framing in a house - from baubiologist:
Essentially, all steel of a house is tied together and connected to the grounding part of the electrical system at multiple locations. That is why small amounts of current can pass from one location to another, because you have connections at multiple points. This can cause magnetic fields, especially if your house is connected to the city water main via a metal water service supply pipe.

more - from another bau-biologist
Regarding steel, we don't like to see our clients use it for framing or siding, because of spreading current that is on the grounding system onto these structures. Doing so can amplify ground currents, stray voltage, and the like, and it makes EMF-sensitive people uncomfortable. We recommend against it.

There are books on how to build a "healthy house."  It's been done a lot and can be done, it just takes a lot of patience and testing and trial and error.  And a lot of research.

Book examples -
"Prescriptions for a Healthy House" by Paula Baker Laporte is one of the most user-friendly books that outlines building for sensitive people, broken up by division. 

John Bowers also has Healthy House Institute books.

The Canadian govt actually has prototype healthy houses they've been building because so many people there are getting chemical sensitivity. Check out
http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/inpr/...sitive.pdf

Our house is built out of AAC blocks, kiln dried hem fir interior framing, Murco-m100 drywall mud, no voc paint, concrete floors, radiant heat, unsure which insulation to use yet, and we'll have an HRV...looking into best ones now.  Possibly Venmar Eko. 

There's a lot that can be done for people with sensitivities now...and it's probably wise for people in building to learn because the stats are that already 12% of the population suffers from chemical sensitivity and look how many kids have allergies and asthma.

Unless you used no or low voc paint in the house, that's really not good for the baby -- even with an HRV.  Paint is a big issue for indoor air quality.

There's no reason why you would connect steel framing to the electrical system ground, and it is not "essentially all tied together" in most houses where they are used. The ability to conduct can work both ways, sometimes allowing a partial cancelling of a radiating magnetic field.

Steel can't amplify current. Steel can't amplify voltage. Steel is a conductor. Steel siding can actually REDUCE the measured EMF inside a building, (but not so much that it would be a useful remediation method) due to counteracting currents on magnetic fields. The baubiolgists recommending against metal siding are off the mark. I s'pose they'd recommend against radiant barrier for similar reasons (if they have a real reason)... but if not, WHY not? These people seem to be taking a few facts, banging them together, then making the rest up out of whole cloth.

The Canadian healthy-houses link you posted to uses steel doors, steel tubs & sinks, and a steel roof- go figure. They don't specify whether the potable or drain plumbing is metal or not.

I may be at a disadvantage have actually MEASURED the ELF/VLF EMF inside a number of buildings, including some using steel for both structural elements & steel stud partition walls. The steel has never been a contributing factor in any building I've measured. Most of the time fixing the wiring fixed the problem. In rare instances offending equipment needed to be replaced.


BTW: Cell phone fields are NOT particularly low level (but they're a lot lower now than they were 15 years ago.) But they're at a whole different spectrum from ELF/VLF. But they are MUCH lower in strength (and much higher frequency) than the RF exposure you'd get from laptop computer power supplies.

Re steel framing and ES sensitivities:

(from an expert in this field)

As with everything there are pluses and minuses.

Steel is chemically inert which is good. But steel can be
electrically and electomagnetically active which isn't good when
not controlled. But can be good under the right conditions.

Uncontrolled it can conduct electricity and resonate with certain
frequencies of emf and rf (depending on length, distance from of
other metal parts, thus acting like an antenna or amplifier). Steel
framing and bed springs, for example, can accidentally function this
way. Controlled and structured correctly, however, it can be used
to block or reduce emf and rf, preventing this problem.

Similar for moisture. Steel studs can't soak up moisture and grow
mold and bacteria which is good. But because it can't that means
there will be more moisture when there is a leak for the sheetrock
to grow mold. Steel framing using sheetrock will typically grow
more mold and bacteria than solid wood framing.

Also, the steel framing uses a "U" shaped channel along the
bottom. This acts as a container and will hold water, giving more
time for the moisture to soak into the sheet rock and other
materials for growing mold and bacteria.

Wood can absorb as much as 23-30% of its weight in water
without rotting. As conditions change that water will gradually be
released back into the building and the air without creating
growth. Which is good. But not if there is sheetrock nailed to the
wood framing. Which can be bad. But not as bad as with steel
framing because what the steel can't absorb the sheetrock will.

