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builders n' architects, steel building for a home
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our house is a piece of shit. we'll prob be here for a long time...forever, as a home base if nothing else. we've been working on adding on and trying to fix this pos. talking to an architect about what we want to do she, as well as quite a few other people, have asked if we ever thought about leveling this place and starting over. i'm at the point i think that's the way i want to go. i've thought long and hard about this, and run some numbers, and starting from scratch is not as bad as it sounds. i got this place as a foreclosure so i'm already in the black. comparing what homes are going for in the area i can stay in the black with what the going price is. and if it's cool/unique enough i dont see why this place cant be on the high side for the neighborhood.

so...has anyone worked with starting with a steel structure as a house? we want hardcore industrial. concrete floors, exposed steel beams and a/c ductwork. minimalist and sparse interior. what were the pros vs cons of starting with a steel building vs framing? i know we can get an industrial look with framed, but if steel is a net zero then why not.

thanks

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Re: builders n' architects, steel building for a home [Madduck] [ In reply to ]
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I realize I'm not much help but I looked at steel garages when building my man cave. In the end I nixed the idea as it was more expensive than a standard wood frame and dry wall type garage. I've never heard of anybody doing a house however. Sounds kinda cool but do consider resale. Your house description sounds quite industrial. May not be everybody's taste. I remember one company I looked at offered custom kits which I thought was the way to go had I tried that route.
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Re: builders n' architects, steel building for a home [Madduck] [ In reply to ]
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You could do a space metal structure and have it built without any interior columns. Essentially one big box. Then build out the interior as you wish. They are pretty energy efficient, R-30 walls and R-40 roof insulation. If you're going with concrete slab and are in a cold climate, I'd put in radiant floor heating. Or at least the tubing in the floor and you could hook it up at a later date.
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Re: builders n' architects, steel building for a home [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
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resale is a factor, but not a huge one. i can see keeping this for a long, long time. if not to retirement.
to sell it would take a specific buyer, but they are out there, you just have to be able to wait to find the right one. you look at some of the crap that is avail and there is someone, somewhere, who likes just about everything.

we are in the desert so heating is not a prob, cooling is the issue. our house now is a crappy build, did i mention that(?), so rebuilding with better insulation would be nothing but a step up, and not difficult to do.

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Re: builders n' architects, steel building for a home [Madduck] [ In reply to ]
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Madduck wrote:
resale is a factor, but not a huge one. i can see keeping this for a long, long time. if not to retirement.
to sell it would take a specific buyer, but they are out there, you just have to be able to wait to find the right one. you look at some of the crap that is avail and there is someone, somewhere, who likes just about everything.

we are in the desert so heating is not a prob, cooling is the issue. our house now is a crappy build, did i mention that(?), so rebuilding with better insulation would be nothing but a step up, and not difficult to do.

Entirely different climate from me up here in the GWN. A steel building might actually be easier to cool I'd suspect (but don't really know). As a kid we lived in New Mexico for awhile and I remember a lot of flat roof adobe type construction. Steel would probably be unique in a desert area? Certainly wouldn't have to worry much about rust. :-)
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Re: builders n' architects, steel building for a home [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
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even tho the building is steel, the walls are still whatever ya choose. i.e, still could be wood framed, or go block, or brick. and it's going to be what and how you insulate that wall that's gonna make the diff regarding efficiency. i dont think there is any draw-back to steel as long as you want to go industrial. if you can save a few $$$ in finishing cost by leaving the supports structure exposed it may be cheaper. i dont think going steel then trying to hide that it's steel would be a smart choice, but this is what i'm researching.

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Re: builders n' architects, steel building for a home [Madduck] [ In reply to ]
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Madduck wrote:
our house is a piece of shit. we'll prob be here for a long time...forever, as a home base if nothing else. we've been working on adding on and trying to fix this pos. talking to an architect about what we want to do she, as well as quite a few other people, have asked if we ever thought about leveling this place and starting over. i'm at the point i think that's the way i want to go. i've thought long and hard about this, and run some numbers, and starting from scratch is not as bad as it sounds. i got this place as a foreclosure so i'm already in the black. comparing what homes are going for in the area i can stay in the black with what the going price is. and if it's cool/unique enough i dont see why this place cant be on the high side for the neighborhood.

so...has anyone worked with starting with a steel structure as a house? we want hardcore industrial. concrete floors, exposed steel beams and a/c ductwork. minimalist and sparse interior. what were the pros vs cons of starting with a steel building vs framing? i know we can get an industrial look with framed, but if steel is a net zero then why not.

thanks

If you're doing a long, long term investment...consider ICF for the whole exterior.

Basically you use concrete instead of sticks or steel. Strong as hell, fireproof, won't rust, already insulated, etc.

