In Episode 2 of Fun With Frame Up Now, we tackle a big question: Is steel framing more or less expensive than traditional wood? Join me and Brad Cooper as we explore real costs, build speed, and long-term savings.
Is steel framing more expensive or less expensive than wood? And just as important… What are the long-term costs and benefits of each?
To help unravel it all, I interviewed Brad Cooper, co-founder of Frame Up Now, the premier provider of cold-formed steel (CFS) panelized framing for homes, ADUs, and utility structures. Brad brings both builder experience and manufacturer insight to this conversation, which makes for a clear, practical look at the real costs involved.
What We Cover in This Episode:
• Is steel framing truly more expensive than wood? Brad explains why the upfront material costs tell only part of the story. • How panelized steel framing slashes build time Frame Up Now sends pre-engineered wall panels, trusses, and a complete “assembly map,” reducing guesswork and helping homeowners or contractors erect buildings in half the time of typical wood framing. • Labor savings for both DIYers and pros Door openings are square. Walls are flat. Layouts are exact. That means less shimming, less scribing, fewer adjustments, and far faster work for door installers, trim carpenters, closet builders, countertop installers, tile setters, and more. • How flat, true walls affect finish trades Tile goes up quicker. Countertops drop in perfectly. Closets sit flush. Backsplashes actually look like they’re supposed to. The accuracy of CFS eliminates all of the “fix work” required when wood moves, bows, or twists. • Long-term ownership benefits Steel doesn’t warp, swell, twist, or rot. That means: – No drywall cracking in corners or seams – No screw pops – No warped door openings – Little to no stucco or siding movement – Durable porch structures that stay true
It all adds up to lower maintenance and greater long-term durability.
Brad and I talk through real-world examples of time savings, material efficiencies, and homeowner advantages we’ve each witnessed on live build sites using Frame Up Now systems. Want to Learn More?
Visit FrameUpNow.com or call 888-641-8484 to speak with Brad’s team, and let them know that DirtFarmerJay sent you! Whether you already have a plan or want to browse their ready-to-build designs, they’ll help you get started.
More Videos on Steel Construction
If you found this helpful, check out our other interviews with Brad, where we explore additional benefits of building with steel and what it means for long-term ownership. And of course, don’t miss the video YouTube recommends for you next!
Thanks for watching “Fun With Frame Up Now.”
Hi, Dirt Farmer Jay here from
dirtfrj.com. I have a special treat for
you this week as I join Brad Cooper of
Frame Up Now, the premier supplier of
CFS, coal form steel buildings, ADUs,
homes, utility buildings, other
industrial buildings. And we're going to
answer the question in this interview
with him.
Is steel construction more expensive or
less expensive than wood framing? Is
wood framing cheaper? Well, stay tuned.
I think you're going to come away a lot
more illuminated about this whole issue,
the pros and cons. We'll see you on the
other side.
Will steel frame ADUs save you money
compared to wood framing? Well, that's
the question we're answering today.
Hello, I'm Der Farmer J of
derfarmerj.com and welcome to this
edition of fun with frame uppow. I'm
joined by Brad Cooper, one of the
founders of Frame Up Now. How you doing,
Brad?
>> Good. How are you today?
>> I'm doing great. I understand Frame Up
Now is the premier provider of panelized
steel framing components for ADUs.
That's accessory dwelling units. But how
often do you hear steel framing is more
expensive than wood framing?
>> I hear it every day.
>> So, what's your response?
>> Well, you know, I'm an owner of the
company also, but I also am a builder
and uh so I'm faced with that question
every day from clients. Um in in the
end, um metal framing is a little more
expensive. However, the benefits far
outweigh the the cost of the the product
itself. Um there are such
>> there are so many reasons why metal
framing makes the product a quality
product. Um for starters um when we send
you a product that is completely
panelized and uh the trusts are
completely done, we give you a map. So
essentially as a homeowner, you're
allowed to you can put that up yourself
and save all those costs. So they're in
that factor right there can save you a
lot of money over wood framing. If you
have to hire a general contractor, then
you're going to have to pay the labor on
that. But we allow you the ability to go
ahead and do this yourself by taking the
guesswork out of knowing how big a
window frame has to be, how big a door
opening has to be, and how to frame
those things in. So it takes that
guesswork out and allows you the ability
to do it yourself.
>> Wow. Sounds uh compelling. Uh you
mentioned if someone is using a um a
contractor.
>> Um so if the contractor is using your
system,
>> is the time to erect the building
greatly compressed, shortened as well,
and therefore the time to occupancy is
compressed a bit too. How's that work?
>> The time to put it up um is is
definitely compressed. Um like I said,
we bring everything out that's
panelized. So, you're following just
basically a map to put the thing
together, and you can put that up in
half the time that you can do a
woodframe construction.
>> I've actually seen one of these
buildings uh that you were putting up,
and it was um without using hyperbole,
pretty astounding how quickly at the end
of a workday that a moderate-sized crew
had done. Uh, I mean, they were on to
putting on uh the tresses and and part
of the building. All the perimeter was
out up. There were things going up in
the inside, all that. It It was pretty
astounding to see it. So, is this the
kind of experience that people should
expect if they use your approach in your
product?
>> Most definitely. Um, with that type of
approach you're talking about, we did
have experienced framers, so they know
exactly what's going on. They're faster
at it. However, it does allow the
homeowner to still be able to do that.
Maybe not in the exact uh or in that
same speed, but they can do it and save
themselves.
