Mike Bobek was in Orlando, strolling the aisles of one of the Southeast's largest builder trade shows, when a skeletal mass caught his eye.
The part-time general contractor moved closer. He examined the sleek trusses; the screwed-together links; the pre-made wall panels.
It was a house. Or, at least, a frame for a house.
And it wasn't wood. It wasn't concrete block, the long-reigning king of South Florida's home-building market.
It was steel. Specifically, light-gauge steel, in an Erector-set-like assembly.
"The more I learned about it, the more I liked about it," said Bobek, a environmental consultant who does general contracting work on the side.
Fast-forward three years to today, on the shores of New Port Richey's Pithlachascotee River, where Bobek is building a three-story, Key West-style house.
Its frame: light-gauge steel.
When he finishes the 4,600-square-foot home, Bobek plans to put it on the market for at least $1 million, pitching its strength against winds of more than 130 mph.
For The Monarch Co. LLC, the small, privately held Stuart firm that's supplying and installing the steel framing for Bobek's house, the job is worth about $60,000.
But for the steel-framing industry as a whole, such homes represent broader potential in the Sunshine State. With its high strength-to-weight ratio and its resistance to fire, mold and termites, light-gauge steel is a natural fit for Florida, advocates say.
"Longer term, I really believe the sky is the limit," said Larry Williams, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Steel Framing Alliance.
The alliance, an industry trade group, reports that about 7 percent of Florida's homes are built with steel frames, compared with 70 percent in Hawaii and 8 percent in California.
Florida probably won't ever hit Hawaii's levels — concrete block is widely embraced here and just as strong — but Williams predicts steel could be used in 15 percent to 25 percent of the state's new homes in coming years.
"I have no doubt that the use of steel framing in California and Florida is going to continue to increase," he said. "There are just too many things that are continuing to keep builders interested in steel framing."
Adapting to the material
Monarch Co. Chief Executive Nicholas Peragine first learned about steel framing in the early 1990s, when he was subcontracting for a Palm Beach County builder who wanted to use the material for a new housing subdivision.
"Our reaction was, 'Oh my God, are we going to be out of a job soon?' " said Peragine, now 40. "Then we realized that no, we're not going to be out of a job, we're just going to adapt."
A perpetual entrepreneur, he started incorporating steel-framing jobs into his work. As he did, he discovered that steel's "green" factor appealed to him. Ninety-nine percent of the steel used for framing is recycled, and he thought that fact also would be a good selling point for Baby Boomers.
This year, he teamed up with Monarch founder Paul Knafle, 54, to launch a new steel-framing division for the company. Knafle was no neophyte: He got his start working on steel-frame shopping malls in the 1970s.
In the coming weeks, the firm plans to start manufacturing steel trusses, floors and walls in the 8,000-square-foot building it's leasing on Commerce Avenue in Stuart.
While residential work will be part of their business, Knafle and Peragine expect about 60 percent of next year's projected $10 million in sales will come from supplying steel trusses for commercial projects — which have long relied on steel framing to meet tougher fire codes.
Another 20 percent or so will come from residential steel-frame packages, and the remaining 20 percent of business will be labor-only installations of steel frames, they estimate.
Monarch recently landed a $200,000 contract to provide framing for a new Westin Starwood resort on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and it did the steel-framing work for the new City Mattress building on U.S. 1 in Jensen Beach.
The company also is working on an all-steel-frame house in the Poinciana Gardens neighborhood of Hobe Sound, and the pair believe that segment of the business will only grow.
"We're not trying to reinvent the construction wheel," Peragine said. "But if you're in an area where we're subject to moist conditions, windy conditions, surf spray... different things that are not so friendly to a house, why not try light-gauge steel?"
Gains on the Gulf Coast
Those selling points have spawned interest in steel-frame housing on the Gulf Coast, as the region rebuilds after Hurricane Katrina.
There, the industry has lobbied state regulators for homeowners insurance discounts that could make the construction more appealing.
"It's cocktail party chatter down there," Williams said.
So far in Florida, no similar movement has taken root, but some carriers offer steel-framing discounts for homeowners policies.
Travelers of Florida offers a "preferred rate" for steel-frame homes because they are noncombustible — but there's no discount for wind coverage, spokeswoman Jennifer Wislocki said.
"We found that the steel-frame construction does not stand up any better to high wind speeds," she said.
If engineered correctly, experts say steel frames don't fare any worse than concrete — but concrete's image as hurricane-resistant may be tough for steel to overcome.
The material proved itself when Hurricane Andrew flattened parts of south Miami-Dade County in 1992, and it became a mainstay in South Florida's residential market.
Steel-frame homes just don't enjoy the same reputation.
"I think intuitively people feel like they're less strong than concrete, especially when it comes to hurricane protection," said Don Santos, past president of the Treasure Coast Builders Association and head of Santos Construction.
In the end, he said, it's the consumer's perception that really matters.
Steel's other problem is a practical one, Santos said: There are far more concrete-block workers than trained metal-framing workers.
On that point, Williams said the industry has been making progress. The Steel Framing Alliance has trained thousands of building inspectors and sponsored worker-training programs, he said.
"Over the last 10 years, the industry has really put a lot of effort into developing the fundamentals," he said.
Already, light-gauge steel framing is widely used for interior home walls, and about 49 percent of new homes built in Florida have them, the alliance reports.
Builders prefer steel for interior walls, he said, because it's cheaper, it holds up well against termites and mold, and it's lighter.
Building for 160-mph winds
Rising concrete prices during the past several years prompted Palm Bay-based Craftsmen Builders to go a step beyond, using light-gauge steel also for external walls.
The company has built 11 steel-frame, wood-roof homes in St. Lucie County and is working at least 15 in Palm Bay — all of which are designed to withstand 160-mph winds, Chief Operating Officer Tony Bruscino said.
Most of Craftsmen's buyers are California residents who are familiar with steel framing and looking for investment properties in Florida, Bruscino said.
One of the biggest benefits of light-gauge steel, Peragine and Knafle agree, is predictability. Because frames are assembled in panels in a warehouse, the work can't be slowed by bad weather or tardy contractors.
"Once your concrete (foundation) is poured, we're literally there the next day with your product," Knafle said.
That can shorten construction time by 15 to 20 days, Monarch estimates, which can translate into cost savings. But the base cost of steel-frame homes typically remain at least 5 percent more than their wood-frame counterparts.
On average, it costs $1.16 a square foot more to build a steel-frame house than a wood-frame house, according to the National Association of Home Builders Research Center, and most of the cost difference is related to engineering expenses, Williams said.
Similar data comparing the costs of concrete-block homes with steel-frame homes was not available.
"I don't think it will ever be as inexpensive as wood, but that would be like comparing a Cadillac to a Buick," Peragine said.
Bobek, for one, is a convert.
"Any other house I do," he said, "I'll probably go with this light-gauge steel."
