88 The Builders Choice Magazine – March 2018

THE BUILDERS CHOICE Truss and Frame Construction

hen The Builders Choice Magazine was launched in 2005the construction industry was experiencing a boomperiod in both the domestic and commercial areas.

At that time masonry was the major material used, however TheBuilders Choice Magazine recognised the numerous advantages oftruss and frame construction and promoted this method as beingworthy of consideration to the industry.

The traditional wet trades tended to slow the constructionprocess due to the time required for drying and curing. As housingwas then very much a priority in Western Australia, the State LaborGovernment encouraged the use of truss and frame as a way ofreducing the time involved in building houses.

The cost to the environment and the consumer has also drivenchange in various areas of the construction industry and the lack ofquality sand for concrete has driven up prices due to transportcosts from outlying areas.

However the truss and frame method has presented itself as a viablealternative. The epitome of lightweight construction, it cuts the costfrom the ground up, from foundations through to roofing materials.

In the domestic market the reduction in block size has not onlyreduced the footprint of homes, it has increased the need for asecond storey. Now, rather than having to wait for concrete to dryand cure, stud frame and cassette and joist flooring allow the nextfloor on a building to be installed almost immediately.

Innovations, such as durable, fashionable colours and fireretardant cladding, are being introduced regularly. AeratedConcrete Panels as well as Compressed Fibre Cement products canbe applied over the top of cassette flooring systems as well as

W

TRU

SS A

ND

FRA

ME

CON

STRU

CTIO

N

Many benefitsto truss and frame

construction

DOMESTIC & COMMERCIAL

THE TEA

M

BUILDERS CHOICE

Phone: 9409 5143www.thebuilderschoice.com.au

March 2018 – The Builders Choice Magazine 89

Truss and Frame Construction THE BUILDERS CHOICE

Tom 0400 119 895 www.aacbuildingsupplies.com.au Mark 0413 333 118

FORTIFIED PANEL SYSTEMFortified Panel System© is a lightweight pre-castconcrete product delivering superior energyefficiency compared to commonly usedproducts in the market.

! Fire Resistant! Premium Thermal qualities! Acoustic insulation! Fast Installation

Fortified Cladding Fortified Flooring Fortified Interior Walls

timber and steel joists, with timber or concrete toppings used toreduce noise and maintain a solid substrate which can be coveredwith carpets and or timber flooring.

Cold-formed steel framingSince the earliest examples of cold-formed steel framing foundtheir way into Australian homes and low-rise buildings more thantwo generations ago, steel has been demonstrating its credentialsas an ideal offsite manufacturing material.

Technological advances – particularly in the last three decades –have accelerated the move to smarter, lighter, stronger and moredurable structural members and components for every part of abuilding's structure.

At the forefront of this transformative wave has been the digitaldesign and manufacturing revolution, forcing the reinvention ofevery part of the manufacturing process. Lighter and strongersteels have enabled production equipment to reduce in size,enabling higher volumes of customised assemblies from smaller

spaces. Computer guided manufacture of most componentsintegrates smoothly with the digital space in which buildings arenow almost universally constructed.

The fundamental attributes of steel are showcased in this emerginglandscape: high strength-to-weight ratio, enormous versatility, lowwastage and outstanding durability are just the beginning.

When a steel-framed offsite assembly is designed andconstructed, it will hold its physical dimensions and functionalitythroughout the rigours of transportation, installation and serviceconditions. It will meet every fire resistance requirement and resistattack from biological and environmental agents.

A number of builders are using floor cassettes to speed theconstruction of town houses in South Australia.

The choice of light, strong, durable cold-formed steel alsoenhances the other materials essential to a successful project. Steelconnects reliably and securely to just about any other cladding,lining or fitout material from which the secondary building featuresmay be constructed, using familiar technologies.

90 The Builders Choice Magazine – March 2018

THE BUILDERS CHOICE Truss and Frame Construction

Floor cassettes take offOne manufacturer of light gauge steel framing, services theresidential and commercial building sectors.

Their core products include wall frames, floor joists and rooftrusses, with approximately 90% of projects completed on a supplyand installation basis.

The prefabrication of frames and trusses is absolute in the LGSenvironment and it makes good sense to look for ways to expandon the many benefits afforded by steel framing.

While floor cassettes are far from being a new technology, thesystem has been relatively off the radar in the South Australianmarket. With the recent increase in medium density and multidwelling construction in Adelaide the opportunity to reduce build

times, improve safety and de-clutter the work site has led to thedevelopment and roll-out of floor cassette systems.

Builders and developers alike are showing a great deal of interestin the system and they have been quick to acknowledge the needfor change from traditional building methods given the smallerbuilding footprint, the emphasis on worker safety and increasingpressure for build time reduction.

Cassette sizes vary from 12m2 to 24m2 with optimisation ofmaterials and labour being a primary consideration. Joists are an openweb design made from steel, providing ease of access for plumbing,electrical and air conditioning services. Floor cassettes are designedwith the builder's chosen flooring material in mind and wet area setdowns and the associated wet area flooring material are built in.

