Should You Build with Steel or Concrete?

PART 2: WHICH MATERIAL IS EASIEST ON THE POCKETBOOK AND THE PLANET?

Our last blog discussed whether steel or concrete is the best building material for low-rise construction.  It compared the pros and cons of each system in four categories: design, size, availability, and safety.

But will a prefab steel system or reinforced concrete structure give you the most bang-for-your-building-buck?

stacks of gold coins and a small green plant with the text "Steel vs. Concrete- Costs for the Pocketbook and the Planet"Moreover, is steel or concrete the best choice for the environment?

Material Costs

CONCRETE:  The price of concrete itself remains relatively stable.  And concrete ingredients are inexpensive and readily available.

STEEL:  The greatest secret to steel’s affordability is its strength.  Steel boasts the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any building material.  Therefore, steel creates a stronger building with far less material than concrete.  Less material equals less material costs.

Innovations in steel production allow a ton of steel to be created in less than two man-hours, making it an extremely cost-efficient building material.

Using recycled materials also reduces material price.  Domestic structural steel contains over 90% recycled steel.  The steel industry’s efficient steel scrap collection system recaptures 98% of all discarded steel products for recycling.

Consequently, steel prices stay relatively consistent over time.

However, tariffs recently applied by the administration will begin affecting steel prices starting today, generating 11% to 13% price increases.  Nevertheless, steel remains very competitively priced.

Building Costs

CONCRETE:  Labor-intensive reinforced concrete construction requires a skilled contractor and experienced laborers for satisfactory results.

Waiting for the concrete forms to cure thoroughly also lengthens construction time.  The longer the construction time, the higher the construction costs.

STEEL:  The prefabrication of pre-engineered metal buildings drastically cuts construction time, saving money on labor.  The straightforward nature of the framing erection requires fewer, less skilled workers, further cutting construction costs.

Faster construction means lower interim financing and builder’s risk insurance costs, too.

On small to mid-sized building projects, do-it-yourselfers often save money by erecting the framing themselves with a few friends.  Yet, no do-it-yourselfer would dare take on reinforced concrete construction.

Long Term Costs

When choosing a construction material, too many building owners fail to consider the cost of maintaining and operating the structure. Which system offers the lowest long-term costs?

CONCRETE:  The sheer mass of cast-in-place concrete reduces temperature swings and drafts, saving money on heating and cooling.  However, concrete buildings require constant maintenance and repair.

STEEL:  Steel buildings hold their value for decade after decade with virtually no expensive maintenance.

Steel’s thermal transfer properties do present an energy-efficiency challenge.  However, a first-class insulation system like RHINO’s Pro-Value Package easily overcomes the problem.  RHINO’s Pro-Value Insulation System reduces heating and cooling costs by about 50%.

Is Concrete Eco-Friendly?

So, does a steel or concrete structure win the green prize as the most environmentally friendly building material?

Even the most conservative estimates put construction and demolition waste in the U.S. at 460 million tons per year.  That is almost double the amount of municipal solid waste generated annually.

At the end of its usefulness, the concrete in a building can be recycled— but the end product is no longer fit for construction use.  Nor is recycling concrete  economically viable.  Consequently, only about 50% of demolition concrete is recycled.  The other 50% ends up dumped into our overflowing landfills, and that’s a problem.

Concrete is made with cement— a major source of carbon dioxide gas emissions.  According to Science Magazine, “Cement is a climate villain. Making it is thought to produce 5% of all global greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and factories.”

On the flip side, light-colored concrete reflects heat, helping to reduce the effects of urban heat islands.

The good news is that the steel rebar used in reinforced concrete construction is 100% recyclable.

Why Steel Reigns as Recycling King

As the most recycled material on the planet, steel reigns supreme as the greenest of all materials.  In fact, the U.S. Green Building Council proclaims steel framing as “the logical and responsible choice for Green Building.”  Here’s why:

Steel is the only material that retains all its strength no matter how many times it is recycled— and steel is 100% recyclable.

The magnetic properties of steel scrap make it simple and economical to handle and recycle.

Today Americans recycle 72% of all steel cans and packaging, 90% of all steel appliances, and 93% of all automobiles. But nearly 100% of structural steel is recycled.

Recycling steel actually costs less than producing virgin steel.

Every ton of steel recycled saves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal, 120 pounds of limestone— and 10.9 million Btu’s of energy!

Why pay someone to haul away the concrete of your demolished building?  Scrap dealers will pay you for the steel framing in deconstruction!

Unfortunately, steel, like cement, also produces some carbon dioxide emissions.  However, innovations in steel production in recent decades have reduced greenhouse emissions by 37%.  Ongoing research and development, via the CO2 Breakthrough Program, continues searching for ways to further reduce both emissions and the amount of energy used in steel production.

According to the American Iron and Steel Institute, “Today, the American steel industry operates with the lowest energy consumption per ton of steel produced in the world.”

Using reflective cool-coated steel panels on metal buildings helps diminish urban heat island effects in cities.

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