[dcolkitt]

A lot more builders should be looking into steel framing. Light gauge steel has also gone up, but nowhere near as much as lumber. For the typical project, it's probably cheaper now than wood framing. Especially when you take into account that steel framing can be pre-cut at a factory with CAD software, requiring much less skilled labor onsite.

And steel makes a much better frame. Fire resistant, termite free, mold free, holds up better in earthquakes and floods, stronger, doesn't rot, doesn't warp. The problem with the construction industry takes way too long to adapt new patterns, even long after shifting technology and economics makes it compelling.

[idiotsecant]

Steel framing also has a tiny fraction of the r-value of wood. It might seem like the framing element is irrelevant but it adds up quickly. A layer of R-19 batt insulation is 63% less restive to heat transfer (effectively R-7.1) when installed in an assembly of 2x6 metal studs on 16" centers, compared with R16 in the same assembly in wood.

[tgb]

I see this in new construction in my area and have wondered about having a electrically conductive frame. Any danger there? Also how do you mount anything if you don't have wood studs?

[kaydub]

A lot of wood framing is being done at factory and then assembled on site.