Steel sided and framed homes.

ponykilr

Guest
Does anyone have experience with steel framed on slab homes with steel siding? I guess it is a relatively new thing, crossing over from commercial construction.

I read that the studs can bleed heat both directions unless some type of thermal break is incorporated. Spray insulation may be a good add on.

Cost has come down, is it comparable to wood per sq ft now?

We want to build something similar to this, open floor plan except for loft with kitchen and bath under loft area. Maybe not the huge windows, but plenty of windows and the ones up high as well.

Maybe around 1000 - 1200 square feet of floor area not including loft area. Porches down both sides.

Any thoughts by those with experience appreciated.



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Not sure if it’s really what you’re looking for @ponykilr but in my area and into Texas they have what’s called Barndominiums (think barn+ condominium) some of the floor plans are STUNNING!! When the wife and I were looking at places in N.C. I inquired if anything like that existed and I was met with blank stares. If we ever move (Fod I hope not) we may buy property and make it happen.
 
We’re in the process of buying property owned by friends in the mountains and intend to move there permanently in a couple of years. We like the almost zero maintenance of the steel and the strength.
 
ponykilr said:
Does anyone have experience with steel framed on slab homes with steel siding? I guess it is a relatively new thing, crossing over from commercial construction.

I read that the studs can bleed heat both directions unless some type of thermal break is incorporated. Spray insulation may be a good add on.

Cost has come down, is it comparable to wood per sq ft now?

We want to build something similar to this, open floor plan except for loft with kitchen and bath under loft area. Maybe not the huge windows, but plenty of windows and the ones up high as well.

Maybe around 1000 - 1200 square feet of floor area not including loft area. Porches down both sides.

Any thoughts by those with experience appreciated.



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I had a buddy try to go this route in the last year. He found it very difficult to find a bank to finance because there aren’t “comparable” homes to set the value. He ended up going traditional home construction. It was the same for me back in 2006 when I built my home. I wanted a log cabin in Shelby, NC. Banks effectively told me “NO!” Went brick instead.
 
ncpartsguy said:
Look at MLS# 211938. Drop me a pm with an email and I'll send a link.
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I love that. Not sure if I love it 1.3 mil, but definitely could see my family in a house like that.

My wife and I have wanted a barn home ever since we saw pics of one social media. Sand Creek Post and Beam is her go to site to dream about them.

Duane
 
BigSouth said:
I had a buddy try to go this route in the last year. He found it very difficult to find a bank to finance because there aren’t “comparable” homes to set the value. He ended up going traditional home construction. It was the same for me back in 2006 when I built my home. I wanted a log cabin in Shelby, NC. Banks effectively told me “NO!” Went brick instead.
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With log houses the biggest thing is no companies want to insure them now


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I don’t see any real benefit to going with metal stud construction. You can do metal siding on wood studs, and you wont find very many residential contractors who know how to build with metal studs correctly or have subs that can do it.


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Loganwayne said:
With log houses the biggest thing is no companies want to insure them now


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Why is this? Is it for new construction only, or does that apply to the sale of an existing cabin? Planning for the future and would like to understand this further.
 
tlucier said:
Why is this? Is it for new construction only, or does that apply to the sale of an existing cabin? Planning for the future and would like to understand this further.
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Existing parents have been in same cabin 20 years last 5 years they have been dropped coverage 8 times.

New construction log cabins are pretty much gone now when nc went to new energy code.


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Loganwayne said:
Existing parents have been in same cabin 20 years last 5 years they have been dropped coverage 8 times.

New construction log cabins are pretty much gone now when nc went to new energy code.


