Most consumers believe  that all steel frame homes are the same because they believe  all steel  is the same.  This is simply not true.   We use  only the BEST available steel  and fasteners in all of our steel  frame homes.   What makes these the BEST?    Not simply our  opinion but the ratings each of these items have.   For instance, all  of the structural steel we use is light gauge steel with a  G90 coating.  G90  is a galvanized coating that offers a superior  corrosion resistance.    Because of this, G90 coated  steel  is often mandatory  in   locations for beach  homes that  are within  about 300' of the  ocean due to  the  salt spray in  the air  and  the corrosion  it can cause on lesser coated  steel.   We offer G90 coated steel  in ALL of our homes, not just the ones near  the ocean!   Does  it cost more, yes?  The higher cost is the reason 99% of  the other  steel frame home companies out there do not use G90 steel but the  lesser grade G60 steel that offers an inferior corrosion resistance.   Similarly, regarding  fasteners, most companies use zinc plated    screws for attaching the steel frame  together.  Fasteners are rated  by 'salt testing' in the form of  hours.  Simply put,  the fasteners are placed in a   chamber and a certain  amount of  salt air is pumped into the chamber.  The   fasteners are rated  by the  number hours that go by until they begin to   corrode.   Zinc  plated fasteners have a 20 to 70 hour rating.  The fasteners  we use in ALL of  our homes have a 1,000 hour rating!     That is over 10 times   the corrosion  resistance of our competitors!    Is this important?   We think so.   Consider  that it is these fasteners  that are holding the entire steel frame together!    Again,  does this cost us more?   Absolutely, and again, this higher  cost is why   99% of the other steel frame  home companies offer  only  the inferior  zinc  plated  fasteners with their steel  frame home  packages.   

Please do not take our  word for any  of this.  Ask any  of the other  steel frame home companies you  are  getting  prices from as  to what galvanized coating they  use  on their steel and  what the  salt rating is on their fasteners   (in terms of  hours) that  they  have included  in your estimate.    It is because we use  quality  materials in  all of our homes   that  we have given our  steel frame homes the product name,   "Quality Steel  Frame Homes".   

Furthermore, each of our steel frame home packages includes our 'pre-fabrication service'.  Our pre-fabrication service  aims to reduce the time it takes to erect/frame the home on the jobsite and also the knowledge the framing crew needs to have to erect the home by doing as much as it makes sense  to do prior to shipping the packages to our customers. This work, we believe, saves  a lot of time and money  in the erection/framing of the home and is a part of and included in every one of our steel frame home  packages! 

With our pre-fabrication service, most of the steel  framing  materials for the entire home package are pre-cut before we send them to the jobsite. Those that are not pre-cut are either items whose dimensions must be determined in the field for accuracy, are items that we leave uncut so that they can be adjusted to accommodate unforeseen foundation errors, or are items who are so few in number that it would be quicker to cut them on the jobsite than to search for the in the steel bundles.  For example, we do not pre-cut the top and bottom  tracks  (i.e. sill plates) as the lengths of these  may have to be  adjusted to accommodate any foundation errors,  etc.  Also, we do not pre-cut window/door cripples as the dimensions of these may change if the customer decides to use a different door/window in that area or alter the height of the windows in the field.  Materials such as these are quickly cut in the field.  The pre-cut materials normally include the following:       

a.  roof truss materials for the entire home, i.e. the top chords,  bottom chords, web members,  etc. for each truss in the home.         

b.  floor truss materials for the entire home (if floor trusses are used), i.e. top chords, bottom chords, web members, etc. for each truss in the home.       

c.  exterior wall studs (except those whose dimension must be determined in the field.)       

d.  interior wall studs (except those whose dimension must be determined in the field.)       

e.  angle clips, anchor clips, etc. (except those whose dimension must be determined in the field.)

 QUALITY STEEL FRAME HOMES GENERAL  SPECIFICATIONS:

  Our Quality Steel  Frame  Home packages include all of the following  items:

1.    Steel frame home blueprints including floor plan(s),  elevations, roof  truss fabrication drawings,  roof framing plan, 2D fabrication drawings of  each and every load bearing  wall in the home, floor  system layout/installation  drawings for any and all floor systems, and all  required structural  details, drawings, and any required engineering stamps/seals.

2.    All light gauge steel  framing materials,  including all steel 8”, 5.5" or 3.5” exterior  wall studs, all 3.5” interior wall  studs, all structural headers  and header materials, all steel frame floor floor  systems, all  window and door rough opening steel framing materials, and all  light  gauge steel trusses.

3.   All steel to steel fasteners for framing the home steel package with the superior 1,000 hour corrosion resistant coating.

4.   Any necessary  clips, wind bracing,  angles, hangers, and hurricane  strapping.

 5.  All  steel frame soffit and fascia framing  material.

 6.  All structural light gauge steel will have the superior G90 galvanized coating.

 7.  All shipping costs  to the job  site.

 8.  Technical support  throughout  the completion of the home.

 9.  Pre-fabrication of structural framing materials

Please note the following:   

1.  The  specific gauges/thickness  of the each of the steel components listed above are  determined  by our engineers during the structural design and engineering phase  of each home's production to meet or exceed the required loads and codes of the  geographic area where the home is to be built,  so no specifications on material  thickness is given above.  Nevertheless,  in general, our structural components  (i.e. load bearing) will  range from 12 ga. to 20 ga. and our non-structural  components  (i.e. interior wall studs) will normally be 22  ga. 

2.  American Steel Frame Services, Inc. reserves the right to alter, change, add to, or remove any and all of the specifications and/or services included in any of its steel frame home packages. 

TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND ERECTION TRAINING SERVICES:

Below is a description each of the different programs we now offer, plus one we will be offering in the near future, to help train and support local framing crews and 'do-it-yourselfers'.  These programs are designed to help get our customers homes framed as cheaply as possible yet with the highest quality work possible.

U   First, it is important to note that unlike many other steel frame home packages  on the market today that are framed  completely different than a wood  frame home, our steel frame homes are framed  very much like wood framed  homes with a few minor differences, i.e. we use screws  instead  of nails, etc.  Each of these minor differences that pertain to the particular steel frame home being built are clearly given and illustrated in the plans.  This means a typical wood framing crew only needs to learn  a few differences in order erect one of our homes.  So, our training and support programs are aimed at teaching  these  differences.   While these crews may normally be hesitant to  take on a residential steel framing project with no previous  experience  in erecting one, once they learn of the extent of the pre-fabrication  work we perform here in Ohio for each of our home packages (as mentioned above) and of the training and support we can offer them, they  are normally excited to learn and  apply a new construction technique  that will widen the framing services they are  able to offer their  customers.   Each of these training and  support programs is explained in detail  below.

            A.  On Site Framing/Erection Training Program:

With this program we send one or two of our supervisor's to the jobsite to train the  framing crew at the jobsite.  This  training is aimed at training the crew to erect the steel frame  home that is actually being built on the jobsite.  First, the supervisor teaches the local crew of all of the materials  and fasteners that are to be used in the home; how to read and understand  our  blueprints; the order in which the steel frame home should go up; what tools and equipment his/her  crew will need; how all of the connections in the home are made;  etc.  Here they will also learn how to cut any uncut steel components; use our blueprints to layout  and construct the  exterior and interior walls; frame window/door  openings; install floor joists  and all floor framing components;  use our truss fabrication drawings to  fabricate our trusses on site; install  our trusses; install all roof overhangs; fascia;  etc.  Typically,  7 days of on site  training is  adequate to train the crew these items.

Since we offer complete technical support throughout the framing of the home via telephone or email, another benefit of completing the on site training program is that the local crew will now be able to clearly communicate any problems or questions they are having on the jobsite with our support staff.  Likewise, the local crew will also now be able to  understand our solutions and answers better.  This allows for any problems to be addressed quickly and correctly.

The  cost of this program is $35.00 an hour for the training  plus all travel and lodging  expenses.  If our supervisor is flying  in, a rental car for his use will be required at the customer's  expense.  Even when travel,  lodging, and  food are added in for our supervisor, the home owner will still save  thousands compared to hiring a complete traveling framing crew.  The customer will determine how  long he/she wishes  to keep the supervisor on the jobsite.  The supervisor can be  let  go at any time the customer feels the crew no longer needs the  training.

2.       B.  On Site Support Throughout The Framing  Of The Home:

With this program we send 1  or  2 of our supervisors to train, work with, and oversee the local  framing crew  throughout the erection/framing of the steel frame  home package until the  framing is completed or until the local  framing crew believes they have reached  a point in the erection  of the home where they can finish the project  themselves.  We  suggest the customer request 2 supervisors for his project under  this plan because  a.) lodging cost will be the same for 1 or 2  persons since 2  can comfortably be roomed together, and  b.) the  framing crew can be divided into  two separate groups that can  accomplish two projects at once.  Also, if a  problem arises,  one supervisor can work on a solution to the problem while the  other  can continue working on some other portion of the home without having  stop  the project.  The cost for this program is $35.00 an hour  per supervisor plus all travel and lodging expenses.  If our supervisors are flying in, a rental car for  their use will be required at  the customer's expense.  This program saves the  customer a  great deal of money in only paying the overhead costs for 2 traveling  framers instead of the normal 6 that would usually be sent if an entire  framing crew were brought in from out of town.  It also offers the customer the flexibility to let the supervisors go when they are no longer needed. 

   C.  Online Training & Support:

Though not currently available, we are in the process of creating an online training program to train wood frame crews on how to frame our steel frame homes.  This class will be similar to format used by other online classes now offered by various universities and colleges.  Each of the students will 'log on' to the 'class' and the instructor will both verbally and with plans and pictures teach them the process of framing one of our typcial steel frame homes.  Like the "On Site Framing Crew Training Program" discussed above, these classes will cover topics such as the following:

    1.  Identification and description of all of the materials and fasteners that are to be used in our steel frame homes

    2.  How to read and understand  our  blueprints, truss fabrication drawings, and structural details pages

    3.  The typial order in which the steel frame home should go up

    4.  What tools and equipment the local crew will need and where to get them.

    5.  How all of the connections in the home are made, where to find this information in the plans, and how to understand that information

    6.  How to cut any uncut steel components

    7.  How to frame the exterior steel frame walls

    8.  How to frame exterior and interior window/door openings

    9.  How to install floor joists and all floor framing components

    10.  How to fabricate the roof and/or floor trusses on the jobsite

    11.  How to install the roof truses trusses and all other roof components, such as roof soffit overhangs; fascia;  etc.

The benefit of the online class is that the crew will learn the same items as they would with our "On Site Framing Crew Training Program" but for much less cost as there will be no travel, lodging, rental car, etc. expenses involved.  Furthermore, the 'students' will be able to ask questions and speak with the instructor during these classes to ensure that all of the information is understood.  We believe this course would be comprised of about 4 to 5 classes (4 to 5 days) to cover all of the information.  The cost for these classes has not yet been determined but it will probably be around $1,200.00 which will make it the cheapest out of all of the other training programs we offer.  This class should be available within the next 30 to 60 days so it would be available for your project.  Please let us know if you are interested in attending this class when it is available and we will keep you posted. 

To contact us about any of the above services or products, please CLICK HERE and fill out the 'contact us' form.