The frame that went up a few weeks ago for a Fort Wayne home will never be bothered by termites. And it won’t dry out, warp or catch fire very easily.
It’s the Fort Wayne Neighborhood Housing Partnership’s first test of steel-frame residential construction.
In fact, “this is our first in trying an alternative (construction method),” said John Lehner, executive director. “But we are going to continue to experiment.”
The nonprofit group originates mortgages to low-income individuals considered too risky for conventional financing because their income is insufficient or they have had credit problems. The mortgages generally are issued at least one percentage point below market rates. The partnership has originated mortgages for families with incomes as low as $12,000.
Funding for the mortgages comes from the Indiana Housing Finance Authority and from six area lenders: Home Loan Bank, Fort Wayne National Bank, NBD Bank, Norwest Bank, Standard Federal Bank and Star Financial Bank.
The partnership also builds new homes in low-income neighborhoods. And it has started experimenting with alternative construction materials and methods to reduce the cost of owning a home, Lehner said.
Members of the Fort Wayne Home Builders Association have been invited to explore the partnership’s Robinwood Avenue project as the home is built, to study residential steel-frame construction.
The learning opportunity could benefit the local building industry and the community if the advantages make it popular with home buyers, partnership officials said.
Lumber prices in the last year have risen $100 per 1,000 board feet, which has increased the cost of the average home almost $2,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
Timberland Homes, the contractor for the Robinwood Avenue project, estimates steel-frame construction could reduce its cost by $1,500, but some of the decrease will be offset by higher mechanical subcontractor costs.
As Timberland construction crews become more familiar with steel-frame construction, the alternative material could reduce a home’s cost up to $3,000, said Bob Eddy, Timberland’s owner.
The biggest savings to home owners could come from lower heating and cooling costs, he said.
Steel-frame construction requires wider walls, which accommodate more insulation. And that improves the insulation’s effectiveness 30 to 50 percent.
The partnership plans to build about a dozen homes next year, and if it is pleased with the results of the Robinwood Avenue test, those homes could be build with steel frames, said Kent Litchen, president elect.
“This construction technique is a natural for Indiana since steel production is a major industry in our state,” he said.
“The supply of steel framing materials is plentiful and its nearby manufacture helps keep its cost low when compared to wood framing products,” Litchen said.
“Recycling operations right here in Fort Wayne are supplying some of the materials needed by the steel frame manufacturers who are supplying the steel studs you see” on the Fort Wayne home, he said.