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Is there a reason why the insurance companies have dropped their coverage? What's driving it? (asks the flatlander... :rolleyes:)
 
BigSouth said:
I had a buddy try to go this route in the last year. He found it very difficult to find a bank to finance because there aren’t “comparable” homes to set the value. He ended up going traditional home construction. It was the same for me back in 2006 when I built my home. I wanted a log cabin in Shelby, NC. Banks effectively told me “NO!” Went brick instead.
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No banks in the southeast will finance a metal "Morton/Butler style" building for residence. It's not considered "traditional residential construction" and they just won't do it.
If you have a primary traditional home on the same site, and OWN it, you can mortgage that against the building. But they will only loan money against it if it's a business (see also mechanic garage, stables, trailer sales....etc)



I'm not using metal studs, but building a garage with a 1,056sq ft (correction: 1122 sqft) "apartment" very soon (trusses arrive April 13th)

elev.JPG


8x8 Post construction
MFG truss
14ft spans
2x6 roof purlins @ 24"
corrugated metal roofing
2x6 horizontal girts @ 24"
corrugated metal siding
Lick and stick stone
insulated garage with 4 tons cooling/heating
 
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Loganwayne said:
you wont find very many residential contractors who know how to build with metal studs correctly or have subs that can do it.

There are commercial subs that don't know how to frame with metal studs too! LOL

If you did a continuous insulation the metal studs wont transfer the delta in temp. Many commercial buildings now have rigid insulation as a "skin" under the final finish (brick, metal paneal, EIFS etc) with no breaks in the envelope instead of using batt insulation in the framing cavity.
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CasterTroy said:
I'm not using metal studs, but building a garage with a 1,056sq ft "apartment" very soon (trusses arrive April 13th)
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Did you do any sort of cost analysis vs conventional stick? Very curious to know how your numbers worked out.
 
Kynar and powerdcoated steel cladding and zinc cladding are nothing new in high-end modern houses, and it sounds like structural steel studs are catching on. I think the structural steel studs are pretty cool, but that's mostly because I can't stand the variability of wood (warp, twist, bow, etc). I think the engineered wood studs are pretty cool for the same reasons (and also on the rise with higher-end houses), but also expensive.

That house in the picture is a style, not really a construction method though. You can do the same thing with a wood stick frame and board-and-batten siding, just changing the batten size for the extra depth. The one thing that's cool about the metal siding is that it appears to be continuous length at the building height, so you don't have a drip edge reveal at the 8 or 10 foot height (where horizontal panel edges butt together) like you would with standard sheet goods. Well, and I'm sure the factory coated steel is probably lower maintenance than painted fiber cement and wood battens. All I'm saying is that there's nothing in that picture that was suddenly made possible by using steel studs or steel siding. It's a modern farmhouse, which is very trendy right now.

The thermal bridging problem between studs and siding is easily solved, and is already done all the time with wood stick frame construction in energy efficient housing, and of course in commercial construction.

Also, many types of stud cavity insulation are available in widths that are adjusted for steel studs, so if you want mineral wool or whatever you just buy a different width SKU number because it fits in a deeper cavity into the stamped/formed section.


I'm not sure how metal compares to wood for thermal bridging, I'll have to look that up out of curiosity.. On the one hand, you have highly conductive metal, but the cross section is very small (in the stud cavity direction) because it's a stamped/formed sheet product. Then you would get into thermal gradients along the stud section and the insulation depth, and the normal stuff about heat sink fins.
On the other hand, wood is much less conductive, but has a completely solid cross section.
 
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Loganwayne said:
From what he said they think logs are a higher risk for fire and total loss


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I read somewhere that they are an insurance nightmare after a fire even if it's a fire that's quickly contained. Once you char a log it's hard to fix it properly without replacing it.
 
awheelterd said:
I read somewhere that they are an insurance nightmare after a fire even if it's a fire that's quickly contained. Once you char a log it's hard to fix it properly without replacing it.
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My dad build dove tail log cabins for 40 years and did restoration work on old antique cabins. During that time I helped him take 3 cabins down that were on fire. From the outside nothing looks wrong. Inside whole house is gone and only logs remain, but once they are charred your tearing it down


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