StructuresBy adminDecember 12, 20257 min read
Steel wins on span and speed; timber wins on cost and carbon. The right choice depends on your loads, your programme, and how far materials travel to your site. We break down the real numbers — no supplier spin.
Where steel earns its keep
Long clear spans, heavy floor loads, and tight programmes all favour steel. A prefabricated frame goes up in days, arrives cut to millimetre tolerance, and lets follow-on trades start while the frame is still being finished elsewhere on the building. For commercial floors, mezzanines, and anything above three storeys, it is usually the honest answer.
"Match the frame to the loads, the programme, and the miles the materials travel."
Where timber wins
For houses and low-rise apartments, timber frame and engineered joists are hard to beat: lower embodied carbon, warmer details at junctions, quieter erection, and a supply chain most local crews know well. Paired with careful airtightness detailing, a timber home is fast to heat and cheap to run.
The comparison that matters
- Span and load: steel for long spans and heavy plant; timber for domestic loads and cellular plans.
- Programme: steel arrives ready to bolt; timber needs dry storage and sequencing around weather.
- Carbon and cost: timber stores carbon and usually costs less per square metre; steel's premium buys speed and adaptability.
Most of our mixed-use jobs end up hybrid — steel where the spans demand it, timber where the plan allows it. Bring us your drawings and we'll price both routes honestly.
