Soil Considerations When Choosing Kit Home Structural Materials
When you decide it’s time to buy a kit home, you will discover there are two types of floor systems, framing and trusses – steel or wood. There are several conditions which impact your choice of materials.
- Climate
- Slope
- Soil Conditions
Australia is a dry continent. It is abnormally dry under the best of conditions, and it has been worse than normal due to ocean currents leading to changes in the weather. Australia is one of the driest parcels of land in the world and this has implications when talking about soil conditions. Drought is hard on everything and that includes the earth itself.
When soil is dry due to drought conditions, its ability to carry a load is impacted. Dry soil is less able to sustain a heavy load which can lead to house shifting unless accommodations are made. One of those accommodations is the use of steel floor systems, and steel frames and trusses in the kit home construction.
Consistently Strong
Steel is light weight compared to wood and thanks to technology is one of the most consistent materials in terms of strength. It is a high quality material that will not warp, expand or contract. When built on dry soil, the lighter weight makes the house more stable and better able to be sustained without movement.
This means you are less likely to experience things like walls that warp or squeaky floors. When you buy a kit home, a soil test is performed along with a lot survey in order to determine if steel should be recommended.
Of course, there are plenty of areas in Australia that get heavy rains too. Steel flooring systems and framing also work well in areas where moisture in the soil is common. Moist conditions attract termites, and these ravenous insects can’t eat steel. Steel is often recommended in areas where termite damage to homes is common.
When Strength Counts
Though steel works best in most soil conditions, wood timbers can provide high quality construction where the soil is dry when special stabilizing construction methods are incorporated. Wood costs less than steel and with the right chemical treatment can be termite resistant.
The fact is though that steel has a number of benefits. In terms of strength, it has the one the highest ratios of strength to weight than other materials. In unstable or changing soil conditions, the material strength adds strength to the entire house construction.
For people building in dry soil conditions or on soil which attracts termites, steel is the ideal choice for house construction. You can’t tell the difference between houses built with wood or steel so aesthetics are preserved. The ability to cut steel with greater precision than wood means the house built on dry soil can be precisely squared adding even more stability.
In the final analysis, if you choose the right kit home manufacturer, steel or wood constructed homes will be high quality and engineered to the type of soil on the building lot.