Reliable Solutions provides ground-breaking building system, referred to as Light Gauge Framing System. Light gauge steel construction is very similar to wood framed construction in principle – the wooden framing members are replaced with thin steel sections. The steel sections used here are called cold formed sections. This is in contrast to thicker hot rolledsections that are shaped while the steel is molten hot. Cold formed steel is shaped by guiding thin sheets of steel through a series of rollers, each roller changing the shape very slightly, with the net result of converting a flat sheet of steel into a C or S-shaped section.
The steel used here is coated with zinc (called galvanized) or a mixture of zinc and aluminium to protect it from corrosion. The thickness of this coating can be varied to suit a range of environments. Typically, marine environments require the most protection, and dry, arid regions the least.
The thicknesses of steel used here range from about 1 to 3mm for structural sections, and 1 to 2mm for non-structural sections. The members are sized to roughly correspond to wood members: 2″x4″ and 2″x6″ are common sizes.
This form of construction can also be used for non-structural framing, such as interior partitions or external cladding. In fact, this form of construction was originally developed for interior partition in offices.
