Myth

Fact

"Using steel is better for the environment than using lumber."

Wood is biodegradable and 100 percent renewable; steel is not. Wood products come from forests containing growing stocks of timber that can supply future generations. Steel, on the other hand, comes from materials mined from the Earth, never to be renewed or replaced. Even "recycled" steel contains are large percentage of virgin, non-renewable material.

A majority of the lumber and wood products used today in the U.S. come from domestic supplies, where forest management methods and reforestation practices ensure a sustainable, endless supply. However, much of the steel used in the U.S. comes from foreign countries, where there are few, if any environmental protections.

"Steel is more energy efficient than wood."

Studies by the Wood Science Laboratory, Inc. show that it takes nine times the energy to produce a steel stud compared to a wood stud.

As for "insulation performance", wood as a material exceeds steel in heat loss resistance and is a better insulative material.

Wood walls can just as readily be made as thick as steel walls. It is the thickness of these walls and the insulation contained within that determines the energy efficiency - not just the framing materials used.

"Steel is virtually fire-resistant and insect-proof."

Fire is a common scare tactic employed against wood. Granted wood burns and steel doesn't. But steel is far from invulnerable to the effects of fire. In fact, wood retains its structural strength under extreme heat for a longer time, while steel loses strength quickly and begins to melt, even under short exposure times. There are numerous examples of steel buildings collapsing into a mass of twisted metal after a fire, while wood timbers remain standing charred but intact.

The contents, the real value of a home, will be destroyed by fire whether it's surrounded by wood or steel studs.

Claims of lower fire insurance rates for steel-frame homes are false. Steel framing alone does not guarantee lower insurance rates.

The danger to wood frame from insects is overstated and is another scare tactic used by non-wood product manufacturers. Proper design and, if necessary, treatment protections minimize, if not eliminate threats from termites and other insects.

"It's easier to remodel a steel structure."

Few homeowners or professional remodelers have tools such as welders or cutting torches readily available to alter steel structures. But wood is an easily workable material that any do-it-yourselfer can - and does - use. Every homeowner knows that.

"Lumber supplies are dwindling and wood may not be available in the future."

The so-called wood products "shortages" are artificial, caused by over-zealous environmental regulations which have locked up productive timberlands and ignored the multiple-use principles which have guided U.S. forest management for decades. Only half of the forestland in the West is available for timber harvest, the remainder is set aside for wilderness, parks, and wildlife habitat. But the working forests are large enough to "grow" enough wood products to build 1.6 million homes each year, year after year, endlessly into the future.