Build Your Retirement Home Out of Steel

Are you getting ready to build your retirement home soon? This article covers the pros and cons of building a steel framed home. A retirement home should be something that is low maintenance and lasts a long time. Learn how steel can help you build a sturdy and durable home that your children can inherit.

Pros

• Built for generations – galvanized steel frames are built to last
• Low maintenance cost – rest easy
• Engineered for strength – designed to your spec

Cons

• Cost – invest in the future
• Labor – not as common as wood frame

Built For Generations

Galvanized steel frames offer a best in class solution for building a home that is designed to last. All the metal is coated in zinc which makes it very resistant to rust. This eliminates the typical damage that rotting wood may have. Additionally, termites are not able to eat steel. So if you are in a location that has issues with termites and high base flood elevations, then consider building your retirement home out of steel so that you don’t have to deal with those issues.

Steel frame buildings also fire resistant. Steel does not ignite or burn, so you can rest easy knowing that your building will handle fires well. Additionally, the way steel frame buildings are built is usually with screws or welding. This also adds a lot of strength because all the connections are positive screwed connections. This means that metal frame buildings tend to preform better than wood equivalents in strong winds.

Low Maintenance Cost

This article by New Home Source describes some of the things that retired people look for in a home. Among there list is low maintenance homes. Most retired people don’t want to be spending their retirement fixing their home. It’s costly and annoying work. Because of high strength fasteners and since metal studs are not susceptible to water damage, the long term maintenance cost is brought down. If your bathroom or laundry room accidentally floods, it’s very easy to clean.

Continued pest control is not required when you build out of steel because termites will not eat steel. These things may not be issues when you first build a home, but over time they add up and make a big difference. Additionally, if you are in a high wind or storm area, steel studs will keep your building intact and safe.

Engineered For Strength

Did you know that when you build a steel frame home it will be specifically engineered for your specifications and requirements of your local jurisdiction? Engineers will check and make sure that the building components meet or exceed the local expected wind loads and natural other loads. Furthermore, if you want it to be even sturdier than that, the engineers can build it to your specifications. These buildings are custom designed to make you safe and secure from high strength winds in storms and hurricanes.

Also, in terms of quality, steel frame buildings tend to enable higher quality craftsmanship because steel does not warp of expand with moisture. It is typically easier to install drywall flat on steel frames instead of wood frames. Also, steel frames enable longer unbroken spans compared to wood frames.

Cost

Sometimes steel frame buildings are cheaper than wood frame buildings, but most of the time steel frames are not cheaper. This is because the base material to build a steel frame building is more expensive than wood. That being said, you need to evaluate if the durability and future proofing of steel frame is worth the extra cost on your budget. Definitely, a steel frame building will be worth it if you risk flooding or termites or high wind scenarios. It is definitely more expensive to build or rebuild a building than to just build it out of steel.

Labor

It can be difficult to find labor for steel frame buildings. The people who typically build steel frame buildings are in the commercial space. That being said, they will produce high quality work because commercial tends to warrant more detailed workers. On the other hand, builders who are familiar with steel frame are usually dedicated to making it work, so if you can find one of them then you are in good hands. We have a local builder named Javis Noel who has built a lot of steel frame buildings.

Check out our other article on why DIY steel frame buildings.