ISSUE OF CONCERN

STEEL

  WOOD

 Dimensional Property and stability

 Consistent quality, exact dimensions.

Steel does not rot, shrink -or warp.

 Inconsistent quality. Wood shrinks, warps which causes movement.

 Price

 Volatile wood prices make steel more predictable. Steel is competitively priced and prices are stable.

 Erratic price and quality. Low material costs (at times).

 Indoor air quality

 Steel is inert, wood releases terpene and treated wood contains toxins.

 Untreated wood causes no problem to people.

 Thermal efficiency

 Steel's thermal performance is poor, but can be resolved by adding exterior insulation or other modification

 Wood in naturally low in conductivity. It insulates well.

 Insect resistance

 Steel is not attractive to insects.

 Wood attract& termites.

Preservative-treated wood in safe and effective.

 Recycling or Disposal

 Steel in recyclable. Magnetically separated easily.

 Treated wood is not biodegradable. Non-treated wood is biodegradable. Wood may be salvaged and roused.

 Hurricane and Earthquake

  Steel can be engineered to sustain high-speed wind and seismic loads.

Lighter weight of structure reduces damage.

 Wood can also be designed to take greater loads, but it makes the structure very heavy.

 Fire Performance

Steel does not burn. However, steel losses its strength at high temperatures.

Wood is easily combustible.

 Building Codes

 Stool framing codes are not standardized.

 Wood codes are well established.

 Construction Waste

 Members are available in a variety of pro-cut, custom and standard shapes and sizes. minimizing construction waste. 

 The wastage of wood ranges from about 10-20% as compared to steel which is about 1-3 %, which can be sold as scrap and recycled.