J O U R N A L

    David Butler is "steeling" his way into a growing segment of the home building industry - not only in metropolitan Tulsa, but nation-wide.
    Butler, an Oklahoma licensed architect, is founder and president of HSF Home Steel Framing, Inc., a company that supplies steel framing for homes and small commercial buildings.   Services provided by HSF range widely.
    "We can simply prepare a material list from a builder's drawings and deliver steel material to the job site."
    "At the other end of the spectrum, we are a single source for designing, engineering and supplying steel framing material for constructing a steel frame home."
"We can handle a complete turn-key project that begins with a home buyer bringing us a rough sketch and ending with the builder handing him the keys to his new home," explained Butler, who provides free written estimates.
    HSF can recommend a steel frame builder or the buyer can use a builder of his choice.
    If the later is the case, "we can provide the builder any or all of a total bid package including engineered steel framing drawings, steel material delivered to the job site and on-site technical assistance whether or not it is for a builder who has steel framing experience."
    HSF drawings are certified by a certified structural engineer as meeting all appropriate building code requirements.  The drawings in turn are used by local government building inspectors for on-site inspections.
    "The key," Butler said, "is that we provide an engineered system.  If building a steel frame home is not done properly by or with assistance from someone who knows what they are doing, a lower quality house may result."
    Whether wood or steel frame, two homes built the same otherwise will look identical on the outside.
"Still," Butler said, "I've found some people think the exterior of steel frame homes will look different...perhaps steel beams showing on the outside or that you must have steel siding.  That's just not true.  Of course, you can have steel siding if you want.  You can have any type of exterior...brick, wood, vinyl siding, whatever."
    There can be an appearance difference on the interior as light-weight rust-proof galvanized steel allows larger open spaces "and walls will remain straight and true over the decades."
    "The first steel frame homes began appearing in the United States in the 1930s", Butler said.
    "Very few were built then.  They just didn't catch on, mainly because of cost.  Back then lumber was much less expensive than steel."
    But since then, and especially in recent years, he said, the price of lumber has increased dramatically while steel prices have risen only slightly.  Today, construction of a steel frame home cost only 3 percent to 5 percent more than a wood frame structure.
"The key," Butler said, "is that we provide an engineered system.  If building a steel frame home is not done properly by or with assistance from someone who knows what they are doing, a lower quality house may result."
    Whether wood or steel frame, two homes built the same otherwise will look identical on the outside.
    "Still," Butler said, "I've found some people think the exterior of steel frame homes will look different...perhaps steel beams showing on the outside or that you must have steel siding.  That's just not true.  Of course, you can have steel siding if you want.  You can have any type of exterior...brick, wood, vinyl siding, whatever."
    There can be an appearance difference on the interior as light-weight rust-proof galvanized steel allows larger open spaces "and walls will remain straight and true over the decades."
    "The first steel frame homes began appearing in the United States in the 1930s", Butler said.
    "Very few were built then.  They just didn't catch on, mainly because of cost.  Back then lumber was much less expensive than steel."

But since then, and especially in recent years, he said, the price of lumber has increased dramatically while steel prices have risen only slightly.  Today, construction of a steel frame home cost only 3 percent to 5 percent more than a wood frame structure.
    

    "That's just considering the initial cost of construction," Butler said, explaining, "when you factor in various costs related to utilities, maintenance, insurance and so forth, the true cost of a steel frame home over the years can be considerably less."
    Butler said those factors include: * Lower insurance.  Some companies may give home owners discounts for steel framed homes because they hold up better in high winds and tornadoes (which provides greater safety) and because the steel is not affected by termites and is non-combustible.
    * Longevity.  "Steel framing is considered a life time material while wood is considered a shorter life product that may require high maintenance after 5 to 10 years."
    * Quality.  A high quality standard can be achieved with steel.  "It's well accepted that lumber today is increasingly lower quality than in the past.  More is cut from the outside 'growing' part of the tree and is delivered green to lumber yards."
    Resulting warping creates such maintenance problems as nail popping, wood cracking and splitting and cracks in sheet rock as well as gaps in insulation that cause costly energy losses, Butler noted.
    * Value.  Resale value of a steel frame home, he said, is increasing as people become more aware of the many advantages.
    What was in earlier years considered a drawback to steel framing - heat transfer through the steel material - has been turned into a positive by good builders, according to Butler.
"Proper insulation will stop the thermal bridge.  For example, in one of our latest steel frame houses built in Parkview Estates in Jenks, Cornerstone Land Company used R-30 rated insulation in exterior walls and R-38 in the ceiling.  Standard is this part of the country is R-11 to R-19."
    The higher rates insulation creates a warmer home, resulting in lower utility bills, said Butler.
    Butler has supplied steel framing houses in Oklahoma, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri and Arkansas.
    As residential steel framing - a rapidly growing trend in Oklahoma as well as nationwide - becomes more popular, HSF's business is growing, Butler said.
    "Industry analysts project that one in four homes built in the next five years will be steel framed," said Butler, who has worked in the construction business all his life and has 15 years experience working with steel frame commercial buildings.
    HSF is one of only two or three Oklahoma firms that supplies steel frame packages and is the only such supplier with a membership in the Steel Frame Home Builders Council.
    Butler, who received a building construction and design degree from John Brown University, was instrumental in late 1994 in forming the council, which is the first of its kind in the United States.
    The American Iron and Steel Institute has informational publications and videos which can be obtained by calling 800-797-8335.