Prefab house frames are available in many different materials for you to choose from depending on your location and preferences. Thus, learning what frames are available for prefab homes is crucial to your understanding and future decisions regarding many factors of your new prefab house.
Prefab house frames can be made from steel, wood, cement, and even high-tech composite materials like engineered wood. However, the two most commonly used materials for prefab frames are wood and steel, depending on the availability of each in a certain country and the requirements of its building codes.
What’s really important when considering the materials for any prefab house frame is its integrity for the long run. Meaning, when all factors are considered and calculated such as price, availability, speed, performance, environmental impact, recycling, and durability, you will have your “calculated integrity” of the frame’s material.
Prefab House Frame Is The Skeleton
In a nutshell, a prefab house is not so different than a traditional house, their difference is the way they are built. Prefab homes are built for the most part in a factory environment that has its benefits while traditional houses or what we know as stick-built homes are built on-site with their pros and (many) cons.
There are indeed some building methods that are not using framing at all, however, as prefab homes are built off-site and must be delivered for quick assembly on-site framing is a must for any type of prefab whether it is an A-Frame kit house, modular home, or panelized prefab house.
The prefab house frame is what will give the house its strength and shape. The stronger and more durable the material will be the longer the prefab house will stand. With that said some things must be considered when planning a new house build, like earthquakes, tornados, fires, tsunamis, erosion, pests, and everything else that nature can through at the house over the years.
A prefab house frame is what will determine its ability to withstand nature’s challenges, just like our own skeleton. It brings stability to the structure while leaving the ability to move a little when needed and still resume its position without any structural damage.
Each framing material will have its benefits regarding natural disasters capabilities, so make sure to choose it with great care to where is it that the prefab is going to be built.
Wooden Prefab Frame Homes
Wood frame construction is the most common frame building method available in the US, both for stick-built homes and prefabs. Thus, you will most likely build your prefab home from it if you live in the United States or Canada.
The wood framing building method is dated way back to the 1800s when wood frames were beginning to be used to reduce wood consumption and improve the comfortability of the building process using lighter wood beams or as we know them to be called studs.
The pros of using a wooden frame for prefab homes are the availability of the wood which is abundant in North America, comfortability of the work process that does not require lots of heavy tools or sophisticated joint technics. Normally building from wood is also considered very fast compared with cement casting for example which is also a big pro.
However, there are also some downsides to using wood first one is the fact that wood can be compromised by pests like termites.
Second, water damage can cause the wood to rot and compromise its structural integrity. The wood must be treated against moisture and water damages for future performance.
Third, fire and wind resistance would require biffing the framing system up to withstand the danger. Fire would require certain fireproof materials to improve the wood frame’s ability to support the evacuation out of the building. While wind resistance is required in tornado-prone areas which means putting heavier wood studs and stronger joints to be safe in mid to high levels of wind and stay in place.
Overall building a prefab house using a wood frame is possible and is still a great option. If done with care and the right combination of complementary building materials will result in a great livable prefab house.
Here are 3 companies that are building prefab homes using wood frames that you might want to check out:
- Frame House – a European prefab homes manufacturer with amazing-looking homes and a large product line made with wood frames. This company produces high-quality prefab homes and can cater to most customers’ needs.
- The Backcountry Hut Company – An American prefab homes company that offers amazing looking modern A-Frames that can be built almost anywhere. The frame is made out of wood and looks to support the structure very well. They have a unique design so it is highly recommended to check their products.
- Bensonwood – This New Hampshire prefab company provides awesome-looking prefab homes based on a wooden frame. The homes look and feel high quality and the company has a long history in this industry with lots of old buildings standing for years.
Steel Frame Prefab Homes
Using steel for a prefab home is not a new concept as it isn’t in the housing industry, in fact, many buildings were built using steel as the main load-bearing mechanism since late 1880 in the US and UK.
Using light steel for the skeleton of the prefab house is becoming more popular in many places around the globe as steel is much more available and in some cases would cost less than wood. The global availability of steel and the fact that its production process became more sustainable in recent years have made it a physible solution for many prefab home manufacturers.
