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Steel in construction is renowned for its strength and versatility, and with different steels available to use on your construction projects, it is important to know the advantages and disadvantages of the different steels used. Here are the differences, advantages and disadvantages of structural steel and light gauge steel construction.

What is Structural Steel?

Structural steel creation involves heating iron up and adding certain substances to achieve specific properties. Structural Steel is seen as one of the most important resources in construction, due to its long list of benefits for making building infrastructures extremely strong. Steel is used for large building projects within construction such as multistory buildings, bridges and industrial plants.

Advantages Of Structural Steel

  • Strong – Structural steel is hot rolled, and once hardened it becomes incredibly strong. For comparison, a one-inch circular bar that is firmly attached to supports can hold 20 tons.
  • Time/cost-efficient – Structural steel is easily produced and put together, as it is created off-site and is assembled on site. This makes structural steel time effective as it speeds up the construction process, in the long run this will also save on cost as time is money in construction!
  • Flexible – Structural steel is very flexible, despite being extremely strong. You can mould it into any shape, without changing its properties. You can convert it into sheets or turn it into wires as per the design.
  • Cheap – Structural steel is relatively cheap compared to other building materials.
  • Durable – Structural steel structures can withstand external pressures such as earthquakes and thunderstorms if maintained correctly.

Disadvantages Of Structural Steel

  • Corrosion prone – Steel is an alloy of iron. This, therefore, makes steel susceptible to corrosion (rusting). This problem can be solved to some extent using anti-corrosion applications.
  • High maintenance cost – Despite being cheap to make, steel in construction comes with high maintenance costs, as it has to be painted to make it corrosion-resistant – this can become costly over time. As well as the anti-corrosion costs, there is also a high cost that comes along fireproofing the steel. This is extremely important, as in extremely high temperatures steel can lose its properties.
  • Lots of high technology needed – Due to its extensive weight, lots of high technology is needed to transport and build the infrastructure, therefore calling upon experts both within the technology and construction will need to be on hand.

What Is Light Gauge Steel?

Light gauge steel (LGS) is cold-formed, which creates long, thin sheets that are then shaped into guided “C” or “Z” patterns capable of holding heavy loads. LGS frames and components are produced and fabricated from structural quality steel coils and are shaped at ambient temperatures by roll-forming machines. Light gauge steel construction is most commonly used in residential or light commercial construction as an alternative to wood framing. It’s similar to wood in that little cutting and sizing is required on the job site because the studs are manufactured to precise lengths

LGS can result in faster build times, lower costs, versatile design solutions and a durable, practical solution to premium buildings.

Advantages Of Light Gauge Steel

  • Time effective – LGS can result in faster building times due to there being no on-site, welding or cutting is normally required. This means that the erection process is fast and simple – requiring less labour time-on-site and heavy lifting equipment.
  • Versatile – It is able to shape itself to any form, and can be clad and insulated with a wide range of materials.
  • Lightweight but strong – Lightweight gauge steel is lighter than wood and is also stronger. This makes it extremely useful when building as LGS forms a very similar principle to wooden framing – members are replaced with thin steel sections. Not only is this easier to build, but is also strong.
  • Can be easily modified – It is easy to change or modify this construction at any point in its lifespan. It is able to shape itself to any form and can be clad and insulated with a wide range of materials.

You can find more information on the benefits of Light Gauge Steel Construction on our blog page.

Disadvantages Of Light Gauge Steel

  • Can lose properties – Much like structural steel, LGS properties can be lost in the event of a fire.
  • 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.