Light Steel Frame Building is a very widely used construction method abroad that all Going Green builders must consider seriously. Light Steel Frame Building offers many advantages.

Recycling
All of the steel used in a LSF building are typically recycled. The steel used to build a standard LSF house can typically come from three or four recycled cars!

Energy efficiency
LSF buildings offer vastly superior thermal resistance to brick homes that translate into energy savings. This has been scientifically measured to building code standards. When it comes to energy efficiency, there is simply no comparison between a light steel frame building and a traditional brick-and-mortar building.

Lower CO2 emissions during the construction phase
The faster construction time, coupled with the lighter weight of the building material used in an LSF structure, means fewer truck loads, less fuel and consequently, lower logistical carbon output compared to the numerous truck loads required to build a brick structure.  A light steel frame, 274 m2 house built in Northcliff, Johannesburg took one 25-ton flatbed truckload to offload everything needed to build the house from start to finish, excluding the finishes. Even if you don’t care about the CO2 emissions, the cost savings are slf-evident. Source: Build Better, Build Faster and Save Thousands of Rands SAW Steel Aluminium Wood, p4. The Corporate Link c.c. Sloane Park. ISBN 978-09585000-3-6

Forest saving benefits
Using a steel frame rather than timber to build a structure means fewer trees are cut down for construction purposes. The more trees there are, the greater our capacity to harvest carbon from the atmosphere in a natural way and the less likely we are to encourage soil erosion.

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