Understanding Steel Frame

Construction
Steel frame construction used to be primarily used for large, simple
structures, such as garages, large agricultural buildings and warehouses
– as well as high-rise buildings. This is how steel frame construction is
still understood in popular belief, but it is now also used for a wide range
of other types of development, including offices, factories, schools, public
buildings and some residential dwellings.

Steel frame construction is a good option for a diversity of projects for

many reasons, including:

 Durability
 Affordability
 Sustainability

Structural steel components can quickly be fabricated off-site and then

transported to the construction site when needed, minimising onsite
labour requirements and reducing the impact of variables that can delay a
project, such as adverse weather.

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Fabrication Companies

This aside, there are several distinct advantages to steel frame

construction from the point of view of fabrication, as well as a couple of
disadvantages. These will be noted below:

Advantages of Steel Frame Construction

Steel frame constructions offer the following advantages compared to
brick, concrete and wooden constructions.

1) Strength & Durability

Structural steel components are lighter and stronger than weight-bearing

wood or concrete products. A typical weight-bearing steel fabrication is
30% to 50% lighter than a wooden equivalent. This makes steel frame
construction far stronger and more durable than traditional wood framed
alternatives.

2) Easy Fabrication In Different Sizes

Steel studs are available in a variety of sizes and can be fabricated order.
This means they can be customised to bear specific loads in buildings of
all different types and sizes.

3) Fire Resistance

Steel frame constructions are highly resistant to fire, reducing the fire
risk to a building and retarding the spread of a fire should one occur.
Special flame retardant coatings act to increase this property of
structural steel.

4) Pest & Insect Resistant

Structural steel components are immune to the degrading effects of

burrowing insects and mammals – which can cause a problem for wooden
framework unless adequately treated.

5) Moisture & Weather Resistance

Structural steel can have good moisture resistant properties, depending

on its carbon content. Hot zinc coating and extra powder treatments for
enhanced rust resistance will make a structural steel component even
more immune to the effects of water – an important consideration for
components exposed to the weather.

The Disadvantages of Steel Frame

Construction
Steel frame constructions do have a couple of disadvantages, the most
regularly cited being:

1) Thermal Conductivity

Steel is not known for its warmth, due to its high efficiency in conducting
heat. The insulation value of walls can be reduced by as much as half
when heat is transferred away through steel studs, which is not good
news for energy retention in a building. Where steel frame construction is
used, insulation measures need to be put in place to counteract the
thermal conductivity of steel.

2) Reduced Flexibility On Site

One of the benefits of using wooden structural components is the ability

to adjust them on site. A component can be cut down to size, nails
hammered in to strengthen the join and so on. This obviously can’t
happen with steel. The measurements of steel need to be precisely
calculated in advance, because a steel fabrication is delivered to site in
its final form, ready to be slotted into the building. This is of course one of
the big advantages of steel, but if the fabrication has resulted in an
inaccurate component for whatever reason, the project may be held up
while the framework is sent back to the workshop for adjustment. You
can avoid this issue by working with a fabrication company such as GLW,
where we take a consultative approach to accuracy and measurements
from the very beginning, to avoid any unpleasant surprises on site.

3) Supporting Structures

Steel frame constructions rarely work on their own. They usually require
drywall, sheathing, insulation and supplementary wooden components to
bring a building together. In the opinion of some construction businesses,
this longer construction time is an argument against steel frame
constructions, although usually the time savings outweigh any
adjustments that need to be made on site

A method of constructing a suspended floor, said method including:

positioning a plurality of support assemblies on a support base, and

suspending a beam-forming formwork assembly from each said support assembly, each said support assembly
supporting the beam-forming formwork assembly suspended therefrom in stable equilibrium.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plurality of beam-forming formwork assemblies are located in
substantially parallel alignment.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said support assemblies are substantially cradle-like and have arms
converging from a base to define an open neck adapted to receive a beam-forming formwork assembly therethrough
for suspended support therefrom.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, said method including:

locating a plurality of floor-forming formwork assemblies between said beam-forming formwork assemblies for
support thereon;
pouring concrete in said flooring and beam-forming formwork assemblies;

allowing the concrete to set, and

removing the formwork assemblies from the set concrete for re-use.

5. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein said beam-forming formwork assemblies include a plurality of beam-
forming formwork modules having a channel member constituting a mould with side walls for forming a beam, first
support means associated with each side wall of the channel member such that the channel member is supportable
on a support assembly in stable equilibrium, and second support means associated with each side wall of the channel
member for supporting floor-forming formwork assemblies transversely thereof.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein said floor-forming formwork assemblies include a plurality of floor-
forming formwork modules adapted to withstand a construction point loading without failure.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein said floor-forming formwork modules are fixedly mounted in mounting
means adapted to be supported on said second support means.

8. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein said floor-forming formwork modules are arched.

9. A support assembly for supporting a beam-forming formwork module having a channel member constituting a
mould for forming a beam and support means associated with each flange of the channel member, said support
assembly including:

a substantially cradle-like member having arms converging from a base to define an open neck adapted to receive a
beam-forming formwork module therethrough such that the channel member is suspended from the support
assembly by said support means and supported thereby in stable equilibrium.

10. A support assembly as claimed in claim 9, wherein said base is arched.

11. A formwork system for a suspended floor, said system including:

a plurality of beam-forming formwork modules each having a channel member constituting a mould with side walls
for forming a beam, first support means associated with each side wall of the channel member such that the channel
member is supportable on a support assembly in stable equilibrium, and second support means associated with each
side wall of the channel member for supporting floor-forming formwork assemblies transversely thereof;

a plurality of support assemblies for supporting said beam-forming formwork modules, the support assemblies being
substantially cradle-like and having arms converging from a base to define an open neck adapted to receive a beam-
forming formwork module therethrough such that the channel member is suspended from the support assembly by
said first support means and supported thereby in stable equilibrium, and

a plurality of arched floor-forming formwork modules extendable between beam-forming formwork modules and
supportable on said second support means thereof.

12. A method of constructing a suspended floor, said method including:

positioning a plurality of support assemblies on a support base;

suspending a plurality of beam-forming formwork assemblies of given cross-section from said support assemblies,
said beam-forming formwork assemblies being supported thereby in stable equilibrium, and

suspending a beam-forming insert of lesser cross-section than said given cross-section in a beam-forming formwork
assembly whereby a beam is formed when concrete is placed in said formwork assemblies.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein:

said beam-forming formwork assemblies include a plurality of beam-forming formwork modules having a channel
member of given cross-section constituting a mould for forming a beam, first support means associated with each
side wall of the channel member such that the channel member is supportable on a support assembly in stable
equilibrium, and

said beam-forming insert includes a channel member constituting a mould of lesser cross-section for forming a beam
and flange means for supporting said channel member on said first support means.

14. A formwork system for a suspended floor, said system including:

a plurality of beam-forming formwork modules each having a channel member of given cross-section constituting a
mould for forming a beam, first support means associated with each flange of the channel member such that the
channel member is supportable on a support assembly in stable equilibrium, and second support means associated
with each flange of the channel member for supporting flooring formwork assemblies transversely thereof;

a plurality of beam-forming inserts each having a channel member of lesser cross-section constituting a mould for
forming a beam and flange means for supporting an insert on said first support means;

a plurality of support assemblies for supporting said beam-forming formwork modules, the support assemblies being
substantially cradle-like and having arms converging from a base to define an open neck adapted to receive a beam-
forming formwork module therethrough such that the channel member is suspended from the support assembly by
said first support means and supported thereby in stable equilibrium, and

a plurality of arched flooring formwork modules extendable between beam-forming formwork modules and
supportable on said second support means thereof.

15. A flooring system for a suspended floor, the flooring system including:

a plurality of support beams having support means for supporting a formwork assembly, and

at least one arched formwork assembly having a plurality of arched formwork modules adapted to withstand a
construction point loading without failure, the modules being fixedly mounted in mounting means adapted to be
supported on the support means.

16. A method of construction including:

preparing a support base for supporting a construction;

supporting a plurality of support members on the support base, the support members having support means for
supporting a formwork assembly;

locating at least one arched formwork assembly between the support members to constitute formwork for the
construction, the arched formwork assembly having a plurality of arched formwork modules fixedly mounted in
mounting means adapted to be supported on the support means, and

placing concrete in the formwork to form the construction.

