FAQ

Cold-Formed Steel is made from structural grade sheet steel (20 – 12ga) which is hot-dip galvanized, rolled and cut into coils. It is then manufactured into varying shapes on high-speed, continuous roll-forming machines. As the name suggests, no heat is used and the material is cut to specific lengths during this process.

While the general shapes of wood and Cold-Formed Steel framing are similar, in terms of material, they could not be more different. Wood members are fully combustible, material quality is markedly inferior and wood framing creates a lot of landfill waste. Member for member, wood is cheaper – but once stud-culling, fire stopping, sprinklers, and labour-intensive installation have been taken into account, steel framing often proves to be more economical. In terms of performance, wood framing falls well short of cold-formed steel. Cold-formed steel is uniform quality, made to national standards and is, of course, 100% non-combustible. Being recycled/recyclable material means that there is ZERO landfill waste on a Cold-Formed Steel framing project.

The possibilities are limitless. As well as conventional cold-formed steel roof truss, floor and wall packages, VanderWal Homes & Commercial Group Inc. has engineered and fabricated some extremely intricate structural designs for hotels, long-term care homes, casinos, mausoleums, water treatment plants, municipal buildings, custom homes and retail outlets. Applications such as pipe supports, mezzanines, floor additions and architectural features have also been readily accommodated.

Although steel (both cold-formed and otherwise) is a well-known conductor, thermal bridging (or cold/heat transfer) is virtually eliminated by the use of cavity insulation and furring channel perpendicular to cold-formed steel framing when applying finish materials. The furring channel reduces the contact area between structural Cold-Formed Steel members and the finishes to a negligible value.

Material science and engineering is constantly progressing– six to ten storey buildings and beyond can be completely engineered using only Cold-Formed Steel.  Often alternate limiting factors present themselves, but under optimal conditions complete high-rise developments can be constructed using cold-formed steel framing.

VanderWal Homes & Commercial Group Inc. exclusively uses self-drilling screws to effect engineered connections between its Cold-Formed Steel members.

VanderWal Homes & Commercial Group Inc., accounts for any specified loads, including seismic considerations. Cold-formed steel is used extensively in geographical zones exposed to seismic activity as it has considerably less mass and behaves predictably under earthquake conditions.

VanderWal Homes & Commercial Group Inc. can offer budget Cold-Formed Steel estimates from even the most basic of dimensions; however, a full, firm quotation will require professional drawings. After the initial approved design phase and acceptance of the quote, engineered shop drawings are completed and approved before commencing fabrication of Cold-Formed Steel components. Drawings can be sent electronically to [email protected] or contact VanderWal Homes & Commercial Group Inc. to make alternate arrangements