As a customer when building a prefab home from a steel frame you can be sure to get a stronger frame, higher durability, faster production time, higher safety levels, better performance against natural disasters, greener process with a lower effect on the environment, and higher design flexibility.
In addition to all that there are way fewer restrictions in regards to adding more floors to your house. This is thanks to steel which is a more stable material long-term than wood.
Fire resistance is way better than wood and can be trusted to help the structure stand way longer to support safe evacuation from the building. Add this to the facade and interior fire-safe materials and you have a really safe environment for your family.
Pests are also not your problem with a steel frame house. And make sure to use high-quality insulation materials that are pests-proof as well will result in a clean and healthy homely environment.
Regarding the costs of steel frame prefab homes, it depends greatly on your location, the state of the steel and wood industry (as 2020 and 2021 taught us), and even the time of year. However, there are good prices to be found in this prefabricated homes sector that could win against the wooden frames and give you higher performance for your money.
Here are 3 companies that are building prefab homes using steel frames that you might want to check out:
- Karmod – This Turkish company does it all, from prefab homes, modular, containers, office buildings, and much more. Their product line is giant and contains prefab and modular homes built with steel frames. I highly recommend checking them, even if to get ideas for your own house.
- SteelGenix – An American manufacturer that focuses on the sustainability and performance of the prefab house. Our world is changing as humanity grows and making sure everyone will have a house is getting harder with the current situation this is why this company is making sure to be as environmental as possible while making sure their homes are top of the line using steel frames.
- Bone Structure – Once again an American precut homes company based in California serves Canada as well. These homes are highly advanced with new steel technology implemented and used. The overall look and feel of the homes is highly new agey and modern which can be great for those that look for a modern, safe, and convenient prefab home.
Other Framing Options
As the prefab homes industry is growing so does the types of framing (or non-framed homes) systems are growing. Some companies have worked hard to create new and unique ways to form a house such as concrete slabs and panels, unique metal panels, and more.
Concrete Slabs Prefab House
A company in Japan has built homes using cement slabs that are formed in the factory and sent to the site to be assembled. There is also a project using this technic in Canada in combination with other building technics.
True, this is not “the” prefab house, yet is considered to be a prefab as most of its parts are built in a factory and assembled on site. It is still a fast process that can be started in parallel with the foundation work on-site to shorten the total time of the house construction.
Metal Panels Prefab House
Another great “frame-less” prefab house is offered by a new company called Cover, which is based in California. Their building system resembles the panels prefab homes system but the panels here are composed of metal with a unique joints system and cladding.
Moreover, all the electrical, water, heating, and other systems are part of Cover’s panel system and are integrated inside the panels in the factory.
This is the future of prefab homes and the future of house framing, the ability to manufacture lots of stable and durable panels quickly and install them on-site with little impact on the environment is truly the aim of all prefab, modular, and stick-built homes.
Container Homes Frame
Container homes are a type of hybrid prefab house, it does have an outer shell that some parts of it can be used for the frame of the house. However, once the reshaping begins and openings are cut out of the metal a new layer of framing must be added, in many cases, it will be from steel.
So overall, container homes are not the frame and require a frame structure just like all the rest of the prefab home types.
Conclusion
There are many ways of building a new house, yet not that many frame options for a prefab house. The main idea of prefab framing has remained unchanged for the most part and for now most of the prefab and modular homes that will be built will be framed using steel or wood in the traditional framing manner.
However, more innovation is entering this field of prefab homes and companies like Cover are trying to change the way we build and think about these homes and how they can be built.
Adding this new level of complexity to the design process will eventually result in a higher level of prefabricated homes that could one day be way cheaper than traditional homes. To achieve this the production process must be tuned up towards mass production, when this happens the housing industry will be changed forever.
For now, any prefab house manufacturer you like will work perfectly, if you would like to compare between two or more companies read my post on how to pick the best prefab manufacturer.
Each framing system has its pros and cons and this has also been covered here on a separate post comparing steel and wood frames.
The bottom line is – if you trust the prefab company to be there when you encounter problems then the frame materials won’t matter that much. In the end, it’s the people that matter not that much the exact materials used for the build.
Until next time
My Alternative House