Steel has been long established as the main structural material for tall structures, warehouses and other types of industrial and commercial buildings. It has, however, rarely been used as the main structural material in smaller residential buildings, especially not in ordinary homes. Steel has been used to reinforce concrete walls; in those types of homes, concrete walls would be woven through by steel bars some 8 to 12mm thick.

The increased danger posed by the natural disaster which seems to be more and more frequent as the weather becomes more volatile due to climate change seems to have given a couple of ideas to people in the residential homes construction industry. Namely a man from Florida, in the wake of the recent hurricane, decided to rebuild his new home by using steel beams as the main support structure. While this idea might not seem like the obvious choice since we are all so used to wood-framed buildings, it certainly is not one difficult to grasp. Such structure is estimated to be able to withstand wind gusts exceeding the 400km/h mark as well as earthquakes over 9 degrees Richter. Steel framed houses were not considered to be economically viable as their immediate costs are higher to that of wood-framed buildings. However, as sturdiness and durability increasingly become a factor, this might change.