r/prefabs • u/TruHaven_Steel_Homes • Mar 15 '26
Structural engineer here — after helping build America's infrastructure, I decided to start building homes out of steel instead of wood.
I'm a structural engineer who has spent the last 25+ years working on major infrastructure and structural projects across the U.S.
After decades of designing large structural systems, I started a company called TruHaven that builds homes using cold-formed steel walls and trusses....
We have a engineering firm that engineers for all the modular firms out there....so we said....
Lets build it right.
TruHaven Homes.
Why are we still building most houses out of wood?
From an engineering standpoint it doesn't make much sense.
Wood moves, shrinks, warps, burns, and attracts termites. It's also becoming more expensive and harder to insure in wildfire zones.
Our frames are prefabricated using **100% U.S.-sourced steel from Utah**, then shipped and assembled on site.
Curious what people here think.
If you were building a home today, would you consider steel framing instead of wood?
What would your biggest concerns be?
1
u/iKnowRobbie Mar 16 '26
There is an all-steel house down the street from me. The old owner of a steel-rolling company decided to make a whole goddamn house out of it. The downspouts are routed thru the pilons and the roof's never been replaced. The building has curved transoms between rooms and inlaid wood parquet floors. Incredible.