283757893275

Prefabrication and Off-Site Production 511
The steel frame for the house is placed on the concrete floor slab ready for assembly.
The main frame and internal walls are made of light gauge structural steel.
Once erected the frame is insulated and vapour barriers envelop the building structure,
sealing in the structural steel and creating an airtight barrier. Finally the roof covering and
brick cladding can be applied. The whole construction process is very quick. Houses can
be erected and completed in just 12 weeks.
Photograph 8.10 Steel frame housing (courtesy of D. Johnston).
‘Z’-sections that are attached to the wall panels. The roof structure is assembled at ground
level and lifted into place in one piece. Roof spaces can be designed to form extra habitable
rooms. The windows and doors can be fixed to the steel frame before the brickwork is laid,
giving the structure added weather protection, helping internal trades. On a 34 dwelling
housing scheme in Southampton, Taywood Homes Ltd reported construction times of 8
weeks, with the steel frame only taking 3 days to erect for each dwelling.
Modular steel framing
Two of the best-known examples of modular steel-framed construction are the schemes
at Murray Grove and Raines Dairy in London for the Peabody Trust. Volumetric house
construction comprises steel-framed modular units (joined together for semi-detached and