Sector Focus: Light Gauge Steel
12 NSC
April 18
Light steel framing is an offsite
manufacturing process that uses light
steel sections to produce pre-fabricated
infill wall panels and load-bearing walls that
are used in light steel-framed buildings and
modular construction. Common light gauge
products include C-sections, purlins, side
rails, walling, composite panels and built-up
cladding solutions.
Lightweight components are produced
by cold forming thin gauge strip material
to specific section profiles. In most cases,
galvanized steel strip material is used. Light
steel components are produced in high
volumes by cold rolling and in low volumes
by press braking. Thicknesses typically vary
from 1.2 to 3.2 mm.
Light steel components are widely
used as secondary structural steelwork in
single storey industrial buildings. Other
common uses for light steel framing
are residential type buildings of 4 to 10
storeys e.g. apartments, hotels and student
accommodation. It is also used in housing,
particularly 2 and 3 storey houses with
habitable roof space, and applications where
its light weight is beneficial such as mixed-use
buildings, including residential space over
supermarkets.
William Worthington, Metframe Sales
Manager, Metsec, says: “The general interest
in offsite construction is at an all-time high,
with several reports and research being published
focusing on this method of building.
“With the residential construction market
under pressure, it’s becoming increasingly
apparent that the construction industry is
currently unable to meet the housing demand,
and government-backed publications and
professionals are highlighting problems with
quality and capacity.”
Design and Detailing
Light steel framing is a highly engineered
structural system which is linked through
BIM
systems
to
sophisticated
manufacturing.
The structural characteristics and the critical
design checks for light steel frames can be
significantly different to those of hot rolled
steel frames. Light steel frames must be
designed for the consideration of uplift forces
at the foundations due to lateral wind loads
and suitable anchorage details designed to
resist the uplift forces. It may be the case that
hot rolled steel sections are incorporated
into the light steel frame to resist heavy point
loads, e.g. for balcony connections. The hot
rolled sections should be detailed such that
they fit within the depth of light steel walls
and floors.
Installation of Light Steel Framing
Installation of light steel framing requires the use
of a crane. Depending on the project and the
subsequent craneage needs, the responsibility
to provide craneage may rest with the light steel
installer or the main contractor.
Light steel framing uses storey-high wall
panels that are delivered to site in bundles
appropriate for the build sequence. These are
unloaded from the lorry and placed on the
floors near to where they are to be installed.
One lorry can deliver 30 to 50 wall panels
which are typically required to build two
houses or four apartments.
Floors in light steel frame buildings are
generally either; light steel joisted floors with
timber boarding, panelised floor cassettes or
composite slab floors. The installation process
for each of these floor types is appreciably
different, with each having its own best
practice considerations.
“Kingspan are fully committed to
providing economic and sustainable light
steel framing solutions to the construction
sector. Our load-bearing building system
“Kingbuild” and our infill wall framing
system “Kingframe” are proving to be very
popular with contractors and developers as
a fast, economic, accurate and high quality
method of construction,” says Kingspan
Insulated
Panels Business
Unit Director Phil Jasper.
Benefits of Light Steel Construction
Some well-known benefits associated
with light steel construction are speed,
light-weight and quality which also lead to
supplementary advantages, such as early
completions, fewer snags and minimal
rework. However, there are also many other
advantages including;
• High levels of thermal installation and airtightness.
• The light-weight attribute of these
construction systems means that
foundation loads and sizes are significantly
reduced relative to concrete and masonry
construction.
• Productivity and speed of construction is
increased considerably which reduces site
impacts.
• Site safety is improved by a factor of 5
according to HSE statistics due to the
offsite construction process.
• Site waste is virtually eliminated due to
the use of pre-fabricated light steel and
modular components.
• Embodied carbon in the building fabric
will also be reduced when using light steel
framing and modular construction.
• Light steel structures can be modified and
extended easily. Modular units can be disassembled
and re-used.
• Manufactures’ light steel profiles are
readily available in 3D format from the
National BIM Library for easy inclusion
into 3D BIM models.
Design and
construction
with light
gauge steel
NSC highlights some of the
advantages that can be had from
using light steel framing solutions.
Sponsors
Light Gauge Steel
Framing
Gold: Kingspan Limited;
voestalpine Metsec plc
Silver: Hadley Group
Model showing a
light steel residential
frame
/Steel_construction_products#.27Light_steel.27_sections
/Steel_construction_products#.27Light_steel.27_sections
/Infill_walling#Light_steel_framed_infill_walls
/Modular_construction
/Building_envelopes#Purlin_and_side_rail_options
/Building_envelopes#Insulated_.28composite_or_sandwich.29_panels
/Single_storey_industrial_buildings
/Residential_and_mixed-use_buildings#Hotels
/Residential_and_mixed-use_buildings#Student_residences
/Residential_and_mixed-use_buildings#Student_residences
/Retail_buildings#Supermarkets
/Residential_and_mixed-use_buildings
/Design_codes_and_standards#Wind_actions
/Steel_construction_products#Standard_open_sections
/Residential_and_mixed-use_buildings#Balcony_systems
/Construction#Tower_cranes
/Residential_and_mixed-use_buildings#Residential_buildings_in_urban_areas
/Floor_systems#Composite_slabs
/Construction
/Thermal_performance#Fabric_insulation
/Thermal_performance#Airtightness
/Thermal_performance#Airtightness
/The_case_for_steel#Speed_of_construction
/Health_and_safety
/Construction_and_demolition_waste
/Life_cycle_assessment_and_embodied_carbon
