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Overview

A Kodiak Steel Homes red-iron frame system
A Kodiak Steel Homes red-iron frame system



Site-built wood framing



Light-gauge steel stud framing


A Kodiak Steel Homes Pendleton model
Kodiak's beautiful Pendleton model


A Kodiak Steel Homes Autumn View model
The popular Autumn View


Most houses in the United States are "stick built," which means that all or nearly all of their components are fabricated on the job site from raw materials, mostly lumber. Obviously, people have been building things out of wood for thousands of years, and this approach has worked pretty well — in normal circumstances. Unfortunately, if you wait long enough something abnormal may happen that wood cannot handle. Wood can rot, mold, or be destroyed by termites. It burns easily, and it performs poorly in catastrophic situations like earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes. Even worse, quality wood is becoming increasingly difficult to find. Most loads of lumber contain several pieces with obvious defects that must be culled before construction begins, and even boards that appear solid may conceal hidden defects that can cause a failure under high stress.

Strongest Framing Available
A Kodiak Steel Homes® kit offers you a superior alternative to typical home construction. We have adapted one of the most successful types of commercial construction — pre-engineered steel framing — for the residential market. Our bolt-together "red iron" framing serves as the backbone for the strongest, safest, and healthiest shelter you can provide for yourself and your family. Even better, our homes are economical, easy to build, and attractive. No other system can do as much for you. A handful of other steel home companies also have bolt-together red-iron framing, but only Kodiak Steel Homes kits use structural steel I-beams for the main columns and rafters. We have the strongest residential framing system available . . . period.

A Unique System
It is important to note that Kodiak Steel Homes red-iron framing is totally different from light-gauge steel framing systems. Light-gauge frames are built just like wooden ones except that the builder substitutes steel studs for 2x4s. Although light-gauge steel framing probably performs better than wood, it offers far less than a Kodiak Steel Homes frame. Light-gauge frames are not fully-engineered systems. They offer no improvement in design and fail to take full advantage of steel's capabilities. Secondly, light-gauge framing is a complicated, labor-intensive hybrid with no long history in commercial or residential construction and no ready pool of experienced framers. As a screw-together system, light-gauge framing will be unfamiliar and likely unappealing to both framing carpenters and steel erectors, so competent labor may be difficult to find.

Multiple Advantages
Our pre-engineered designs take full advantage of the properties of steel to offer you numerous advantages over other methods of construction. Some of these advantages are described in more detail in the following pages of this section:

Engineered System