Application of Steel Structure Buildings in Residential Construction

When it comes to building houses, the first thing that comes to mind is traditional brick-concrete structures or concrete buildings. But do you know? Steel-structured houses are quietly changing the way we live. This construction method that uses steel as the main load-bearing component is not only strong and durable, but also greatly shortens the construction period. Today, let's talk about the use of steel structures in residential construction.

First of all, we have to talk about the advantages of steel-structured houses. Compared with traditional buildings, the biggest feature of steel structures is "lightness". With the same load-bearing capacity, the weight of steel structures is only about 1/3 of that of concrete structures. This means that foundation treatment can be simpler, especially suitable for places with poor geological conditions. Moreover, steel materials are prefabricated in factories, and they are assembled on site like building blocks, which can shorten the construction period by 30%-50%. Now that housing prices in big cities are so high, early delivery means early return on investment, which is a real benefit for developers.

Let's talk about earthquake resistance. Steel structures are like building Lego, with bolts connecting the various components, and the integrity is very good. When an earthquake comes, the house will shake like a spring and will not collapse easily. In earthquake-prone countries like Japan, the proportion of steel-structured houses has exceeded 30%. Although our country started late, after the Sichuan earthquake last year, a large number of resettlement houses for post-disaster reconstruction adopted steel structures, and the effect was great.

Environmental protection is also a major selling point of steel structures. Traditional buildings produce 1.2 tons of construction waste per square meter, while steel structure construction waste is less than 0.1 tons. Moreover, steel can be 100% recycled and reused. Isn't the country advocating green buildings now? The carbon emissions of steel-structured houses are about 40% lower than those of traditional buildings, and many places have introduced subsidy policies.

Of course, steel structures are not perfect. The biggest problem is fire prevention. Steel will soften at a high temperature of 600 degrees, so fire prevention must be done well. The common method now is to wrap fireproof panels on the outside of steel beams and columns, or spray fireproof coatings. Although it will increase costs, compared with safety, this investment is still worth it.

There is also the problem of sound insulation. Steel has good sound transmission effect. If it is not treated, the sounds upstairs and downstairs can be heard clearly. The current solution is to add sound insulation pads between steel beams and floor slabs, and use double-layer gypsum boards and sound insulation cotton on the walls. These technologies are already very mature and can fully meet the sound insulation standards of ordinary residential buildings.

When it comes to cost, many people worry that steel structures are expensive. In fact, with the advancement of technology, large-scale production has reduced costs a lot. The cost per square meter of a 30-story steel-structured house is only 5%-10% higher than that of a concrete structure. And considering the capital turnover advantage brought by the shortened construction period, the comprehensive cost may be lower.

Finally, let's talk about the development trend. The "14th Five-Year Plan for Building Energy Conservation and Green Building Development" of the country clearly proposes to promote steel-structured buildings, with the goal of reaching 15% of newly built steel-structured houses by 2025. Now many developers are piloting, and a number of steel-structured residential communities have appeared in Beijing and Shanghai. With the maturity of technology and the support of policies, I believe that in the near future, we will have more steel-structured houses to choose from when buying a house.

In short, steel-structured houses are the general trend of the construction industry, just like smartphones replacing feature phones. Although there are still some minor problems now, technological advances are gradually making these shortcomings disappear. Next time you buy a house, you might want to pay more attention to steel-structured houses. Maybe this will be your future home!

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