A new guide designed to make it easier for builders’ merchants to supply reused steel is now available.
The free booklet, from steel reuse experts Cleveland Steel & Tubes (CST), provides a practical guide on how to specify reused steel, how to ensure it complies with relevant building regulations, and even offers advice on logistics.
"Property owners are increasingly asking contractors for reused steel in their house building and renovation projects, due to the significant carbon savings it offers over new steel," said Roy Fishwick, managing director of CST. "We want to make reused steel more accessible for builders' merchants, so they can remain a one-stop-shop for these residential construction projects."
Major construction contractors have been enjoying the lower cost and carbon of reused structural steel for some time now in high-profile projects like sports stadia. With the rise of sustainability on the residential construction agenda, interest is growing in reused steel for homes.
Steel is a high carbon product with C0₂emissions up to 2,400kg/T. In the housebuilding and self-build sectors, real-world steel reuse applications have already demonstrated carbon savings at up to 97 percent. In addition, there are proven cost savings of up to 60 percent compared to new steel.
"We often find that clients come to us for the sustainability benefits of reused steel, and are surprised at the cost savings on offer," added Roy. "It is a win-win for builders' merchants as it is a low carbon product with potentially high margins."
The guide also busts myths around the suitability of reused steel for building projects, demonstrating that it can be easily certified via a materials testing report (MTR).
"A lot of contractors, housebuilders and renovators are unaware of how accessible reused steel really is," said Roy. "It requires a little more planning, but this is more than outweighed by the typical cost savings."
The guide covers the benefits of reused steel, ensuring regulatory compliance, and how to specify reused steel. It also deals with reworking the steel if required, as well as how to manage delivery and installation.
The guide launched at Circular Steel UK, the industry's leading event dedicated to making structural steel reuse viable at scale. It is available as a free pdf download from the CST website: cleveland-steel.com.
