Benefits of Light Steel Framing

By using “LSF” for your construction projects you are guaranteeing a high-quality finish. By the very nature this material; its characteristics and propertie; cold formed steel studs offer significant advantages to home owners, builders and consumers alike. “LSF” is strong, lightweight, and made from uniform-quality material. Steel walls are straight, with square corners, and all but eliminate pops in drywall. This virtually does away with the need for costly callbacks and adjustments.

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Labour Savings
The specialized labour requirement on a project using “LSF” is much less than that of traditional methods of construction. Depending on the size of the project, Somundy is able to save in the neighbourhood of €10 per sq meter on labour alone. Costs can be further reduced in areas such as administrative staff; since you are only dealing with one major supplier your staffing needs are reduced. With factory production, Somundy trains you or provides a detailed guide as to how everything fits together when it arrives on the job site. Since everything arrives in pre-fabricated panels, your workers do not need to waste time assembling individual components to complete your project.  

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• Savings on Materials
• Since Somundy purchases the steel coils used to produce the “C” and “U” profiles that are used in the “LSF” system directly from a manufacturer, there is no middle-man involved, resulting in a direct savings to the end client. Adapting to produce the project in house or in a factory setting, allows for a much greater control over production which will reduce human error and jobsite waste.  In today’s world of environmental awareness, an added benefit is that essentially 100% of any material waste is recyclable. Since the majority of work is on the factory floor, there is less job site wastage which reduces costs associated with clean up after the job is completed.  The “LSF” system by Somundy is able to offer extremely competitive prices and often even lower prices since material is bought in bulk, as well as the tight costs controls associated with a factory operation etc. The “LSF” systems also often results in a decrease in associated costs for many trade contractors.  Since “LSF” is what is considered an “Open System” it makes the installation of plumbing and electrical much easier, quicker and efficient, since they can make use of  pre-punched studs and open web floor joists for passing of pipes and cables.

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• Reduced Construction Time Frames

With a Somundy factory operation production becomes feasible year-round, this is especially important in countries where the climate can wreak havoc with on-site schedules and production.  Since “LSF” uses standardized materials which are always produced to exacting standards, there is no longer a need to “SORT” the material looking for a suitable piece as there is with “lumber framing” or other traditional methods.  With a factory production line, you also reduce the number of delays due material shortage or late deliveries or having the wrong items shipped.  With a factory operation such as this your labour force is generally much more reliable. There is less time lost due to worker shortages or scheduling problems as it is much easier to control every aspect of the production line. This all results in a shorter time to completion of any project, which also means it is much easier to not only plan you completion date, but also to meet it, making your end client happier.  They will not only be able to occupy the space sooner than with other methods, but also the cost associated with any loan they have will also be reduced.

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• Consistent Quality
• Production under factory controlled conditions results in production that guarantees high quality and meets exacting standards and conform exactly to plans. With your production team working in an indoor environment it makes all aspects of their day to day work easier and much more efficient. This also greatly reduces many problems associated with working on site, such as problems with materials that have been exposed to the elements making them more difficult to work with.  Factory production is “Exact”, which helps achieve a tighter “Fit” and improved thermal and acoustical signatures.

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  Design Flexibility
  
  
• The advent of “LSF” in the construction industry brought about a new era in industrialized construction for both home and commercial building. Somundy Enterprises have the ability to produce a residential home from virtually any plan, and adapt to most commercial buildings (under 4 stories).  We invite you to find the residential or commercial plan which meets your personal needs, wants and desires, then contact us to assist you, in being part of the solution for your next project.

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  Thermal Insulation
  The interior of a“LSF” home is totally insulated from the exterior by a variety of different methods such as waterproof paint, stucco and other similar finishes such as brick lining, stone, etc. sheets of expanded polystyrene, sheets of OSB, several centimeters of mineral wool and drywall. The characteristics of a materials such as polystyrene and mineral wool offer a superior level of thermal protection, which is not usually achievable in traditional constructions.
  
  To provide you with an idea of the differences in effectiveness between the materials used in “LSF”construction as opposed to more conventional methods review the following graphic and table. You can see the thickness levels required by some standard materials in order to obtain equal levels of thermal insulation.
  
  
  1. A) Common Bricks 860 mm
  2. B) Block of Concrete 380 mm
  3. C) Wood 140 mm
  4. D) Plywood 65 mm
  5. E) Cork 50 mm
  6. F) Mineral Wool 45 mm
  7. G) Extruded Polystyrene 40 mm
  8. H) Expanded Polystyrene 25 mm
     
     

  The graphic above demonstrates that in order to obtain the same level of insulation achieved with the level of mineral wool used in a “LSF” construction, the building would possess brick walls of more than 800mm of thickness as opposed to either 90mm or 140mm
  
  

  The windows of an “LSF” building are composed of double pained glass containing a sealed pocket of air between the two panes of glass, ensuring a perfectly sealed environment, resulting in a building that is much more thermally efficient resulting in fewer costs for both heating and air conditioning.

