Building Codes
Steel Framing Association Aims to Raise Construction Standards
Joseph S. Pete | NWI Times
October 14, 2014
If you're going to build an apartment, hotel or assisted living facility, you could stack wood on concrete platforms or use a steel frame.
New industry standards aim to assure contractors of the quality and consistency of steel in building components. The Steel Framing Industry Association, or SIFA, has launched a new certification program in the hope of growing the market for steel in construction, which already accounts for around 40 percent of the metal's use in the United States.
ClarkDietrich Building Systems, which locally has operations in Crown Point and Hammond, became the first company in the nation to earn the trade association's new compliance certification for cold-formed steel connectors.
"This SFIA program provides everyone in the supply chain with the assurance that SFIA-certified products will meet or exceed the specification and performance requirements each and every time," said Bill Courtney, who is CEO of ClarkDietrich and president of SFIA.
Cold-formed steel connectors are galvanized straps or ties that hold structural parts of a building together, such as by attaching walls to the foundation or roof trusses. The program certifies that connectors meet quality guidelines, building codes and American Society for Testing and Materials standards.
"Contractors and engineers are increasingly demanding that the products they use meet a higher standard of consistency and quality than ever before," said Randy Daudet, the chairman of the team that developed the program for the SFIA. "This program provides that level of assurance they are looking for."
Laboratory tests, on-site inspections and unannounced audits ensure the certified steel products meet standard tolerances for shape, material thickness and corrosion protection. An independent third-party group, Architectural Testing Inc., performs all the testing.
Greater faith in the quality of steel should help preserve and even take market share in commercial construction, such as of dormitories and motels, said SFIA Executive Director Larry Williams.
"Cold-formed steel has about 22 to 25 percent of the non-residential market, which is roughly equivalent to wood framing," he said. "The significant challenge now is to the hold the line."
The wood framing industry has gotten building codes rewritten favorably for them, so more wood can be used more in taller buildings. Steel, however, has advantages such as that it's not susceptible to termite or mold, it's stronger and it goes up faster, shortening the construction time, Williams said.
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SOURCE: www.nwitimes.com