Struct provides the Canadian construction space with an alternative framing solution to the traditional wood used in most applications. The company has taken what is typical to commercial construction and introduced it to the residential and multifamily marketplace, bringing efficiency, cost saving, and safety along with it.

“We are able to take what is a process-oriented method of building and create a product that is pre-engineered and fabricated in a factory to within 1 mm of design drawings,” says Ken Sharpe, the director of business development, Struct. “Using BIM technology and CNC machines, we provide builders with a fixed cost on their projects, one that has very little fluctuations to market conditions.”

Struct is able to engineer and create full 3D framing models of building prior to fabrication. This ensures each screw hole, window, and the door opening is perfectly accurate prior to fabricating the framing using their machines. Once a design is completed and loaded into Struct’s CNC forming machines, the Panelized Fabrication System divides the project into walls, ceilings, roof trusses, and floor joists sections. The machine automatically bends, punches, drills, and swages the pieces needed.

The framing components are then assembled and made ready for shipment to the site.

“A builder can order all equipment, interior and exterior finishes, and cabinetry in advance knowing that the building framing package will be fabricated to within one mm of the shop drawings,” says Anthony Belisle, director of operations, Struct.

For instance, Struct had a client that required a building with large spans, a flat roof, and hidden gutters. The company’s engineers were able to design the slope into its steel trusses and extend the top cord in such a way that enabled us to build the gutter right into the structure of the truss. This eliminated the cost of sloped insulation and custom carpentry for the gutter system. In another example, Struct is working closely in the modular space with a customer who is able to produce a lighter and stronger building. This was achieved by replacing the client’s wood framing with designing and building with steel.

Compared to traditional wood construction, Struct’s steel does not warp and is an engineered material with precisely known and calculated load-bearing capacities. The result is a steel structure that can be built more accurately—and with less waste. In addition, the company’s framing packages are designed to be moved by hand or with small machinery. The Struct frames are either bolted or screwed together on site without requiring on-site cutting, welding, or fabrication. All sections of its system are labeled and numbered, so there is never any confusion. For a typical two-story home, the heaviest sections provided by Struct are typically less than 300 pounds. This allows construction to be done by hand, without any expensive heavy machinery.

Strength, precision, fire resistance, and sustainability are some of the strongest reasons for using Struct’s cold-formed steel framing system to build a project. Steel sections are printed using galvanized steel with corrosion and rust-resistant G-90 rating.