Building with steel frames has historically been met with resistance from traditional timber frame builders and tradespeople: Steel can’t be cut with a hand saw and it cannot be nailed into, making adjustments or rectifying mistakes if needed during steel frame construction being far more complex than when timber frames are used.
Fixing in steel is seen as both time consuming, and more difficult when compared to timber frames where one size nail “often fits all”. With steel frames, a variety of different screws are required for different applications.
Added to this, carpentry apprenticeship courses have not typically focussed on how to build with steel, so it’s understandable that even the new blood coming into the building industry has a similar resistance against building with steel to that which already existed.
Does this mean that the likelihood of steel gaining traction as a legitimate alternative to timber is hamstrung?
Not with the right products in place! In recent years, the industry has seen a significant shift in the volume of buildings being constructed using steel frames. Yes, due in some part to the timber shortages experienced during the Covid years, but largely because there has been a bevy of development in products and research and development in construction processes and the benefits far outweigh the preconceived time delays.
Whatever the reason, innovative products are being introduced that make building with steel extremely easy – and paving the way to heightened acceptance of steel frames in the future.
One such company heavily involved in the development and promotion of new and innovative products is IDEAL Fasteners who have introduced a new breed of innovative fixings called the SCRAIL® SteelThread™.
The word SCRAIL® is a combination of the terms screw and nail and combines the benefits of both fastening methods. SCRAIL® are extremely versatile and are suitable for a multitude of screw fastening applications. Designed specifically for fixing of particle board and plywood flooring to light gauge steel framing in residential, commercial & industrial construction. They also pierce and fasten fibre cement flooring and cladding materials to light gauge steel.
SCRAIL® SteelThread™ provide the fastest possible method fixing of subfloors in steel frame construction. They have excellent holding power and can be easily removed or adjusted with the use of a hand or powered screwdriver.
They are available in collated coils or plastic strips and can be rapidly driven using pneumatic or gas nailing tools into steel joists with the same speed as driving a collated nail into timber joists.
Four times faster than collated screws and eight times faster than loose screws.
The patented special thread provides excellent holding power in steel from 1.20mm up to 1.90mm even without an adhesive. On site testing has found SCRAIL® SteelThread™ capable of piercing steel up to 3mm thick dependent upon the grade of the steel. They are also suitable for fixing into
1.00mm and even 0.75mm when used in conjunction with an approved IDEAL Fasteners adhesive.
SCRAIL® SteelThread™ are available with finishes including electro-galvanized or Fascoat® for extra corrosion resistance. SCRAIL® SteelThread™ is just one product within the wide range available in the SCRAIL® family.
Determined to continue the ‘age of innovation’, industry bodies such as BlueScope Steel and IDEAL Fasteners have now combined to develop and conduct training programs about steel framing for carpentry teachers throughout Australia. These teachers, in turn, are able to train carpentry apprentices coming through the system about the new age of construction.
For further information visit the IDEAL Fasteners website idealfast.com.au or contact your nearest IDEAL Fasteners branch.
