Dear Jim: We are planning to build our dream home. It must be strong to resist severe storms and be efficient. It seems as though most businesses and factories are built from steel. Will this also work for homes?

– Carol D.

Dear Carol: It not only works for homes, but thousands of homes have been built for many years with steel framing similar to a factory structure.

When the homes are finished, they look like any other typical wood-framed home. This is why many people are not even aware of residential steel framing.

Steel offers many advantages over stick-built lumber homes. Steel is very strong and will not burn. Even if the rest of the house catches fire, the steel frame will still be standing. Steel does not warp and change shape over time as lumber does and each steel piece is nearly identical to every other one. Much of the steel used today is recycled from scrap materials.

From an energy-efficiency standpoint, steel is superior to most other framing materials. Although steel itself is not a good insulator, its high strength allows for thinner material thicknesses. This leaves much more room for additional insulation inside the walls and fewer thermal bridges. It will also remain airtight because the steel framing will not settle.

You might think a steel-framed home would look angular and plain. Actually, steel framing allows for more architectural design flexibility. With its superior strength and ease of assembly, more intricate designs are possible, as are longer unsupported spans.

The major steel-framed home manufacturers offer many standard house plans ranging from small bungalows to 6,000-square-foot mansions. It is generally less expensive to have them modify one of their standard plans to your needs or they can design all the steel framing per your architect’s house plans.

There are several construction methods of steel framing for homes. One method uses heavy steel arches which are placed on 8-foot centers. These support the walls and the roof. By being placed so far apart, there is extra room for insulation. This method is called “red iron” steel framing because the steel beams are painted with durable red oxide paint.

Another method uses lighter-gauge galvanized steel framing. Galvanized steel is formed to increase rigidity. The primary wall framing is placed on 4-foot centers with smaller steel members between them. The steel framing can be screwed or just snapped together on some designs.

A third steel framing method is called steel-for-stick. With this method, each wood framing member in a typical wall design is replaced with a galvanized steel framing member.

These companies offer steel-framed houses: Heritage Building Systems, (800) 643-5555, www.heritagebuildings.com, Hexaport International, (800) 200-7833, www.hexaport.com; Kodiak Steel Homes, (800) 278-0888, www.kodiaksteel

homes.com; Steel Framing Inc., (888) 736-2210; www.steel

framinginc.com; and Tri-Steel Homes; (800) 874-7833, www.tri-steel.com.

Dear Jim: We have a small winter home in a warm climate that we use only about six months per year. Since we turn off the water heater when we are gone, is it still cheaper to use a gas water heater than an electric one?

– Walt D.

Dear Walt: A gas water heater will still cost less to operate than an electric one. The savings will be only half as much as usual since you use it only six months per year. Gas water heaters cost more to purchase than electric ones. Overall, installing an electric water heater might be your best choice. It is easy to switch off the circuit breakers to an electric water heater when you leave and there will be no chance of a dangerous gas leak.

Send inquiries to James Dulley, Bangor Daily News, 6906 Royalgreen Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45244 or visit www.dulley.com.