17. A method of constructing a suspended floor, the method including:

preparing a support base for supporting the suspended floor;

locating a plurality of support beams on the support base, the support beams having support means for supporting a
formwork assembly;

locating at least one arched formwork assembly between the beams to constitute formwork for the suspended floor,
the arched formwork assembly having a plurality of arched formwork modules adapted to withstand a construction
point loading without failure, the modules being fixedly mounted in mounting means adapted to be supported on the
support means, and
placing concrete in the formwork to form a suspended slab floor.

18. A method of constructing a suspended floor, the method including:

preparing a support base for supporting the suspended floor;

locating a plurality of beam-forming formwork assemblies on the support base, the beam-forming formwork
assemblies having support means for supporting a floor-forming formwork assembly;

locating a plurality of arched floor-forming formwork assemblies on and between the beam-forming formwork
assemblies to constitute formwork for the suspended floor, the arched floor-forming formwork assemblies having a
plurality of arched floor-forming formwork modules adapted to withstand a construction point loading without
failure, the modules being fixedly mounted in mounting means adapted to be supported on the support means, and

placing concrete in the formwork to form the construction;

the arrangement being such that the beam-forming formwork assemblies and the floor-forming formwork assemblies
can be re-used

Before engineered wood joists were invented in the late 1960s, builders used
dimensional lumber to support their framing operations. These were moved aside with
the creation of i-joists, named for their shape, in 1970.
Engineered wood joists made from plywood became more popular as the process to
create them became more efficient and costs decreased. As steel mining became more
practical over the years, metal was added to form steel-reinforced trusses, eventually
giving way to steel joists.
The idea was, and still is, to create a better load-bearing system to support building
structures, and to facilitate the open floor plans that became increasingly popular toward
the turn of the century. Wood is still the most viable option in many construction
projects, though durability and load-bearing capability makes steel floor joists an
intriguing proposition for builders who are thinking long term.

The question then becomes: when is the best time to use steel floor joists?

5 Reasons Why it Makes Sense to Use Steel Floor Joists

1. Steel has the highest strength/weight ratio of any material used for construction, so the
same jobs can be completed with much less support using steel joists. This can affect
time, labor costs, and the availability of each respective material. Also, the load-bearing
capability must be considered, as some cases will prohibit the use of wood due to
exceptionally heavy loads.
2. Steel joists are ideal for areas like basements and attics that are subject to
environmental conditions that would otherwise increase wear on wood counterparts.
Steel is not at risk for mold growth from continued exposure to moisture, similar to
conditions that might be found in a basement. It is also not as vulnerable to burrowing
pests like rodents and termites that make their home in basements. Both materials can
 be treated with additional chemicals and primers to protect against wear, but wood will
remain much more vulnerable to degradation than steel.
3. Floors that use steel joists are quieter than wood. The creaking we hear walking across
old wood floors is often due to the warping, splitting, and bowing of wood that leads to
loose bolts and wayward joists. Essentially, support systems made with steel don’t creak
like those made with wood, and since steel floor joists are always straight, dimensionally
stable, and maintain their shape much longer, they are an ideal option in scenarios
where sound might prove an issue or needs to be minimized altogether.
4. There are certain locations that have specific requirements where steel is the only
option. A bridge in a place that is susceptible to flooding or earthquakes may have to use
steel for the safety of people who will use it. Furthermore, many US states have mold-
related legislation in place or pending, so contractors who want to avoid liability may
need to include steel floor joists in their plans.
5. Steel is one of the most recycled materials in the world, it doesn’t consume trees, and
has a 90% lower output to landfills than wood. Builders who are environmentally
conscious or want to use “green” initiatives as a selling point can assure their consumers
of the sustainability of steel floor joists.
6.
Singh Gurucharan, Building Construction and Material, 2010, Page no-496- 536 2.
Punmia B.C, Building Construction,2013, Page no-281-292 3. Arora S.P, Bindra
S.P, The text book of building construction, 2015, 12.3- 12.34 4. Standard Method
of Detailing Structural Concrete,