Use metal trusses and roofing then do whatever the F you want inside!

There is one con....when the zombies come your friends will head to your house for shelter.


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Re: builders n' architects, steel building for a home [Madduck] [ In reply to ]
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If I were starting from scratch i would consider a pole building, like some of Morton Buildings structures. Put up a big shell and then customize the interior. Easy to include garage, workshop, etc in same envelope. Easy to modularize. Exterior construction is quick and very efficient by those companies. We put up a Morton building several years ago and i am slowly working the interior, but not to replace our house. There is a place down the road from me where a guy is doing it for a house, garage, and workshop. beautiful structure with features that soften the barn appearance. Seems to me a wood pole structure would be easier to build up in the interior.
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Re: builders n' architects, steel building for a home [Madduck] [ In reply to ]
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Madduck wrote:
even tho the building is steel, the walls are still whatever ya choose. i.e, still could be wood framed, or go block, or brick. and it's going to be what and how you insulate that wall that's gonna make the diff regarding efficiency. i dont think there is any draw-back to steel as long as you want to go industrial. if you can save a few $$$ in finishing cost by leaving the supports structure exposed it may be cheaper. i dont think going steel then trying to hide that it's steel would be a smart choice, but this is what i'm researching.

It's going to be a whole lot more expensive. You are going to use traditional framing for the walls - which are self supporting and support the roof/second floor - AND a steel structure to support the roof/second floor.

Steel goes for about $3600/ton, you'll need a couple dozen tonnes, min. Then your going to put a traditional stick built shell around it. You'll add about $50k to the construction cost.
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Re: builders n' architects, steel building for a home [stal] [ In reply to ]
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https://www.garagejournal.com/...wthread.php?t=145073


i think the guy just started updating this again. pretty incredible concrete house.


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Re: builders n' architects, steel building for a home [stal] [ In reply to ]
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stal wrote:
Madduck wrote:
our house is a piece of shit. we'll prob be here for a long time...forever, as a home base if nothing else. we've been working on adding on and trying to fix this pos. talking to an architect about what we want to do she, as well as quite a few other people, have asked if we ever thought about leveling this place and starting over. i'm at the point i think that's the way i want to go. i've thought long and hard about this, and run some numbers, and starting from scratch is not as bad as it sounds. i got this place as a foreclosure so i'm already in the black. comparing what homes are going for in the area i can stay in the black with what the going price is. and if it's cool/unique enough i dont see why this place cant be on the high side for the neighborhood.

so...has anyone worked with starting with a steel structure as a house? we want hardcore industrial. concrete floors, exposed steel beams and a/c ductwork. minimalist and sparse interior. what were the pros vs cons of starting with a steel building vs framing? i know we can get an industrial look with framed, but if steel is a net zero then why not.

thanks


If you're doing a long, long term investment...consider ICF for the whole exterior.

Basically you use concrete instead of sticks or steel. Strong as hell, fireproof, won't rust, already insulated, etc.

Use metal trusses and roofing then do whatever the F you want inside!

There is one con....when the zombies come your friends will head to your house for shelter.

If we can ever find the land, ICF is exactly what we are going with. We will probably use traditional wood floor Joists and roof trusses though. For interior walls, we would go with steel (looks a bit easier to build with, straight walls, only a bit more then wood studs.

The big reason besides the efficiency/strength we would be going with ICF is that we would be able to do it mostly ourselves, therefore getting those benefits for only a little bit more then Stick built.
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Re: builders n' architects, steel building for a home [Madduck] [ In reply to ]
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You might consider a metal building. This is cheaper than a steel frame. You don't have to use metal wall panels for the skin.
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Re: builders n' architects, steel building for a home [Madduck] [ In reply to ]
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Madduck wrote:

so...has anyone worked with starting with a steel structure as a house?

Yes, but not hard core industrial.
Its more minimalist with slender columns and roof structures so we had no choice but to use steel.
However, because I am a contractor and because I can weld, it cost me bugger all extra, apart from the crane hire, but then I did stuff like weld/build the whole roof structure on the ground and then crane it into position, so I saved in other ways like scaffold hire.

But then, I always built the stuff that was different. I hate sheeple and their McMansions
Last edited by: Andrew69: Feb 11, 18 14:32
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Re: builders n' architects, steel building for a home [Madduck] [ In reply to ]
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Check out cross laminated timber (CLT) instead of steel. A decent architect can achieve an industrial-look for your home with the beauty of exposed wood and exposed connections with exposed ductwork and lighting. It'll be more re-sale friendly than a steel structure. Have fun! http://www.woodworks.org



Lifeguard: "Do you need help?" Me: "No, that's just my butterfly."
Last edited by: TriHard Indiana: Feb 14, 18 11:01
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