Metal is emerging as a sensible alternative to wooden homes

By Judy Rose Knight Ridder Newspapers DALLAS

The 15-second commercial opens with a shot of good sized woods full of trees." To frame the average home," a voice announces, "it takes one acre of trees." The image switches. Not it's the same location, but all the trees are gone. What's left is an acre of stumps. "Or the steel in eight scrapped automobiles." what was that about? Those who have caught this quick message have seen the first salvo in a new campaign to convince you that your next house should be framed not with wood, but with steel. That commercial and some new radio ads come from the Steel Alliance, but that group is not alone. The powerful National Association of Home Builders has thrown some weight behind steel as well. It has formed a research steel as well. It has formed a research committee to iron out impediments to using steel to frame houses. The push comes after a stream of problems with the United States' most universal building material: Wood. It's currently the main framing material for 87 out of 100 American houses. Once, wood seemed like an almost unlimited resource but during the 1990's, its cost fluctuated up and down, especially up. Builders found a price they quoted their customers in December didn't apply when it came time to frame the house in march.

"It's virtually impossible to find two wood studs that are exactly the same." John Hughes

Meanwhile, the quality of standard pieces like 2-by-4 studs fell so low, many builders complained they couldn't use a third of the wood in most shipments. "It's virtually impossible to find two wood studs that are exactly the same, " said Farmington Hills builder John Hughes, a fan of steel framing. In 1993, the quality of wood fell so low and the price zoomed so high that the building industry went running for substitutes. Now wood prices have eased a little - to $10 to $12 a board foot in this area, compared to 1993 when they were 25 per cent higher. But the building industry is going ahead with its search for other materials. Two other main contenders are concrete poured into polystyrene forms and structural insulated panels (SIPs) - a sandwich of foam plastic between two layers of plywood. The gist of the argument for a steel framed house is this: Steel does not warp, rot, split or shift. It does not attract insects or burn. It doesn't expand or contract with moisture. It has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any building material. What's more, steel is the most recycled material in the world. That makes steel houses the new way save a tree, or according to that commercial, an acre of trees. At the same time, fans say, you get a better house. "When I switched from wood framing to steel framing in the early '90's," Hughes says, "my warranty problems virtually disappeared overnight." That includes the new house shifting and nails popping from the drywall. In addition, some insurance companies such as State Farm offer a home policy discount on a house in which walls, floors and roof are all steel.

One of the problems in switching to new technology and new materials is that home builders are just too busy keeping up with housing demand to stop and learn new techniques or train their tradesmen in new methods. There are other issues, too, gut the steel industry and the builders association are working to smooth them out, says Don Carr, senior researcher at the National Association of Home Builders Research Center.

They're working to standardize steel framing components the way lumber is standardized into 2-by-4's or 2-by-10's. Right now, the range of steel sizes is so great that most new house plans need to be engineered from scratch.

They're also working to draw up technical standards that will let building code enforcers rate steel houses in an informed way, so if you build a steel-framed house, they'll OK it.

The North American Steel Alliance is trying to dispel several myths about steel-framed houses:

• Myth: A steel-framed house will interfere with your TV, radio and garage door opener. Fact: No, says the alliance. There is no difference at all.

• Myth: A steel-framed house is more likely to be hit by lightning. Fact: It's no more likely to be hit, says the alliance. And if a steel - or wood-framed house is hit, the steel house is less likely to be damaged because it conducts electricity to the ground.

• Myth: A steel-framed house will rust. Fact: No, galvanizing the steel prevents that.

• Myth: It's hard to hang pictures in a steel house. Fact: Pictures are hung the same way as in a wood-framed house, by putting hangers or toggle bolts in the drywall.

Heavy items are hung from the studs, as in a wood-framed house. you find the studs with a magnet, as in a wood-framed house.

In some areas, steel-framed houses are already part of the mainstream. They caught on first in the southern and southwestern U.S., where termites are big problem.

Last month, builders in western Indiana held the first Steel Homes festival with open houses in nine steel-framed dwellings.

At the national steel firm Dale/Incor, based in Dearborn, Mich., Brad Musolf says steel construction has been slowly but surely taking over from conventional wood.

He says about 20 per cent to 25 per cent of his firm's steel building products go to residential, not commercial, building.

Metal offers complete predictability

Steel fastens together more securely because it uses screw rather than nails. The quality of steel is completely predictable. The quality of wood, such as 2-by-4 studs, has become very erratic.

Advantages

Steel does not rot, warp, split or expand and contract with moisture. Such stability means no house shifting, no nail pops, very straight walls, a sturdy house.

Steel has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any building material. Though strong, it sits lightly on the foundation. Most house-framing steel has been recycled; wood is a one-use product. Steel can be recycled after the house is torn down.

The price of steel is quite stable; the price of wood bounces around, making it hard for builders to predict costs.