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Frequently-Asked Questions

1. Does it look like a conventional home?
2. How will my home look and feel on the inside?
3. Can my home have a fireplace?
4. What if I want to use something beside a steel roof system or horizontal steel siding?
5. What about lightning hitting the home?
6. What is the the difference between steel and vinyl siding?
7. Are metal roofs loud when it rains?
8. Can I change the standard floor plan?
9. Can I move my doors and windows around, or change the size?
10. Do you make custom homes?
11. Do you have to build these on slabs?
12. Will my home be energy efficient?
13. Will my home be hard to put together?
14. Do I need any heavy equipment?
15. What if I don't want to build the home myself?
16. How much will my home cost?
17. How do I hang pictures on the wall if my studs are metal?

1. Does it look like a conventional home?

   Once they are finished, our homes look like any other house. They may have a stylish, colored steel roof system, but other than that you can't tell them apart from a conventional house inside or out. You can even choose to use non-metallic materials for your walls and roof, like shingles and brick or stone.
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2. How will my home look and feel on the inside?

   The inside framing is covered with sheet rock and painted. You can use crown molding and other nice trim details to make your home special. Our walls are perfectly straight so that the lines finish out crisp and clean. Our clearspan design lets you use any floor plan you want. Because our homes are so energy efficient, the temperature stays more constant and the home feels more comfortable.
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3. Can my home have a fireplace?

   Absolutely! It can go anywhere in the home you like. Fireplaces are much safer in our homes, because our structure is non-combustible.
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4. What if I want to use something beside a steel roof system or steel siding?

   That's fine too. Just choose our frame package only or create a custom quote and pick the roofing and siding options that fit your design.
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5. What about lightning hitting the home?

   A steel framed home is no more likely to be hit by lightning than a wood framed house. The difference is that the steel home is much safer if it is struck. When lightning hits a wooden object, like a wood-framed house or tree, the energy has nowhere to go and it usually explodes and often causes a fire. On the other hand, a steel object -- like a light pole or steel-framed home -- instantly conducts the energy to the ground. That's why once or more in your life you have probably seen a tree (or a shingle roof) with obvious damage from a lightning strike, yet you never see similar damage on steel poles, cars, or steel-framed buildings. Remember that most of the commercial and public buildings in your community -- churches, bank branches, schools, stores, etc. -- are framed with steel, and they are not being constantly struck or damaged by lightning. In short, the safest place you could be in a lightning storm is inside a steel-framed structure.
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6. What is the the difference between steel and vinyl siding?

   As you know, we sell steel siding and Polar Wall® insulated vinyl siding, both of which are vastly superior to standard vinyl siding. The steel is rigid and will not sag, crack, or rattle in the wind like vinyl. Steel siding is highly impact resistant. If you hit it hard enough, it may dent, but it is almost unbreakable, and of course it will not burn or melt. All vinyl siding, even our Polar Wall, will melt next to a heat source like a barbeque grill or trash fire. However, Polar Wall insulated vinyl siding is much better than standard vinyl siding in other respects. It has an insulating foam board laminated to the panel that makes it much more rigid and prevents wind from getting behind it. In fact, it is rated for winds over 200mph.
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7. Are metal roofs loud when it rains?

   They are no louder than other roof types, and the foil insulation blanket directly under the roof panels along with the attic insulation and sheetrock deaden the sound.
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8. Can I change the standard floor plan?

   Yes! All of our homes have an open span design so you can put the interior walls anywhere you want to.
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9. Can I move my doors and windows around, or change the size?

   Yes, you can locate your framed openings anywhere you want. Plus we send extra framing and trim in case you want to add extra windows or doors.
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10. Do you make custom homes?

    No, we have found that it is not cost-effective for us or our customers to produce custom homes.
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11. Do you have to build these on slabs?

    No, but most people build them on slabs because it's so much less expensive. We offer optional floor joist systems for our customers who want to build over basements or crawl spaces.
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12. Will my home be energy efficient?

    Yes, you will probably save a lot of money on heating and cooling costs. We give you a reflective foil, radiant barrier insulation for the roof and walls to act as a thermal break and to stop radiant heat penetration in the summer and radiant heat loss in the winter. Regular insulation doesn't stop radiant heat.

    That's the kind of heat that makes car interiors so hot while sitting in the sun. Our reflective foil insulation stops 97% of radiant heat penetration and loss. Plus, you get a ventilated attic because our soffit and ridge cap are vented, giving you continuous air flow through your attic. You can put as much conventional insulation in your attic as you like. We give you 6" exterior wall studs, enabling you to use lots of wall insulation.
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13. Will my home be hard to put together?

    It's hard work, but it's not complicated. You just bolt it together, following our numbering system.
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14. Do I need any heavy equipment?

    Yes, you will need motorized lifting equipment to help you unload the steel when it arrives and to stand your main columns and rafters, which you can typically finish in one day. After that, you can probably get by with ladders and scaffolding on single-story models. For most houses, a "skytrack" forklift, which has a boom that extends both outward and up, is ideal. For two-story houses, a boom truck or small crane might be necessary. For the smaller homes, people have also used standard forklifts and front-end loaders.
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15. What if I don't want to build the home myself?

    A local contractor or metal building erector can erect it for you. Make it clear to them that this is a bolt-together "red iron" framing system, not a light gauge stud-truss system.
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16. How much will my home cost?

    Most people get them built for between $75-$90 per square foot. A lot of the cost depends on how you finish out the inside. Also, people who act as their own general contractor or do some of the work themselves can save a great deal.
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17. How do I hang pictures on the wall if my studs are metal?

    Most pictures just hang on picture hangars that have a small nail that goes into the drywall only; just like a wood framed house. If you are hanging a large, heavy mirror or picture and the location happens to fall on a stud, you just use a screw instead of a nail. If the location is between studs you can use a molly bolt or expansion bolt that goes into the drywall; just like in a wood framed house.
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