Steel-Frame Construction

Light gauge, cold-rolled steel studs, joists and rafters can be assembled into house frames in a process similar to the more familiar wood framing. Steel framing offers the advantages of consistent engineered strength and moisture tolerance, as well as being rot-proof and termite-proof. Allowable methods for framing with steel have now been written into the International Residential Code (IRC) as prescriptive code. Good performance depends on proper selection of steel members, correct fastening, and correct iinstallation of connections and anchors to create a continuous load path strong enough to handle the lateral and uplift forces imposed by high winds. In this course, experts explain the code-accepted, correct ways of framing buildings with light steel, and highlight the critical details that inspectors should focus on during field inspections.