Light Gauge Steel Framed Home (San Antonio, Canyon: foreclosures, homeowners insurance, mortgage)

[koi-kid]

Wondering if anyone in the San Antonio area knows of a local company that has light guage steel frame home kits or builds light guage steel home framing.

I plan on building a steel framed home in Pipe Creek, North of S.A. about 24 miles. Plan on doing starting this coming year and know of one place up here in Northern Oklahoma and one in Northern Texas. That's a long ways to ship materials and from the searches I have done online havent found anyone in the S.A. area yet that does this.

As large as S.A. is I know there has to be some crews down there and I would think a company that does steel framed homes.
Can any one shed some light on this subject for me.

Thanks Koi-Kid

[satejano]

Hi.
Saw this older post. I'm curious if you ever found a supplier in the San Antonio area? If not, where did you end up getting your material. Thats if you stayed with the steel frame project.

[TrapperL]

Metal studs brings a host of problems to any construction. Problems like how do you hang pictures. Then there are issues with dissimilar materials that makes for corrosion. All plumbing has to be insulated from the metal with spec sleeves as does the electrical. Frankly, metal studs are a major headache and there are few that still specify them. Lynwood Building Materials was the last I know that carried them. Might start there if you still want them. If the fire rating is the major concern, there are a lot of different ways to achieve a good rating and not use metal. There are products like Dri-Con which is a fire rated lumber that works just like normal wood but won't burn, for an example. Considering M G Building Materials are the big gun in town, I'd start there to look for fire rated lumber.

[TexasRedneck]

I'd do anything before metal studs in residential construction. TrapperL can likely recall better, but a few years back there were several companies touting it as the "new age" material to use....until folks actually tried some. LOUSY structural strength (entire walls shaking with a firmly-shut door), etc - there's NO way I'd build a home with 'em.

[kevcrawford]

There was a big push for this a while back, but it never took off. I think there's more of a market for it in areas affected by tornadoes, but there are some inherent flaws, as mentioned above. One day it may evolve, but I haven't seen it yet. Most custom builders are always looking for something to set themselves apart, and if they haven't embraced it, it's probably not time for us to.

With all this "green" building technology, a home that's properly built by traditional means and well insulated will offer you insanely low utility bills. McNair is a good example of this. They've got plans in the 5000 square foot plus range, and they'll offer you a 2-year guarantee that your utilities won't go above $200/mo.

[huckster]

K.C. ditto. I think you are right.
In Florida where i was looking into buying a home a couple of years ago the residential building codes
were very strict due to the hurricane threat. The financial losses due to the hurricanes (2) in 2003 that passed through the peninsula were so high they will not let this happen again.
Now any home in Cape Coral,Fl where- I looked- any home built after 2004- has a metal frame- , only Gable style roofing for less wind resistance, hurricane proof doors and windows,yep, and always seem to be constructed of cinder blocks with stucco exteriors.
Also the lots for these homes where the foundation will rest must be elevated five feet higher than the street grade to prevent flooding. These houses are beautiful and near new!
The houses there in Cape Coral are very, very cheap right now. When I last looked into the pricing,
many of the houses were at half-price of what they sold for 5 years earlier. We were astonished at the affordability of some of them, and there are many,many foreclosures.
The ones in the $250,000 dollar range were really,really nice.
The mortgage crisis devasted the area as badly as did the hurricanes.
Homeowners insurance is very costly
now and since then State Farm does not even offer homeowners insurance in Florida.
A three bedroom home four years old , 2700 square feet, three bath, with a pool with a lanai and a stone tile surrounding patio identical to the family room and kitchen floor tile through sliding glass doors with a built in whirlpool master bath, all tile, on a large lot for $150,000.
The insurance premium was $2500.00 annually.
The realtor we spoke met with said wealthy foreign investors are coming over and buying them. For some of this information I posted questions to the residents on City Data Forum, Cape Coral, Florida.
Any home built before 2004 could be dangerous to stay in during a tropical storm.
Not so here.
QUOTE=kevcrawford;28012965]There was a big push for this a while back, but it never took off. I think there's more of a market for it in areas affected by tornadoes, but there are some inherent flaws, as mentioned above. One day it may evolve, but I haven't seen it yet. Most custom builders are always looking for something to set themselves apart, and if they haven't embraced it, it's probably not time for us to.

With all this "green" building technology, a home that's properly built by traditional means and well insulated will offer you insanely low utility bills. McNair is a good example of this. They've got plans in the 5000 square foot plus range, and they'll offer you a 2-year guarantee that your utilities won't go above $200/mo.[/quote]

[txtea]

Yeah, the casa I bought in Gold Canyon years ago had a detached garage with a metal frame. What a pain to work with. Built a sturdy wooden work table attached to the frame, such a hassle to attach everything.

[satejano]

I was considering a reroofing project. Adding a pitched roof to a cinder block home with a flat roof. The home was built back in the 40s. What attracted me was the lighter weight. What are your thoughts on just the roof frame with light gauge steel framing?

[TexasRedneck]

No way I'd trust a lightweight metal roof system. Now, if you're talking about metal roof like is used on metal building, etc. - different story. But do it right - because if you don't, one of the rare snow storms we can get could point out the error of your ways.

[rctsat]

You are using the wrong termnology when you say light weight and roofing. As the previous writer stated you want to go to a metal building contractor and they can give you a price on what you want and it should be very reasonable using heavy gauge red iron trusses and purlines. I just had a 35 by 75 roof installed over my place for about 22K but they had to put in steel post to support the roof, yours would be much less I would think if the walls can support the roof.
Lightweight metal stud construction uses material only slightly thicker than what you'd find on a can of beans, and has to be super engineered to make it capable of load bearing