It should go without saying that a home’s foundation is essential to the dwelling’s long-term durability, functioning, and strength. This is because it bears the load of the entire structure plus its contents and occupants. A home’s foundation is most typically known as its flooring and may also include a concrete slab or a suspended sub-floor.
Selecting the ideal floor for your construction should be based on a careful evaluation of all the factors related to the location you are choosing, i.e. different sites will necessitate different materials. For example, if you’re building on a sloped block, that may be one of the top factors. Other factors can take into account the soil type, wind loading, flood plains, and high fire danger zones (just to name a few aspects). Naturally, the costs of construction and aesthetic factors will follow.
A conventional concrete slab is just one of your home’s basic foundation options. In this article, we examine the distinctions between this flooring technique and an innovative alternative – the steel flooring system. This will provide you the opportunity to save money, time, and energy (while still being highly suitable for your chosen site). We also examine how the advantages of steel flooring systems can be further maximised, such as when utilised as a component of a steel kit home.
A concrete slab is a concrete floor that most often looks like a flat, horizontal surface formed of cast concrete. Reinforcements are necessary because of concrete’s low tensile strength, as are additional elements.
For instance, unless you choose polished concrete, you’ll still need to construct a solid wood floor or put tiles or carpet on top of your slab after it has been poured. Formwork, pump rental on the day of the pour, and finishing charges can all be necessary when it comes to a slab. While a concrete slab is the most traditional method for constructing a house foundation and it might be your ‘go to’, considering the above points could very well be a money saver.
A steel sub-floor system, on the other hand, uses steel to provide a strong beam and joist subfloor frame. Steel is a strong yet lightweight material that is also corrosion and termite resistant. When made with high quality BlueScope steel, a steel flooring system offers even higher durability and strength (especially when compared with traditional timber joists that are often used with a conventional slab).
Steel flooring systems are also easy to install, are low maintenance and can be prebuilt to a specific design standard. By virtue of this, costs may be minimised, and construction time can be sped up significantly. It is reassuring to know that (because it is inherently non-combustible as a material) steel flooring materials are frequently used in high-risk fire applications, such as bush fire zones. Also, because it is highly flexible, steel flooring is ideal for those with steep or hilly sites.
As mentioned previously, a steel sub-flooring system can be further enhanced when it is made with quality steel. For time and labour costs reasons, it is all the better when the system comes prefabricated. You can add to this by including steel posts. However, this is where the advantages of steel kit homes become so apparent. Imagine all the flexibility of a kit home with the extra strength and resilience of steel flooring, steel posts and a steel framework. Herein lies the supreme beauty of a steel kit home in all its simplicity and practicality.
With a steel kit home, there need not be any compromise on design choice, due to steel’s excellent floor spanning ability (the number of internal load-bearing walls and columns can be minimised). Steel is also the most recycled product in the world, making it a very sustainable building material. When you consider the overall simple assembly that a kit home offers, you can also maximise your savings (suitable if you are an owner builder) by completing the construction yourself. You can find out some more on this by reading our article ‘Why Choose a Kit Home’.
Ensure that you look for an affordable steel kit homes supplier backed by a long-standing team of specialised technicians and consultants. We can help you find what you are looking for when you complete this quick and easy online form today.
Thanks for getting in touch. One of our team members will respond to you as soon as possible.
Address: PO Box 635, Sandgate QLD 4017
Email: info@kithomes.au
Phone: 1800 197 717
Copyright © Kit Homes Nation-Wide Pty Ltd 2024. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Disclaimer