Building physics and build-ups

Why this is the most important topic

A frame on its own is not a house. The user does not perceive the sections — they perceive whether the space is warm, quiet, dry and pleasant.

All of that rests on the build-up: which layers go onto the frame, and in which order.

The recurring question

“Will the house sound hollow?” — the most common question, and the answer is disappointingly simple: anything can be done well and badly. Walls with awful sound insulation have been built in brick too, and bad floors in concrete.

The question is not the material but how it is designed and built. This technology in fact offers more scope for a good solution than the traditional one — you just have to use it.

The four main themes

Heat

Steel conducts heat well, so handling the thermal bridge is the central question here. The answer is continuous insulation outside the frame.

Vapour and moisture

In light gauge steel construction vapour control is done solely by the membrane. The continuity of that membrane is therefore not a detail but a condition of the durability of the structure.

Sound

Mass, decoupling the layers and resilient connections together give the sound insulation. Light gauge steel is distinctly strong here when it is designed properly.

Fire

A topic of its own, but part of the build-up.

What to take away at the level of approach

In traditional construction a thick wall “sorts out” a lot by itself. In a light gauge steel structure every task is solved by one layer — and so every layer has to be designed deliberately.

That is more design work, and in exchange a result that can be tuned better.

For architects

If the designer knows the strengths and weaknesses of the structure at concept stage, the work goes much faster and fewer compromises are left at the end.