Non-Traditional Structural Materials Are Gaining Favor Among Forward-Thinking BuildersConsider the Alternatives

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The question is whether SIPs manufacturers are ready for a larger wave of demand from the housing industry. "We're seeing more demand, but there aren't experienced and qualified contractors in the field to install it," says Al Cobb, director of SIP School, an outreach education and training effort based in Shenandoah Junction, W.Va.

Like ICFs, the SIPs industry also is still grappling with its supply chain model. Bill Wachtler, executive director of the Structural Insulated Panel Association in Gig Harbor, Wash., isn't aware of any lumberyards currently stocking SIPs, though some may be acting as distributors or middlemen. "I could see a customer ordering SIPs as an option when purchasing a house package [from a dealer], but not walking down an aisle and picking out a panel," he says.

"At a lumberyard, you can just swing by and grab a few sticks from the pile when you need them," says Gary Pugh, a SIPs builder in Santa Rosa, Calif. "With SIPs, you have to think about them long before you start building."

Although Wachtler can envision LBM dealers one day supplying SIPs, the most likely scenario is one in which manufacturers sell their systems through existing component manufacturers. Until then, builders are left to look for the best SIPs they can find and afford, often going out of market to get them.

Indeed, whether it's overcoming distribution hurdles or learning new installation techniques, alternative systems such as ICFs and SIPs require builders to shift some of their thinking. But an increasing number are finding that the benefits of these methods outweigh the initial adjustments.

Structural Steel Framing
The primary difference between non-load-bearing steel channels and studs used for interior wall framing and those used for structural steel components and assemblies is the gauge (or thickness) of the material. Load-bearing sections are typically 16- to 20-gauge, while so-called drywall studs and related components are 24- or 26-gauge. Steel framing components are galvanized and considered "light-gauge," and are cold-formed as opposed to hot-rolled steel I-beams and other heavy-gauge components.

During the past 20-plus years, steel framing's market share in single-family residential reached as high as 1.2% in 2000, per NAHB's calculations. As of 2006, however, it stood a half percentage point below that, thanks in large part to lower composite lumber prices and spiking global steel costs. That's a far cry from its estimated 38% share of the commercial construction market, according to the Steel Framing Alliance (SFA) in Washington.

But steel proponents and manufacturers see greater potential for the product in housing, pointing to specific geographic markets, such as Hawaii and the desert Southwest, and multifamily construction, where acceptance and use is significantly higher among home builders. "Steel framing is a relatively new entrant in the residential segment, but one in which there is an opportunity to generate three times the demand [compared to commercial]," says SFA president Larry Williams, referring to the greater number of homes of all types versus non-residential buildings constructed each year.

Steel's advantages over wood include a higher strength-to-weight ratio that enables longer spans at smaller dimensions, the net effect of which is more-open floor plans and greater resistance to high wind and seismic loads. Steel also is inorganic and of consistent quality end-to-end, meaning it won't warp, twist, rot, or otherwise react to climate changes in application. Steel is non-combustible, and it's resistant to termites and other wood-boring pests.

Once you get a steel frame erected, in fact, it looks like a shiny wood frame, with the telltale wall studs, roof trusses, and bracing you'd likely see with lumber. It sheathes and finishes with the same materials, requiring little, if any, changes in those specs. And, unlike other alternatives, steel has a long track record of code acceptance and a contractor-training infrastructure through the SFA and other trade associations and unions, albeit primarily serving commercial framers and drywallers to date. Material prices historically were stable until 2004, when global demand doubled the material's price in a few short months, from which the industry is still recovering.