CABO Approves Steel Framing for Residential Construction

On January 1st, the Council of American Building Officials (CABO) approved steel framing for residential construction. The CABO listing provides prescriptive requirements for framing houses with light-gauge steel framing (span tables, etc.). Builders not in high-wind areas and high-risk seismic areas will no longer have to get steel framing plans approved by an engineer. Additional measures to streamline use of steel framing will likely be included in the 1997 revisions to the CABO code which come up for approval this year. The code language does not address energy efficiency and the need for a thermal break (rigid foam) if steel framing is used for exterior walls.