>> Right on. Now, you know, I think kind of
like two different categories where uh
there could be savings using steel
framing. One is during the construction
of the building or the ADU, the
accessory dwelling unit itself, and the
other is long-term. So, while it's being
built, how does the method of building,
the squareness, the flatness of the
wall, how does that affect the trades
that are typically used in the finishes
in there, and how does that suppress
cost that, you know, offset the cost,
the initial cost of the steel framing?
>> Sure. Um, the subcontractors that I use
for hanging doors in particular or doing
my trim work, um, the doors openings
themselves are very true and square. So,
hanging a door in them is very simple,
very minimal amount of shimming. Um, so
they hang extremely simple. the closets.
When you're building a closet out, if
you're up against walls that have warps
in them or there curvature in them,
you're constantly having to what's
called scribing the shelves to fit the
walls. So, you're having to trim the
shelves in the back to make them fit
square against the walls. With the steel
framing, that's completely eliminated.
>> Everything is flat. So, when your shelf
stock goes into your closets, it goes
right in flat. Same thing with
countertops. When you're doing your
countertops on your uh kitchens and uh
bathrooms, when those are fabricated,
they come in with a a square or a flat
um surface on the back that literally
can be set on the countertop and be
done. There isn't any of the scribing on
that. Also, we're grinding it away. Same
thing with backsplashes. When you put a
backsplash on a wall, it's flat. There's
none of the extra shimming it out or
trying to push it back against the wall
and caulking it in to hide those big
joints.
>> No more lump. No more lumpy walls.
>> No more lumpiness.
>> So, and you just started to say tile. I
mean, when you're working with a
non-flexible material like ceramic tiles
or those kind of things, terzas or
whatever,
>> uh, explain how that is also affected.
Well, when you're building your showers,
um you know, 95% of your shower walls
are flat. So, with the steel framing, um
it it it makes them exactly flat. With
your wood in the is in the back, you're
going to get warpage from the the lumber
and your walls are not going to have
that flat surface. You go starting to
set tile up against it. Your tile won't
set flat. So your most your tile setters
have to do what is called floating out
the walls and making them flat so that
they they're prepping the walls so they
can put the tile up on them. Well, with
our system the walls are dead flat. Um
>> immediately the tile setter can start
putting them on the wall from square
one. So building a shower is usually
about half the time of building a shower
over wood substrate.
Got it. So these are some of the things
that really
um suppress cost during the building. Uh
not only because uh material is more
efficiently used, but also the trades
can get in and out faster, therefore
time is money,
>> right?
>> That's right. That's right.
>> Okay. So So the the a home can be
delivered quicker for occupancy. Now
let's look on the other side. I've moved
into one of these homes that have been
built uh using the frame up now
construction method. Uh what are some of
the things I'm going to enjoy long term
as a result of choosing this path to
build?
>> That's one of the nice things I' I have
noticed. Um the drywall inside you don't
we don't see any of the cracking
anymore.
>> Um when you have uh lumber, you have all
the expansion and contraction of the
wood um with the humidity or the drying
out. So with the um you see a lot of
drywall cracking in the corners usually
um or even in along a seam whereas with
the steel that's virtually eliminated.
Um you don't have any of the drywall
pops from the screw holes.
>> Um we don't we don't get any of that. So
as far as the maintenance goes in that
perspective it's almost non-existent.
Same thing on the outside. The stucco we
don't see the cracks in the walls
anymore. Um siding same thing. you don't
see that movement um in the exterior.
And when you have wood beam porches and
whatnot, we use steel columns and steel
beams. We don't have any twisting,
warping, rotting, anything on the
porches anymore. So, the maintenance is
virtually eliminated.
>> Love it. So, uh there's savings both
during the owner uh during the
construction process and then long-term
ownership. I remember living in a house
once where this door kept always
swinging open and I uh realized uh after
I looked at it that the opening the stud
beside the door had warped. It had
actually gone belly out and so therefore
the door was tilted. It was always
wanting to le wind open. All of that
stuff is eliminated when you use the
system that frame up now offers.
>> It is nothing moves once it's in place.
It doesn't move. Love it. Hey Brad,
thanks for pulling back the curtain on
what can end up being unpleasant
surprises both during the build and
during long-term ownership. Uh my
experience has been when we're well
informed and we have like the big
picture in mind, it allows us to make
great decisions.
>> And a great decision would be to look us
up on the website at frameupnow.com
or to contact us in person at 88864184.
And when someone calls in, what do they
need to have with them? Can they be in
different stages of construction and all
that or what what are some of the the
services they can expect from you?
>> The best thing to do would be to call in
and with a a plan that you have in mind
or you can look up our plans on site on
our website and uh we can either design
something for you or you can take
something directly off the site.
>> Sounds great. Hey Brad, thanks for
joining me today.
>> Thank you. Until the next time, this has
been fun with Frame Up Now. We'll see
you in a future episode. And there you
have it. Some authoritative answers
about the true cost of different
building approaches. Something for you
to consider. If you found that to be
helpful, you should check out this other
video where we did another interview
with Brad Cooper about some of the other
benefits of using steel studs or steel
building uh structures and how that
affects the overall longevity of the
building and the true cost of ownership.
Take a look at that and I think you'll
like it. While you're at it, check out
this other video that YouTube thinks
you're going to like. We think you're
going to like it, too. Thanks for
joining me today. Until the next time,
this is Der Farmer Jay from Der
Farmerj.com.
