Major storm surge damage to the coastal regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama made Katrina the most destructive and costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States, rendering over a million people homeless.

Plans are being laid for long-term rebuilding of this devastated region, which some speculate will take a decade and over a $1 billion to complete. The Steel Framing Alliance (SFA) is coordinating a long-term plan to support rebuilding with steel-framing solutions. Larry Williams, SFA president, and Alan MacQuoid, chair of SFA’s rebuilding committee and industry consultant experienced in supplying steel to earthquake-ravaged areas, talked with Living Steel about its efforts.

Living Steel: What do you see as the most difficult aspect in rebuilding this area?

Larry: A five-person team from the University of Alabama, charged with researching the differences in homes that did and did not survive Katrina, concluded that one of the fundamental reasons so many structures failed is because they were not built to the latest building code standards. In fact, Louisiana and Mississippi have voluntary state-wide building codes that allow local government to decide whether to use or enforce them. In some areas, there are no building codes, nor even a building department.

Alan: Building inspectors do not have the infrastructure to permit the large-scale approving and monitoring of construction that will be needed to rebuild quickly. One of SFA’s focuses will be to encourage the adoption of standardized building codes that will ensure that the reconstruction will be done according to modern construction standards using higher quality, more durable framing materials.

Living Steel: What can steel framing contribute to rebuilding?

Larry: Many of the structures destroyed by Katrina had already been weakened by the widespread infestation of the Formosan termite. Mould and dry rot, not uncommon problems in humid climates, were increasingly becoming issues along the Gulf Coast before Katrina struck, and have been exacerbated since. After the waters receded, wood structural members were found to have warped and permanently lost structural integrity, rendering homes uninhabitable. In addition, termite-infested wood has to be fumigated before it can be disposed of in a landfill; it cannot be recycled. Recyclable steel framing is commonly used in commercial construction and offers home builders a durable and effective alternative for rebuilding houses destroyed by Katrina. Steel cannot be consumed by termites, nor will it host mould. Steel framing offers superior wind resistance and it won’t burn.

Alan: The perfect example of cold-formed steel framing used as a building solution in that type of an environment is in Hawaii. In a similar humid environment where termites, wind and weather abound, over 70 percent of its housing is now steel framed. Steel-framed houses also can be built faster than other types of structures--depending on the design complexity as much as 50 percent faster--which will help to speed the reestablishment of communities.

Living Steel: is your long-term plan towards rebuilding in this area?

Alan: Besides working to impact the building codes, our efforts are to ensure that steel framing materials are readily available and that trained work staff is in place. We are addressing the logistics and transportation problems and working with various roll formers and building supply yards to encourage the establishment of a basic inventory level for cold-formed steel-framing materials. Our goal is to ensure that steel framing is as readily available as alternative materials.

In order to build confidence levels in major home builders to build with steel, trained workers must be available. So we also are working with vocational schools, community colleges, technical schools, churches and other institutions to establish a series of training centres. SFA is providing the curriculum and the leadership, the steel industry is donating the actual steel profiles and the tool industry has been asked to contribute tools. As well, we are conducting a series of seminars across the country to train architects to best utilise the unique advantages of steel framing in home and building design.

Larry: As an industry we are not looking at this as a one-shot, one-year response; this is a long-term commitment. As we bring all of these players together, we are also developing the infrastructure for building steel-framed homes long into the future.

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