The pros and cons of steel framing in residential applications. No matter how many advantages there are to using steel instead of wood, framers won't begin using it until it can compete in the market against wood. In 1993, for the first time, the price of a residential steel framing package started to become competitive with wood framing material. Because of steel's characteristics and properties, it offers significant advantages to both home builders and consumers. Steel studs and joists are strong, lightweight, and the quality is uniform.
Steel walls are straight, with square corners, and they all but eliminate pops in drywall.
Consumers value steel framing for fire safety and termite protection. Steel framing doesn't contribute combustible material to feed a fire. The strength and ductility of steel allow it to meet the strongest wind and seismic ratings in the national building codes. Steel joists and trusses can also achieve greater spans, to open up large spaces inside a home without partition walls. Most steel manufactured today contains an average of 25 percent recycled content.