Wall options - Smart Truss - any good?

[Petey303]

I was introduced to another option for building walls in my house. I was planning on double layer AAC. The builder sent this to me, with some installation pictures from a house they recently built.

 

Does anyone have any experience with this type of wall? Are the thermal properties any good? Pros/Cons?

 

Much thanks!

[Crossy]

Readable detail here https://www.lysaghtasean.com/th/en/products-and-solutions/steel-formworks-and-frames/smartruss/lysaght-smartruss/

 

And in English (Malaysia website)  https://www.lysaghtasean.com/my/en/products-and-solutions/structural-solutions/truss-system/lysaght-smartruss/

 

 

[tjo o tjim]

Light gauge metal framing is great... but you need to put your insulation on the outside rather than between the studs and trusses; the metal creates a thermal bridge.  It needs to be treated as a complete system.  You also need to make sure the vapor barrier is properly designed.

 

 

[Crossy]

The burning question is - How much cheaper is the build going to be than it would in conventional concrete pole and beam with AAC infill?

 

Also consider "service life of 50 years", what's the corrosion performance like at fixings?

 

How about storm performance in high winds?

 

Think about fire performance, zero fire load and resistant to spread, but the framing will distort meaning (potentially) a complete re-build!

 

Bluescope is well regarded in the roofing field, not so sure about this idea. My jaded mind says "lightweight steel = shed".

 

Another Thai outfit with a similar offering http://www.steelframethai.com/

 

[Bruce Aussie Chiang Mai]

If Bluescope product to Australian standard would be good product, been used there by some builders for many years.

Bats in all walls be good.

[seajae]

worked on some of these houses years ago, no problems with them in Australia, batts between studs was fine as well. The only problems I can see are possible foundation ones, in Australia they do soil test to work out suitable foundations/slabs, do they need peerage or floating etc, from what I have seen here with the way they do the foundations they tend to move around/crack plus the quality of concrete is not the best, both of which could cause problems. I prefer steel roof trusses/walls etc as it means you dont need the concrete columns right through the house making the rooms better but the quality of those actually building/working on it would be a huge worry as none of the  workers they use in Thailand  are actual tradesmen like they are in Australia, the electrical would be very suss with all the metal plus with the plumbling let alone the actual frame work, the use of spirit levels just doesnt happen, nothing is ever square here, they dont even tie the brick work here

Edited May 18, 2020 by seajae

[Petey303]

22 hours ago, Crossy said:

The burning question is - How much cheaper is the build going to be than it would in conventional concrete pole and beam with AAC infill?

 

Also consider "service life of 50 years", what's the corrosion performance like at fixings?

 

How about storm performance in high winds?

 

Think about fire performance, zero fire load and resistant to spread, but the framing will distort meaning (potentially) a complete re-build!

 

Bluescope is well regarded in the roofing field, not so sure about this idea. My jaded mind says "lightweight steel = shed".

 

Another Thai outfit with a similar offering http://www.steelframethai.com/

 

I agree. I looked through the documents the builder provided and the pictures of the house they just finished (almost same floor plans that we are going to build) - the bottom line to me is that this is easier and cheaper for the builder to build. Not in my best interests (heat insulation and noise).

 

Looks like the insulation is not as good as a double wall AAC (I found some numbers on coolthaihouse). The fire resistance numbers look good, but great point about distortion causing a complete re-build. So true.

 

We will stick with the concrete posts and double wall AAC.

 

Thanks!

 

[Crossy]

1 minute ago, Petey303 said:

We will stick with the concrete posts and double wall AAC.

 

Do go and look at the recently finished home if you can.

 

I am absolutely no expert, but tap on the walls, see how easy it will be to hang kitchen cupboards, aircons etc. Lean on the doors (think cheap TV scenery), this is a new (to Thailand) technique and could be exactly what you want.

 

Is he offering you a discount? Faster build?

 

[Yellowtail]

Are you planning to build a house or just an interior wall/partition?

 

I would go with cement board rather than gyp-board.

 

Also, get a quote from SCG for comparison as they specialize in this stuff. If you know the wall size/configuration they can give you a quote (subject to change) without seeing the job.