Photo Credit: SBS Group
In order to meet the continued worker shortage, the construction industry is in need of new building solutions that require less labor. According to new research from the Associated Builders and Contractors of America (ABC), the U.S. construction industry will need to add 430,000 new workers to keep up with the increased demand for construction services in 2021.
One option is to use prefabricated products.
CFS Prefabrication Improves Construction Quality of Church
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Werribee, Victoria, Australia, needed a new meeting house. The architectural firm DWP specified prefabricated wood building components in the design. Wood framing, however, could not meet the specific needs of the project.
According to Architecture & Design, the use of wood wall and roof truss framing would have required extra planning of the panel designs and packaging of them on delivery trucks in such a way to ensure they remained straight and accurate once installed. In contrast, cold-formed steel (CFS) does not rot, twist or shrink. CFS framing could be “prefabricated square, true and uniform in size, allowing for simple installation,” Architecture & Design says.
Therefore, CFS wall and roof truss framing was selected for the project, rather than a wood framing system.
SBS Group designed and manufactured a prefabricated CFS system with strong load bearing characteristics. Photo Credit: SBS Group
SBS Group designed and manufactured a prefabricated CFS wall and roof truss framing system for the Latter-day Saints church. With strong load bearing characteristics, the unique light-weight engineered alternative accommodated the long-span trusses required for the project.
Prefabricated CFS wall and truss panels were manufactured off-site and shipped to the project location. Photo Credit: SBS Group
SBS Group also designed and shop detailed specific window and door systems for the meeting house, making allowances for other trades to streamline installation.
Articled cited from BuildSteel.org