AXXIS Steel Framed House Anyone built a Steel framed house using AXXIS Steel...

I personally would not use AXXIS, unless it was reasonably cheaper than alternative systems. I’m not a builder, nor have I built any houses before. The marketing for AXXIS talks about it being “dimensionaly accurate” – but so is the wooden timber used to build houses. Similarly they say it is tested for earthquake loading – timber houses as shown by Christchurch stand up well under earthquakes. But the main reason I would use steel framing (of any kind), is that steel is a very good conductor of heat, whereas timber is not. So heat in your rooms will be more easily conducted away from them and outside your house. It’s entirely possible to design around this problem, but that requires a specific design for the steel framing. Also, and this is a minor concern, if a live wire comes in contact with the steel framing, the whole structure becomes electrically live and can endanger your life if you come in contact with it – say, by nailing in a picture hook and hitting the steel framing, and having the electricity conduct through the nail and hammer into you. Yes, this, is incredibly unlikely and you’re very unlucky, but if a live wire comes in contact with wooden framing, it’s not going to electrocute you (although I guess it could catch fire and burn the house down – but that’s probably possible with the steel framing, too). I am however a lay person, so talk to experts and make up your own mind.

Hi Andrew, now I haven’t built with steel around Whangarei so I wasn’t going to comment but I have to because, with respect, I completely disagree with the other reply to your message. I am trained as an architectural technican and I have also had four houses built, one of them with a steel frame. The steel framed house is great. It is not just about it being “dimensionally accurate” it is also about it not being damp. When timber framed houses are lined they nearly always have some dampness left in the frame and so when it dries out over the next few months you often get nails “popping” out of the GIB and also cracks where the GIB meets (particularly at ceiling junctions). This does not happen with steel. My steel-framed house has had not one nail pop and has no cracks in the paintwork. Timber framing is also not as dimensionally accurate as you would think. When all the frames are put up, builders often have to plane down frames to make sure all the walls are straight before it is lined. My steel-framed house is no hotter in summer than a timber framed house. I agree somewhat about the steel being more of a conductor in fires but once you think about the batts in the walls etc it probably wouldn’t be much different with timber once a fire took hold. I would think it extremely unlikely that you would hang a picture and get electrocuted! For a start with steel you would mainly hang pictures just through the GIB with anchor hooks and the way they put the cables through are through specially cut holes through the middle of the dwang (also called nogs) so you would have to drill in a pretty long way to get anywhere near the cables. My house was built by Golden Homes and whilst I would not recommend them as a company at all, the actual building I am very pleased with and would have no hesitation in building in steel again. 🙂

My point about heat conduction is nothing to do with ‘fires’, or summer heat for that matter. It’s in winter, when the heat in your rooms will conduct through the wall linings, into the steel frames and out through ‘bones’ of the house, in a way that simply does not happen with timber. Like I said, you can design around this, but standard methods of timber construction applied to steel frames won’t account for this heat leaking factor.

Hi Sally, I’m thinking of building with Golden Homes in Northland and I noticed you couldn’t recommend them at all but were happy with the house. Any chance you could tell me more about the issues you faced? Many thanks!

We built with golden homes- built a large expensive house! communication appalling. Poor workmanship and when maintence finally completed over a year later (to there standard not ours) we were treated like we were a whinging big inconvenience. No care for what was promised and sold.

Steel framing is used in many commercial structural partitioning around the world it new to NZ how ever white rust can become a problem especially with high humidity and rust where the screws penetrate the steel to hold the jib. Its a extremely slow process but real.

Actually no it doesn’t. If you do some research on steel frames they actually use timber thermal breaks outside the frame to stop this happening. You are always going to have some leakage out of your house – in fact the windows are the worst for the leakage and you also get it through the slab (unless you have used one of the new thermally broken slabs – which are good also).

In regards to inside your house, no it doesn’t spread from room to room. You have GIB lining the walls. GIB is also a break between the timber and the steel. I know for a fact from my steel framed house that you can’t feel any heat from the hallway from the lounge which has a wood burner in it. Also the “NZ way” of heating one room only is ridiculous in itself, but that’s a whole other story. In relation to the houses you saw, it depends what cladding they were using. If you are using a cavity system (which most do these days) then the timber battens on the outside are already a thermal break.

Hi Mike, sure thing – it was mostly to do with PC sums. The guys in the Northland franchise might be nicer people which was a major problem I had down here but you do need to be careful with their agreement in relation to PC sums. If you want to leave an email address I will let you know privately the exact problems I had. 🙂

Hi Shelley, may I know which franchise of Golden Homes did you build with?

When you say “timber thermal breaks outside the frame”, you mean around the outside of the house? So in winter, if you are doing the typical NZ thing of heating only the room you are occupying, then heat is still going to conduct through the wall linings, into the steel framing and throughout the rest of your house, eg into your hallways and any other rooms you’re not actually occupying. This will heat your house overall, but it still means any particular room you’re trying to heat, will be harder to heat than if you used timber framing. Also, I live in Christchurch and have daily driven past a row of about 10 steel framed houses as they were built. I never saw them put timber thermal breaks in.

Hi Sally, Thanks for the info and would be keen to hear more if that’s okay. mike.sco@gmail.com Cheers!

Hi Sally. We too are considering golden homes so would appreciate further detail if you wouldn’t mind. DJ.riddell@xtra.co.nz. Thanks.

Hi Lanthanide and Sally, Steel framed homes are thermally broken by using a barrier between the cladding and the framing system, such as James Hardie HomeRAB. There is actually more insulation within the framing, as it’s hollow, and the batts sit inside that. Just thought I would clear that up.

Hi Sally, could you send the same our way too? Thanks, alex.

alex@ignitesport.org.nz

Hi Dayne, if you are looking to build Auckland/Waikato please feel free to give me a call to talk about your project. Cheers, Emma – DW Homes 021 515 574

Hi Sally, I’m considering to build with Golden Homes in Wellington so I would like to know further details. Thanks! vicky.pham1411@gmail.com

Hi Sally, I’m also considering Golden Homes in Wigram area, would you able to Email me your concerns? Sorry I realise it is awhile since you originally posted. Caprico72@hotmail.com Thanks

Hi Sally: Reading your posts I wanted to explore steel. However, I am told by experienced builders there is little expert labour to build in steel in NZ. Would like to get your advice on who are the builders for steel in Auckland please. Many thanks.