Everything You Need to Know About the Cold Formed Steel Prefabrication Process

And, that is where cold formed steel (CFS) comes in. Prefabricated through a unique step-by-step process of smelting, cooling and rolling, CFS is incredibly long-lasting, resilient, and cost-effective, making it the best choice of material for most modern building projects.

At the same time, there are still myths, misconceptions, and doubts about the making and use of this material. In this guide, you can learn all you need to know about using CFS for your construction projects. But, if you have any doubts, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the experienced team at All Steel Mid-Rise.

What is Cold-Formed Steel?

Before diving into the details of what cold-formed steel is and how to use it, let’s look at the CFS Prefab 101.

Cold-formed steel – commonly referred to as CFS – describes steel products that are strengthened and shaped through processes carried out without excessive heat or at room temperature. Some of these processes include stamping, bending, and rolling.

Generally, cold-formed steel items are opposed to hot-formed or hot-rolled steel.

Thanks to its lightweight, CFS is commonly used in commercial construction projects and allows designers and constructors to vertically develop mid rise-rise buildings as opposed to high-rises and towering skyscrapers that use structural steel.

What’s more, since its standardization in 1946, CFS has found a wide range of new uses, including structural and non-structural applications.

How Long has Cold-Formed Steel Been Around?

Cold-formed steel, as well as CFS construction methods, have been around for nearly 130 years. What’s more, the first known application of CFS in the construction industry dates back to the 1920s, when this type of construction material was used in the building of a hospital in Lynchburg.

Some years later, in 1933, the new material known as cold-formed steel made its debut at the World’s Fair held in Chicago, during which CFS framing was used to build several houses in the exhibition area. The successful debut made cold-formed steel framing increasingly popular in the commercial market internationally.

When Should You Opt for Using Cold-Formed Steel

Using cold-formed steel in your construction project comes with many advantages. Being long-lasting and offering high levels of fire resistance, cold-formed steel is one of the best construction materials to remain compliant with the local building codes and regulations.

What’s more, cold-formed steel is resistant to heat, moisture, and pests such as termites, thus making it an excellent option for residential and commercial construction projects.

If you are unsure whether CFS is the right material choice for your construction project, working with a specialist can help you decide where it’s convenient to use CFS framing and where you should couple CFS elements with wood framing structures.

What Are the Benefits of Using Cold-Formed Steel in Construction

The properties of CFS translate to a wide range of benefits that this material offers to the construction industry.

These advantages include the fact that steel can be used for construction projects requiring high levels of stability and balance since it does not shrink, contract, or expand. What’s more, CFS is manufactured uniformly, which creates consistency. That consistency translates to less scrap. CFS also reduces building delays.

It is important to note that CFS is highly sustainable. It contains, on average, 25% recycled content, and it is 100% fully recyclable at the end of its life, which makes it less detrimental to the environment.

Even more importantly, CFS components and steel framing are highly reliable and durable, which prevent the cascade of construction issues that are too often part of construction projects.

In the event of construction projects based in geographical areas prone to strong winds and other natural disasters such as earthquakes, buildings constructed with cold-formed steel can deliver greater durability, safety, and resilience.

Using prefabricated cold-formed steel framing can also speed up and streamline most construction projects.

Looking To Learn More About the Cold-Formed Steel Prefabrication Process? Get in Touch With All Steel Mid-Rise

Through the cold-formed steel prefabrication process, companies operating within the construction industry can gain a significant advantage over the competition – in terms of costs, delivery speed, and result quality.

As the use of CFS inches toward the century mark, it continues to prove its value as being among the strongest, most reliable, versatile, cost-effective, and ever-evolving building materials whose advantages seem to have few limitations.

Beyond the advantages listed above, if you are looking to learn more about the benefits and uses of CFS, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our experienced team of highly-trained specialists at All Steel Mid-Rise — we are here to answer any questions you may have!