquake country, we would easily have used as much wood as a conventional builder to provide the structural support required by our building codes. And we really wanted to infill the full length of the walls with bales for the best insulation. Also, steel was inexpensive at the time. The steel package cost me half of what the wood package would have. Now, however, the prices are quite comparable.
We could have done things differently if we had built a single storey house in a less earthquake prone area. Then, we could have built what is called a load bearing straw bale house, in which the bales provide the structural strength and use of wood is kept to interior walls and roof trusses.
My pocketbook and design sense got the better of my environmental concern on that day. When I do it again, I will do it better. Thanks for your input.
Kevin
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Steel Framed Homes
Hello Kevin
Tri-Steel Homes has provided Green Friendly standard and custom designed pre-engineered steel framing systems and materials for home builders for the past two decades and has shipped over 11,000 of our homes to customers in all 50 states and 57 nations in that time. Using steel and "finite element analysis" to design our structures we engineer our homes to resist high winds, heavy loads and seismic events up to the specifications of our customers. Our customers have reported savings in energy bills of as much as 60% of the cost they paid for energy in similar volumed homes that they owned prior to their new steel framed homes. They also report savings of as much as 30% on their home insurance bills and markedly lower maintenance bills for their homes due to the stable and true rectalinear alignment of the walls, ceilings and trusses of our steel framing designs and home construction. Tri-Steel cuts the steel pieces to fit before we deliver the frame material and label each piece for easy screw together field assembly. This saves labor cost, scrap cost that wood framing yields, and saves months of warranty call backs to the builder to correct damage that wood framing causes as it drys and twists further in the walls after sheetrock and finishing has been completed. Our many customers love their steel framed homes; especially when their homes stand up to hurricanes, tornados, fires, termites, and earthquake damage that harms homes framed with other framing systems.
I greatly appreciate what you are doing to encourage building Green and applaud the shows that you have produced that I have seen on PBS. Keep up the good work.
Jon Reynolds
CEO
Tri-Steel Homes
Dear Kevin and John
I’m not convinced that steel framing, whether post and beam as Kevin used, or the more typical steel stick framed technique, is less “green” than wood techniques when all things are considered. Given the setting, earthquake risk, codes, termite risk, etc. I think Kevin made a sound choice. Consider also the durability of this structure - it should be good for hundreds of years in some remodeled form or other. Yes, there’s a lot of embodied energy, but remember, even if the house were demolished, 99% of the steel in it could be recycled and reused at little energy cost.
Just about to start
Just about to start construction on 3500 sq. ft. home, so we cannot switch to straw bales at this late date as it is designed for 6? wall on a woodframe. Besides my husband will kill me if we delay yet again. How efficient and cost effective is radient heat over forced air propane with gas fireplaces (for effect and heat) and blue jean insulation. What rating does it have and how thick would you need it for our area. Where can we purchase and how expensive is it over traditional? Any rebates on either of these? Regarding solar, how effective is it for heating water or heating for a 3500 sq ft. home. Again, how many years to recoup cost, rebates, efficiency, price to operate compared to propane forced air. Any advice would be terrific! Love the show and I know next to nothing about construction but I am into protecting as much of the environment as we can. Thanks -Susie