Steel framing and wood framing are not inherently bad for people
like arsenic or bullets. Whether good or bad depends on its
overall structure, purpose, and relationship to the other
components in the system of assemblies we call a building; and
to events such as rain, leaks, temperature, nearness to an
antenna or WiFi of a particular frequency.

Here's an example. A client experienced tingling and occasional
shocks in her left shoulder but only when in bed. There was a
plug-in clock on one side of the bed and an air purifier on the
other. An EMF meter showed an interference pattern between the
two, strongest just left of center which is where she experienced
the shocks. She also had a metal artificial shoulder.

The metal was resonating with the combination of the two emf
fields. Changing position stopped the shocks. As did turning off
either of the two sources. But the solution was to move the air
purifier three feet away. The interference pattern changed and
her shoulder didn't resonate with it anymore.

"The metal was resonating with the combination of the two emf fields."

Complete BS- pure uniformed speculation on the part of the reporter. Resonance at ELF/VLF frequenies would require a piece of metal hundreds or thousands of miles long.

The frequency a which metal studs or bedsprings ring in in an antenna-like fashion are between a few tens or few hundreds of MEGAhertz, whereas the EMF sources of any significant power (with the exception of microwave ovens) are literally a million times lower than that in frequency.

The power at which gigahertz frequency Wi-Fi is broadcast is only an EMF issue if you have the transmitter literally in your pillow, or the antenna is stuffed in your ear or something. The universe is very dark in that part of the spectrum- it take less than 2 watts to get reliable communication with satellites, maybe 10-25 watts between cell-towers to overcome the clutter of local noise.

I've heard clock radios can put out a lot of some sort of electro-goo. What does it mean if when you're taking a shower and you touch the shower controls with a certain part of your finger and it feels like you're getting a shock? But it is only intermittent and you can never feel it when the water is not running or if you touch the shower controls with a different part of your finger. Steel stud framing.

In fairness to the person with the artificial joint, if the metals used were sufficiently magnetic there could be a MECHANICAL vibe at ELF/VLF frequencies that might be sensed at moderate field intensity if the nerve pathways were close. (As distinct from electromagnetic resonance and or a true electric shock.)

Rsipgeo: All sorts of small appliances like clock radios have junky DC power supplies made with the worlds-cheapest iron-core transformers. Sycnchronous motor clocks of decades gone by also had some VERY sloppy motor cores that put out surprisingly high fields. Those with switching power supplies that use open core inductors can also exhibit high field strength, but a much higher frequency. Old skool tube-TVs & put out a bunch of 60Hz & 15.575khz related to the raster rates radiated from their deflection & power magnetics. (CRT computer displays have the same issues at only slightly different frequencies.) Noo-skool non-tube flat panel displays have issues at other frequencies, but typically at much lower field intensity.

The likelihood that electric currents in plumbing are in any way related to steels studs is almost vanishingly remote. The bit about different behavior depending on which part of your finger you use may be nerve-location specific. Your conductivity to the drain plumbing (and the conductivity of the drain itself, if it's plastic rather than metal) is much higher when wet, which may be part of the issue around it's sensible only when the water is running. Illegitimate multiple safety grounding hits to the plumbing, or loops in the neutrals (or phases), and loose connections on neutrals is where I'd look first. If it's sensible with a finger touch, it's probably fairly easy to measure with a high impedance AC voltmeter- no magnetic field monitors required.

[edited to add]  If you have hits between safety ground an neutral anywhere, that could also create similar issues with grounded plumbing and is a potentially serious safety issue.

Posted By woksawi on 15 Oct 2010 11:00 AM
Re steel framing and ES sensitivities:

.

Similar for moisture. Steel studs can't soak up moisture and grow
mold and bacteria which is good. But because it can't that means
there will be more moisture when there is a leak for the sheetrock
to grow mold. Steel framing using sheetrock will typically grow
more mold and bacteria than solid wood framing.

Also, the steel framing uses a "U" shaped channel along the
bottom. This acts as a container and will hold water, giving more
time for the moisture to soak into the sheet rock and other
materials for growing mold and bacteria.

Wood can absorb as much as 23-30% of its weight in water
without rotting. As conditions change that water will gradually be
released back into the building and the air without creating
growth. Which is good. But not if there is sheetrock nailed to the
wood framing. Which can be bad. But not as bad as with steel
framing because what the steel can't absorb the sheetrock will.

