LSF building gaining popularity

1st March 2013

By: Sashnee Moodley

Senior Deputy Editor Polity and Multimedia

  

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The use of light steel framing (LSF) is steadily expand- ing in Southern Africa, despite a slow recovery in the building sector, with LSF manu- facturers having reported a throughput increase of 10% during 2012, says the Southern African Light Steel Frame Building Association’s (Sasfa’s) yearly survey.

The survey found that a total of 300 000 m2 of LSF buildings was completed during 2012 and that a greater number of light steel roof structures, covering a floor area of about 1.4-million square metres, were used, replacing timber or heavy steel structures.

Sasfa director John Barnard says LSF buildings range from affordable to upmarket houses, schools, medical centres and offices to additions to exist- ing housing.

He believes the growth in LSF demand is the result of an increasing number of designers, builders, developers and homeowners becoming aware of the advantages offered by this building method.

Barnard says some architects have also realised the potential of using LSF for the external and internal walling of multistorey office buildings and shopping centres.

Meanwhile, he expects the low-rise building market, which comprises about 80% of all building in South Africa, to play a major part in the growth of the LSF industry.

Barnard also highlights retro- fit projects that improve the energy efficiency of outdated buildings as a growing market and says LSF is already used for upmarket houses, and he expects a growth in demand from the middle-income and affordable-housing sectors.

LSF speeds up the building process as the basic structure is fabricated in a factory, delivered in a vastly reduced number of loads to site and quickly assembled.

This allows different stages in the building process to be carried out concurrently such as ordering different elements for the building while these elements are being manufactured.

Sasfa explains that LSF is a modern building technology that is greener than conventional building processes and reduces handling and transportation costs, owing to the reduced mass of materials.

LSF also decreases wastage of water and building materials as a result of precision in the fabrication process. It also offers energy efficiency, as its insulation properties reduce heating and cooling costs throughout a building’s lifetime.

“LSF buildings, constructed according to SANS 517, the South African LSF building standard, are well insulated and adhere to and often surpass the energy efficiency requirements of the national building regulations. LSF buildings can, therefore, provide more comfortable internal temperatures than masonry buildings,” Barnard says.

Studies undertaken by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research reveal that LSF buildings only require 50% of the electrical energy needed to heat and cool a masonry house to comfortable temperatures.

Meanwhile, Barnard notes that, as LSF is gaining in popularity, the manufacturing sector of the industry is becoming increasingly well established and general volumes of production are increasing.

“Cladding, lining and insulating manufacturers are able to accommodate a growth in demand. The skills pool among builders is also growing and professionals in the industry are realising that LSF is a viable and sustainable alternative building method.

“It is gratifying that exports to sub-Saharan Africa are increasing and already constitute about 30% of local LSF production. Sasfa is optimistic about the future of the industry and we expect it to grow into a building method of choice in South Africa,” says Barnard.

However, he believes that this will only happen when energy efficiency requirements, as set out in the country’s building regulations, are properly enforced and implemented, resulting in the wider market realising the advantages of LSF.

Energy efficiency requirements will enhance the competitiveness of the LSF industry, as LSF buildings fully comply with SANS 517 requirements, unlike masonry buildings, where additional measures are required for compliance.

Developments and Challenges
Barnard notes that a relatively new development in the South African market is the use of external insulation and finishing systems (EIFS), which are widely used overseas and are being introduced onto the South African market by construction products group Saint-Gobain.

EIFS entails the use of high-density expanded polystyrene panels on the outside of light steel frames, which are rendered with two layers of colour-impregnated polymeric plaster.

“However, the current low level of activity in the South African building industry is resulting in competitive survival pricing by players in the traditional masonry industry and this makes it difficult to introduce alternative technologies,” notes Barnard.

To compensate for the low level of building activity in the local market, the LSF industry has been expanding its market to sub-Saharan Africa and Barnard notes that several manufacturers have moved their profiling equipment into neighbouring countries.

He points out that another challenge in the industry is at municipal level, as some building inspectors are not knowledgeable about LSF and this results in delays in plan approvals.

Sasfa provides training programmes for builders and building inspectors and is working with the National Home Builders Registration Council to introduce building inspectors from the Department of Human Settlements to LSF through a series of countrywide seminars.

Edited by Tracy Hancock
Creamer Media Contributing Editor

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