| If you attend this weekend's Fall Home and Garden Show at the Minneapolis Convention Center, you'll have an opportunity to see what could be the house of the future.
Oddly enough, the house of the future looks exactly like the house of the present. That's because the difference is inside the walls and under the roof. The difference is steel.
Commercial buildings have been constructed with steel beams and girders for decades, but it is a relatively new phenomenon to build houses that way. The reason is fairly simple: Historically, steel has cost more than wood, so builders put up wood-framed homes.
The difference in price between wood and steel has changed in the last decade; however, wood has become more expensive, steel is more affordable, and some builders are beginning to see an interest in steel frame homes. . .
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Other Twin Cities builders agree that steel is a viable material for building homes and might even have some advantages over wood, but they're not sure how quickly steel homes will catch on.
"I would say it's an uphill battle only because the public does not see it" says Morgan Jenkins, architectural designer for Anderson-Sorensen Homes. "Far and away the norm is to see wood-framed homes. Is it a good idea and will it eventually catch on? . . . It will have to."
The Sunway Homes Steel Structure at the Minneapolis Home & Garden Show.
A 4WD Subaru is sitting comfortably in a bedroom on second floor to demonstrate structure strength.
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