The wife and I are building a house north of Hilo on the Big Island in Hawaii. The weather and the termites are murder so we’re using steel framing and light weight concrete blocks. The blocks have a heavy duty inner Styrofoam like core that is surrounded by a thin layer of concrete. Dry wall will cover the framing and stucco will cover the concrete blocks.
The ocean is less than a mile away so “regular” building materials might not stand up to the conditions.
Here in Australia modern all steel houses are not at all uncommon. There is a movement in the Architectural circles for “lightweight houses” and this can encompass all steel construction.
The common construction is not a lot different to conventional wood frame, but uses rolled steel frames that are dimensionally compatible with wood frame. As has been pointed out, once clad you really can’t tell. Internally they will be lined in conventional drywall, or possibly more interesting materials. Externally many houses are clad in conventional sheet and rendered, but many are clad in steel. It is more expensive, but is almost maintenance free and very strong. Roofs in Australia are almost all steel now. There was a period when tiles were favoured, but steel has returned. It is cheaper, lighter, stronger and lasts.
My house is a curious melange, having been built and rebuilt over about 40 years. One entire face of the house (two stories) is steel structure, aluminium framed wall to wall, floor to ceiling window, with a mix of aluminium and steel sheet where there is no glass. There are other walls that are steel sheet on wood frame, a steel roof, and the garage is steel frame and steel clad. Down the street from me is a reasonably new (last 5 years) house that is entirely steel. The roof is insulated with fibreglass batts that touch the metal, this quite effectively damps the noise of rain. Possums scampering about less so.
We like steel, we have a lot more iron in the ground than trees above, and termites don’t eat it. That said, the most common form of construction is still wood frame. At least in South Australia. Across the country things vary.
To get a bit more of an idea - check out the products on Bluescope’s web site. This is pretty much where all of Oz gets its steel housing products from.
I think they are very practical in that you start with this big wide open shell of a frame. No supporting beams. Like a big wearhouse. Then you can build inside however you want. Plus that initial frame is fairly cheap. Over 10,000 square feet of covered, enclosed space for less than $50,000.
Even better you can have that outer shell built quonset style meaning no rafters or roof to speak of. Just a continual shell that stands up well to high winds.
I live in a house with steel roof and beams, the rest is brick. This is the only option, here in the Caribbean termites are VORACIOUS and anything made of wood is temporary at best. I’ve seen a branch fall and be consumed totally by termites within months.
The same is basically true for wood frame construction. The only limiting factor is what you can span with roof trusses. I’ve built homes with engineered floor joists spanning over 25’, so I doubt joists are an issue either. The reality is that it is much easier and efficient to build your demising walls before starting the next floor or roof. Building walls inside an enclosed space takes longer, there are more complications and no advantage. I build new and do interior renovations, new is always easier.
As mentioned several times already, steel frame is very common but slightly more expensive than wood frame in most north american locations . What you can build in steel for 50,000 you can build in wood for less.
I think the OP is referring to a variation on my dream house.
More like so
Once the Pad is down and the shell is up, you can build pretty much whatever you want inside at your leisure. For about the price of a typical house you have 20K+ sqft of space to build your ultimate mancave! Cars parked inside, a few spare rooms for friends to crash, or even just keep a stack of futon pads in a corner for instant crash points for potential company.
