ToolBase Services
The Home Building Industry's Technical Information Resource

Back to Standard View
Building SystemsHome Building TopicsDesign & Construction GuidesBest PracticesConstruction Methods
Adobe Acrobat Reader required for PDF documents

PDF documents require the free Adobe Reader.


All PDF documents open in a new browser window. Close the browser window to return to the site.

Hybrid Wood and Steel Details–Builder’s Guide

July 2003     

Executive Summary

Cold-formed steel has been widely used in commercial buildings, especially in non-loadbearing (partitions) and curtain wall applications. In both commercial and residential construction, cold-formed steel sections are increasingly finding use as primary structural members, such as beams, floor joists, roof trusses, and load-bearing walls.

Despite the availability of cold-formed steel framing, some basic barriers still impede the material’s adoption in the residential market. In particular, the building industry is generally reluctant to adopt alternative building methods and materials unless they exhibit clear quality or performance advantages. Therefore, builders tend to use alternative materials where they make the most sense. Currently, there is no single document that builders can use to construct hybrid cold-formed steel and wood homes. The available information and details for steel and wood hybrid structures are dispersed and not readily accessible to builders.

This report shows existing hybrid details and presents new details that are needed for builders who choose to use steel in a wood-framed building or wood in a steel-framed building.

This document starts by providing an introduction to cold-formed steel framing construction methods and fastening techniques. It then provides a comprehensive list of details with tables and engineering data where required and available.

The full guide in PDF format:

Part 1 - Introduction, Part 2 - General Information, Part 3 - Materials
30 pages

Part 4 - Fasteners
24 pages

Part 5 - Hybrid Connection Details
58 pages

Part 6 - References
12 pages

Prepared for:
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office of Policy Development and Research

and

Steel Framing Alliance (SFA)

30 pages