Have you ever wondered what’s special about framing with light gauge steel, compared to other materials? Light gauge steel is both highly durable and lightweight, making it ideal for framing applications, especially when paired with steel framing software. Learn more about the advantages of using this material for your next project and why it’s the preferred choice of builders in the industry.
It significantly reduces transportation costs and simplifies the construction process as it is easy to work with. Additionally, it is pound-for-pound one of the toughest materials available, providing excellent structural integrity and durability.
By using light steel for framing your construction projects, commercial or residential, you can save valuable time and money without compromising on quality or performance—especially if you build using offsite construction methods.
Whether you’re an engineer, architect, or general contractor, it’s important to know about light gauge steel framing. This blog serves as a primer covering the essentials you need to know about LGS, or light gauge steel.
Heavy vs Light Gauge Steel Framing
Light gauge steel framing is a popular option in both residential and commercial construction due to its reliability and innovative design.
This material poses several advantages over traditional wood framing, including increased strength and durability, resistance to rot and pests, and improved fire resistance to name a few.
Light gauge steel is created through a process known as cold forming. This involves passing thin sheets of steel through rollers and presses while at room temperature, to create various shapes such as C, Z, or S-shaped sections. This method produces a final output that is highly precise and consistent in shape and design.
In contrast, heavy or structural steel is hot-rolled. In this method of steel manufacturing, the steel is heated to about 400-800 celsius and then passed through roll formers to shape them in their desired form.
This temperature range enables the steel to be shaped and formed more easily during the hot-rolling process. Structural steel components are typically thicker and heavier than light gauge steel components.
Depending on the project needs, medium-size construction can benefit from either structural steel or light gauge.
What Is Light Gauge Steel Framing?
Light gauge steel framing is a construction method that cold formed steel sections to create a structural framework for buildings, which at its simplest is an assembly of columns and beams.
Cold formed steel sections include steel studs, tracks and joists that are assembled together to form the load bearing skeletal structure. However It can also be used to create interior partitions and non-load bearing walls, or curtain walls.
LGS framing is commonly used for commercial and multifamily residential buildings, and it is seeing a rise in single family residential applications as well.
To prevent fire damage, steel is coated with zinc or a combination of zinc and aluminum, also referred to as “galvanized” steel. This protective coating safeguards the steel from corrosion. The thickness of the coating depends on the intended environment of use. For instance, steel pieces intended for humid settings require a thicker coating, while those in drier regions can have a thinner coating.