Steel framing for new residential homes and remodeling projects has grown to be the preferred material over the past few years. For many decades, metal construction framing has been almost exclusively used for commercial job sites where there is more of a focus on fire resistance and is combined with the integration of red iron metal construction.
Steel framing has been transitioning to residential construction for the past couple of decades. With wood studs, you’ll have to worry about problems like rotting, warping, shrinking, cracking, and splitting, Termites, other insects, and pesky mold can also quickly wreak havoc on wooden studs under optimal conditions. Finding quality lumber to use as studs can also be a challenge; it varies widely depending on where the wood is grown. Lumber also has to be sorted carefully and you can’t use any pieces that aren’t straight or have knots, cracks, or other imperfections. As much as 20 percent of lumber bought for studs ends up wasted, since wood prices can fluctuate, trying to budget for a construction project is challenging.
Those concerns immediately go out the window with steel framing. Not only are they impervious to everything that affects an organic material like wood, but they also won't burn in an event of a fire. These lighter and more stable studs can also withstand earthquakes, extremely high winds, snow, and tornadoes better than wood. These benefits will also potentially reward you with lower homeowner's insurance premiums. Part of the reason is steel studs call for screws instead of nails, which is a more stable method of connection.
There is no need to worry about different variations because the steel industry sets strict standards that all steel studs must meet. This also means there is very little to no waste - about 2 percent instead of 20. And what is scrapped is also recyclable, and the cost of steel doesn't fluctuate nearly as much as wood. Initially, you can expect to pay more for steel framing but since they add improvements to everything else you can expect to save money in the long run.