Post and beam with metal??

[Sebculb]

Hey Everbuddy!

Sooo, I've had this nagging question recently and was wondering if anyone has any insight on it. Why isn't there more post and beam style home building done with welded square metal tubing? I'm from the States but live in Costa Rica now and down here metal is a common building material. The most common method is using c-profile purlins (2x3, 2x4, 2x6) welded in a manner similar to stick built wood framing and then covered with drywall or some other similar products that they sell here. Welded purlin roof trusses are used on all manner of structures, even older wood houses when they get a new roof sometimes. Corrugated galvanized roofing is used mostly.

Square or rectangular tubing (4x4, 2x4, 3x3, 2x2 etc) is more expensive than the c-purlins but it's stronger and looks okay when it's painted if you're gonna leave your framing exposed. I like exposed framing in the tropics, you don't need insulation and it cuts down on places for the critters to live. So my big idea is to weld a fake-me-out timber frame out of 4x4 square tubing, paint it a nice shade of brown, and cover it with wood siding and floorboards. That way you never have to worry about bugs or rot structurally. Galvanized square tubing here comes in thicknesses of 1.2mm, 1.5mm, and 1.8mm (i'm using the 1.8). This seems thinner than what they call "hollow structural sections" up north, but they build big stuff out of it here and this is earthquake country.

Why don't they build like this up north at all? Is it because wood is still cheap? Wood's expensive here since it's illegal to cut down the rainforest, framing with metal is actually cheaper, if you can believe it. Especially 'cuz you can get away with using less. I've googled every which way and can't find any info except a few companies selling prefabricated farm structures. From what i've read online, framing with metal up north is done with c profile studs even thinner that what's down here and it's all screwed together with sheet metal screws, if I'm understanding correctly, and in many cases it isn't for load bearing purposes. Everything down here is welded. I was looking for stuff like span tables and so on but can't find anything.

Anyone have any idea where to find some information or guidelines or whatever on the subject? (similar to the ubiquitous 2x4 every 16" on center etc) Anyone have any experience with building a cabin-type structure in this manner? I'm a somewhat new welder and learned most of my construction stuff down here, but have worked up north for stints too.

Thanks!

 

[ThomasH]

Building is almost always done with the most cost effective materials at hand. Besides which, if I had the option, I would almost always opt for wood. The framing members in a post and beam structure are more pleasant and natural to me. Many times, the vertical assemblies look like trees with a trunk and limbs, and sometimes are even a literal tree trunk and limbs.

Steel is great for building a stronger horizontal member to span longer distances, like a flitch beam or boxed steel beam. I built a post and beam sun porch years ago, and the size of a wood beam that was going to span 32 feet was going to be massive and out of proportion to the space, so I put in an 8" steel beam and boxed that in with ripped down lumber that matched the other framing members and was able to cut the beam size in half.

 

[Sebculb]

Good point, Thomas H. Wood is generally nicer than cold metal. I really like a nice wood house, but termites and other critters are a really big problem here. Was hoping to strike a sort of compromise by framing with indestructible material and covering it with wood walls and floors so it'd still have a wood cabin feel. Living in a little shack right now that's framed with darker colored old salvaged hardwood and covered with a lighter colored siding wood. (Melina, looks a little like pine) Looks nice, was hoping to achieve a similar effect by framing with the square metal and painting it brown. I don't think it'll fool anyone into thinking it's wood, but it may bear a passing resemblance to our current house.

Any other experiences?

Thanks!

 

[CNC Dan]

Looks nice, was hoping to achieve a similar effect by framing with the square metal and painting it brown. I don't think it'll fool anyone into thinking it's wood, but it may bear a passing resemblance to our current house.

Have you seen a 'graining tool'? It can put a wood grain pattern on anything. It's just a piece of curved, grooved rubber with a handle. You paint some lighter paint over darker paint, and then drag the tool over the wet paint while rocking it to leave a pattern. Looks like wood grain.


View attachment 402245



Wood Graining Tools

 

[nc redneck]

Not sure if you are thinking of a house or shop ? I think this is good use of wood and steel.

 

[Sebculb]

Dan: Thanks for the info, I'll look into one of those wood graining tools. It could help a lot with the aesthetics of the structure.

NC: I can't see too much from the resolution of the pic, but yeah, something like that, maybe a little bit. I like the metal framing a lot. maybe I just like welding stuff 'cuz it's new for me, but that framing looks similar to what I had in mind. The wood will be planed and tongue and grooved and varnished, try and put in nice trim on doorframes and window casings etc wherever applicable, try and dress it up a little.

Thanks!

 

[boggen]

the trip i took 10 or so years ago, driving, from Illinois, up near Canada, then down through yellow stone, down to California, Arizona, a trip into mexico, on way back to Illinois, i didn't go down by the sea, but straight shot back from Arizona to Illinois. it is amazing different type of materials used. majority of materials used, is pretty much what thomash noted. cheapest available. along with color of buildings generally reflect the nearby landscape.

if i ever build a house though, i will most likely look at metal building for a home other words metal pole barn turned into a home. siding, shingles :/ not a fan of. storms tearing the stuff off, how ya need to calk around windows doors, shingles getting ripped away in storms, fungus/mold growth on shingles in shaded areas of trees. cleaning out gutters (scrapping up hands on shingles). the over all amount of pure labor to install siding and shingles. vs sheet metal siding / roof of a metal pole barn.

i understand purpose of attic space, but seems like a lot of extra cash for a secondary ceiling, and extra hassle for insulation put up into attic. vs a cathedral ceiling, an extra insulation in the roof.

also issue of overall amount of total heating/cooling space. and weather / temps / seasons you see. here in illinois it is 4 seasons, spring, summer, fall, winter. ya get the 100 F temps with high humdity, to -10F temps and ugly wind chill in the winter. but if ya go down south it is a different story, ya really do not see winter maybe what 40F is lowest you may ever see? and a jacket all that is needed. instead of heating, it is more about cooling, and instead of a compressor A/C unit, folks use cooling towers. and colors for roofs/siding that reflect heat away from the home.

some areas need to deal with "earthquakes", other with tornadoes, and others with hurricanes, and yet still others with fridge winter storms that bring huge amount of snow / ice with them. for lumber using nails vs screws or vice vs pending on were you live, could mean a collapsed home and folks dead in home. vs home staying put. rather how the building flexes / moves, and how air enters/exits the home, how much heat mass does the home hold vs just air heat mass

another notation is location as in, are ya out in middle of now were? (in the country), or even a small town out in middle of now were vs a medium, to larger city, construction methods differ. and how far one is from different suppliers of material.

 

[constructingak]

Get on line to scaffo metal products. They can get you spans on metal studs. Any and all structural steel companys have sections on their web pages with simple spans.

 

[Cord]

Steel studs have been making a run down south due to the termite issues. I presume that this is even more true in Costa Rica. With welded connections, I'd have serious concerns with the quality of the weld. I'd be much more comfortable with a screwed or bolted connection.

 

[Arc weld]

Do some google searching on Hobart welded houses. Complete houses made of steel in their factory and trucked to site. Most are still around and designated as historical landmarks. E A Hobart's was of course the fanciest.