Cold formed steel framing manual how to#

Williams says it is one of the key reasons why the Steel-Doing It Right program was put together. 'With higher land costs, developers are trying to get as much return on their investment as possible,РІР‚Сњ he says. For instance, steel framing can go up quicker, especially when it is panelized, and it can be built to greater heights than wood, explains Larry Williams, president of the Steel Framing Alliance. It might seem like a headache and a half, but the advantages of cold-formed steel often outweigh the extra groundwork required.

Cold formed steel framing manual how to#

But because of the seminar, we now know how to approach this problem.РІР‚Сњ 'We have turned down jobs because of lack of proper design, information and drawings. Wells, estimator for Liverpool, N.Y.РІР‚вЂњbased Truax & Hovey Ltd., says while he knew the value of a specialty structural engineer before he took the course, the instructors hammered home how important it is. Wells, a recent student in the Steel-Doing It Right program. It takes much longer to cut a cold-formed metal framing member, and fastening it requires welding or screwing, explains David

Many building codes provide detailed specifications on various wood products so the contractor doesnРІР‚в„ўt require an engineer. Wood framing, by comparison, is a piece of cake. 'They need a specialty engineer to do this, and the answers they get from him are probably vastly different from what they estimated.РІР‚Сњ 'There are no load tables and things of that nature for steel in most conditions that the average person (contractor) can figure out,РІР‚Сњ Boyd explains. One of the big distinctions between the wood and cold-formed steel framing in most residential and commercial applications is that the latter requires a set of engineered drawings produced by a specialty engineer. Many contractors simply donРІР‚в„ўt realize how different it is from wood framing. Patrick Boyd Consulting Engineers, Garland, Texas, says contractor ignorance about CFS is widespread. 'WeРІР‚в„ўre trying to be ahead of the curve in steel framing.РІР‚СњР”В«oyd, an engineer and sole proprietor of J. 'We had the same types of (installation) problems with EIFS that we are seeing in industry, but we did not address the EIFS problems until after the mistakes started showing up and the whole industry took a dive because of it,РІР‚Сњ explains Pat Boyd, one of two of Steel-Doing It RightРІР‚в„ўs instructors.

The goal is to educate and alert students to the kind of pitfalls they may face with CFS. ThatРІР‚в„ўs why the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry and the Steel Framing Alliance teamed up to provide the industry with the Steel-Doing It Right program. The cold-formed steel (CFS) framing industry hopes to avoid a lot of those kinds of growing pains.

Perception problems set that industry back on its heels in its formative years, and it took years to regroup with educational marketing to build up the solid following it has today. Anyone who worked with exterior insulation and finish systems a couple decades back knows that all too well.