March 2018 – The Builders Choice Magazine 91

Truss and Frame Construction THE BUILDERS CHOICE

THE

NewKidON THE BLOCK

ARCHITECTURAL PRE-FINISHED COLOURED PANELS

Board Types

Cembrit Cembrit Cembrit Cembrit Cover Patina Sold Transparent

Western Australia Perth Distributor: CFCE AUSTRALIA Corporate video:Michael Di Stefano M: 0431 627 684 E: sales@cembrit.com.au youtu.be/DD82mTPN_I8

Safe and efficient work environmentAssembly on the factory floor provides workers with a controlled,safe and efficient work environment when it comes to theconstruction of floor joists and sheet flooring, thereby eliminatingthe risk associated with working at heights if it were done in thetraditional manner.

The factory also provides shelter from the elements, allowingassembly to occur regardless of weather conditions during the dayor night-time as required.

Cassette design criteria ensure that the majority of loads do notrequire permits or escorts. In most residential projects the truck-mounted crane can be utilised eliminating the need for doublehanding and additional crane hire.

On average, an installation team of three can place a cassette andsecure it to the frames below in 15-20 minutes, resulting in up to250m2 of flooring regularly being placed in a single day. This activitywould normally take the same team four to five days.

For builders, the speed to install is the icing on the cake.Installation of upper walls and trusses can get underway thefollowing day and the building site stays a lot cleaner and safer as aresult of not having multiple packs of material staged ready fortraditional onsite construction.

With pressure mounting on LGS installation resources the localmarket becomes more aware and accepting of steel framing. Thereduced time spent on site ensures the installation workers aremoving on to the next all-important project sooner.

‘‘Assembly on the factory floor provides workers with a controlled, safe and efficient workenvironment when it comes to the construction of floor joists and sheet flooring, thereby

eliminating the risk associated with working at heights if it were done in the traditional manner’’

92 The Builders Choice Magazine – March 2018

THE BUILDERS CHOICE Truss and Frame Construction

Self pierce rivetingHigh-tech fastening in the form of self piercing riveting (SPR)started life in Australia in the early 80s. SPR is used to assemblecars, trucks, silos, steel frame houses and many other productsaround the world without the sparks, dust, smoke and noiseassociated with welding.

For the same reason that car companies rely on SPR to assemblethe whole vehicle body, fabricators of steel framing rely on it as aquick, consistent, reliable, high strength fastening method.

SPR does not need pre-punched holes or post-painting, therivets are auto-fed on a tape so that, at the press of a button, arivet is set with continuous quality.

Virtually weightless, the rivet tools are suspended overhead froman XY rail system to cover the full area of the wall frame or truss.

Small locating dimples can be rollformed into the stud and plateand riveted over when placing one or multiple rivets in each joint,an advantage in cyclonic areas requiring higher strength joints.

New homes more bushfire-resistant at lower costRecent bushfires have again demonstrated the destructive powerof ember attack. In fact CSIRO post-disaster surveys of bushfiredamage typically find that some 90% of houses in bushfires aredestroyed due to ember attack.

However houses constructed with non-combustible buildingproducts have an inherent benefit as they cannot burn whensubject to ember attack.

As a deemed-to-satisfy solution in the National Construction Code,the National Association of Steel-Framed Housing (NASH) Standardfor Steel Framed Construction in Bushfire Areas can be used for thedesign of steel framed houses in designated bushfire areas.

The NASH Bushfire Standard was developed from full scaletesting of building assemblies by CSIRO using the most powerfulbushfire simulator in Australia, which is located at the NSW RuralFire Service training centre near Mogo, NSW.

The NASH Bushfire Standard is based on non-combustibleconstruction. In a nutshell, basically anything that might be reachedby an ember or subjected to a radiant heat flux of 40 kW/m2 mustbe made from non-combustible material.

The Standard covers dwellings with steel floor, wall and/or roofframing, steel roofing and a range of non-combustible wallcladdings. Some of the benefits of using the NASH BushfireStandard for design of homes in bushfire areas include:

! For major building elements, one solution for homesconstructed in BAL-12.5 to BAL-40 and another solutionfor BAL-FZ

! Steel fascia can span up to 1200mm

! Steel roof cladding is not required to be sarked for BAL-12.5 toBAL-40 and normal sheeting installation can be used withoutadditional sealing

! Normal component clearances and workmanship may be usedon the building exterior. If the building is weather and vermin-proof, component detailing is adequate

! The format of the Standard facilitates easy selection andchecking of the solution for each building element.

For more information on designing steel framed houses inbushfire areas or to purchase the NASH Standard in PDF or hardcopy, visit www.nash.asn.au/nash/publications/nash-standards .

March 2018 – The Builders Choice Magazine 93

Truss and Frame Construction THE BUILDERS CHOICE

P 08 9452 7004