EDITORIAL

The deal wlth steel

Ligbt gauge steel fruning has occasionally been both a real and imaginary threat to the suprcnacy of the raditional wood stud. But today, steel's tbr€at to wood looks more real than al any dme during the last balf century.

While steel studs are used in only 2% of all homes built in the U.S., st€el associations predict rising lumber prices and availability poblems will enable st€el 0o capffe 25% of the new home market within five years.

Lumber producers don't buy this scenario. They counter that if steel reached even a l0% sharp, the pfessur€ on lumber would be off and woodpices woulddocline. St€el, according o the lumberuren, would lose its price advanage and its auraction fq hure builden.

Otlers aren't so sure. At the National Association of Home Builders show earlier this year, a steel ftarned home was built to demonstrate new technologies and systems. Buildet interest was intense. Calls seeking information about st€el rarl 30-40 per day on a NAHB hotline for builden.

gut the conversion ftom wood to steel isn't