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  Accoustic Insulation
• There are many materials that can be used inside your home as an effective acoustic insulator. Mineral wool is one of the most popular materials and is used for the interior and exterior walls. It is effective not only because of its structural composition but also for its density, and offers a high level of acoustic insulation. To further improve the acoustic insulation of the home you can use expanded polystyrene on the exterior of the home. The combinations of these materials also act like shield, dispersing noise. In the interior, by using drywall you can increase the insulating power of the mineral wool and the expanded polystyrene. For these reasons the sound in a “LSF” structure travels differently from that of a traditional house. Noise inside the home is reflected by the walls and not absorbed, resulting acoustic insulation three times superior then that of a brick wall.
  
  If you strike an interior wall inside a “LSF” structure will notice a different sound, it sounds hollow, since the sound of the impact is not completely transferred to the other side of the wall. Some people associate this as weakness; however this couldn’t be further from the truth.  The basis of this form of construction and its primary strength is in the structure itself, and not in the thickness of the walls. This means that we achieve structural strength while at the same time providing superior thermal and acoustic insulation
  

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  Easy Maintenance
• In order to minimize the costs associated in maintaining your home over the long term, Somundy only uses the highest quality materials. This is an additional area in which you can see some of the advantages offered by using “LSF” are demonstrated.
  
  The Exterior
  Because the finishes used by Somundy and the “LSF” system possess great elasticity and is physically separated from the structure by the use of termotyveko it is practically impossible for fissures or cracks appear in the walls. This cannot be said when using traditional systems such as cement. The quality and resistance of the paints used guarantees that it won't be necessary to paint the facades again for several years. The roof is protected by the application of a rubber self-adhesive cloth, which guarantees that no leaks will penetrate the interior. Since it is also constructed in the same way as the rest of the structure it is virtually immune to humidity, thus practically eliminating any need for repair and will require only minimal maintenance.
  
  The Interior
  The high quality materials used in the plumbing and for the electrical wiring when using “LSF” building guarantees that they can used continuously over many years without any problems. Another advantage of “LSF” is in the ease in which changes or renovations can be made. For example to relocate an electrical outlet or a plumbing fixture is a simple process.  In the case of a brick construction, this would be a serious matter; it would first require that walls be opened up or broken apart in order to run the pipes or to add new electrical conduits or cables. It would then be necessary to cover the holes with cement or plaster and to paint. Although professionals will complete this work, it is impossible to guarantee that the wall will remain as even as it was previously.
  
  In the case of a wall where drywall has been used all that is required is to cut the portion of the drywall where the wiring or plumbing is and remove it, complete the necessary work and then install a new sheet in its place, affixing it to the steel structure with screws as it was done originally, and to tape the seams and to paint. This work could be completed in few short hours with an almost no inconvenience while at the same time avoiding all the dust and garbage that is such a common part of traditional construction and often leads to the constant postponement of any type of renovation. These same benefits are obtained when dealing with larger scale renovations, such as adding, removing or changing the position of an interior wall, which allows for a great adaptability to an “LSF” structure,  which is not available in standard methods of construction. The interior of the house can receive all the same types of finishing treatments normally used in any traditional house.
  
  Additionally it is much easier to install such modern conveniences as central air conditioning/heating or a central vacuum in a “LSF” construction. Due to the flexibility of the system it is extremely easy to run the necessary pipes to equip your structure for these modern conveniences.

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  Safety
• Even though “LSF” has been around for many years, Somundy has seen the use and acceptance of “LSF” in the residential and even commercial construction increase dramatically in recent years. This change has led to a large number “new” people aware of “LSF” and interested in this system, but who still have many questions regarding its sturdiness.
  
  The reality of the situation is that a home or structure built using “LSF” is secure if not more so than one built in timber or masonry. Just as in a home with masonry and brick, the security or safety of the structure comes from the steel rods imbedded in the concrete pillars throughout the structure, and not from the actual cement or brick.  With “LSF” the entire structure is composed of light steel studs spaced throughout every wall at either every 60cm or if needed every 40cm. In a typical 2 story home of approximately 200m2, there is approximately 1300 meters of steel studs, 500 meters of steel floor trusses, 800 meters of steel channels and somewhere in the neighbourhood of 22000 screws fastening everything together, not to mention the hundreds of other essential steel elements to come together to provide you with all the safety and security you will need. In all this represents almost 10 tons of high resistance steel held together by steel screws.  Instead of having a few concrete pillars with steel reinforcement, the entire structure is steel.
  
  An added benefit of “LSF” is that since the materials are light, the structure is subsequently not supporting the weight associated with traditional construction. Thus reducing or many times eliminating problems with the foundation that many times can plague traditional methods.
  
  The external walls themselves form the structure of the building, evenly spaced at 60cm or 40cm, always in line with the walls, roof or floor that above or below, thus evenly distributing the weight of the load to the foundation. Adding OSB sheathing to this exterior “Box” further increases the strength and safety of the structure. Since there are no welding points, there exist no fragile points that can break and disturb the distribution of the load.
  
  “LSF” is composed of light steel studs, channels, floor  and roof trusses all tied together with thousands of screws; what this means is that the structure even though extremely strong, it has no fixed points and thus remains very flexible. A flexible structure adapts to the natural shifting of the land, virtually eliminating cracks and fissures that appear in normal methods and also makes safer in case of an earthquake or other natural disaster.

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