Notes:
 the fact that wood has moisture content does not make it better than steel, 30% is excessive and if it is not rotting it would certainly contribute to mold growth in the wall.

Track as a container? you can't be serious, tracks are 10ft. long with splices . not water tight splices, it would have to hold over an inch of water before it would come in contact with the drywall. That is not a smalll leak, that is a garden hose running inside a wall. If you have that much water you have a flood !

No argument from this corner, Chris! (Maybe if you installed a sprinkler head inside the wall cavity or something you'd have a similar problem, it doesn't have to be a full-on hose, after all. )

There seems to be an industry out there designed to exploit the suffering of the ailing, with with some very dubious advice at best.  Chemical & mold sensitivities are quite real, but some of the recommendations from the remediation "experts"  counter each other on the particulars, and the steel-stud hazards cited are WAY over the top.  It would take a flood, indeed.

Being non-wicking, the steel bottom plate is it's own capillary break, and won't transfer ground moisture to the paper facers on the wall board, etc. I've never seen a mold problem in a basement studwall using steel studs- wish I could say the same for wood studwalls. (Admittedly the sample size might be statistically insignificant, so this isn't exactly science...)

Still I  s'pose if you COULD have a kilowatt of ~175mHz RF radiating somewhere in your house, which would make that 16" o.c. stud spacing into a real killer of a directional antenna!   (The heck with EMF dosage- turn the dang transmitter off before you get busted by the FCC!) For 10-30MHz (still orders of magnitude in frequency above ELF/VLF commonly found in homes), not so much.  If you're sensitive to the levels of 30+MHz typically found in homes, you simply can't live anywhere it's possible to get ANY radio or TV reception without cable (not just the "good channels").  And that's about the lowest frequency at which framing length & spacing dimensions are relevant.  Below that you'd want to start looking at the spacing & lengths of your plumbing runs, just in case you find a focusing resonant spacing at 20megahertz or something (not that you're very likely to have anything emitting any power at that frequency.)    The highest frequency stuff of even micro-power measurable in most  homes would be a few 10s of KILOhertz, with wavelengths more than 1000x longer than your house, let alone resonant in a steel stud.

It's really that silly.  At the frequencies & intensities found in homes EMF intensity is largely unaffected by steel framing- if you have an EMF issue, the framing will be neither the problem nor the solution. Sez me.  (And FWIW, I have direct experience with measuring & mitigating building-level EMF.)  Until/unless there is better certification & training, anybody can call themselves a "baubiologist" and sling a slough of recommendations based on little more than hunches & WAGs, but they seem to be ignoring the real science on EMF, making truly outlandish statements counter to some pretty fundamental physics about what is/isn't a resonant circuit.  Like I said in a previous post- the recommendations range from plausible to ridiculous.  But unless you have a physics degree &/or designed radio frequency electronics it might be hard to tell BS & snow jobs from the real goods.

Dana1;

I have lived in a steel skin home for 9 years with all steel stud interior, never got shocked in the shower and no dain bramage that I know of  ...........

Posted By cmkavala on 15 Oct 2010 05:27 PM
Dana1;

I have lived in a steel skin home for 9 years with all steel stud interior, never got shocked in the shower and no dain bramage that I know of  ...........

Dude, you're just not DOING it right. Start by tying the neutrals to the steel studs at every outlet box, and "ground" your drains to one of the hot phases, and the potable plumbing to  another. I'm sure you can get an exciting charge out of it (for a few 10s of milliseconds anyway.)



But seriously, illegitimate grounding of neutrals & plumbing can turn into real hazards and could be lethal in a shower.  Any sort of sensible buzz to the fingertips off faucet handles needs to be followed up on immediately and carefully.

Even galvanized steel track needs to be isolated from concrete in a proper installation. Just use untreated wood framing and put a continuous strip of #15 building felt under the sill plate. I don't think a small amount of asphalt impregnated felt will offgas too much.

Posted By SimonD on 18 Oct 2010 11:35 AM
Even galvanized steel track needs to be isolated from concrete in a proper installation.

where do you get that from?

Dana1;

thats funny stuff, I guess if I had the little jolt in the shower every morning I could give up coffee

I have no worries about steel studs. I put them up myself but I did not do the electrical, plumbing or sheetrock. The buzz is very faint and intermittent so much so that I usually forget about it. PVC waste lines, pex supply lines. I believe the ground is tied to the house supply line.

I think I have checked it with one of the small volt/ohm meters and found nothing. What is a better way of checking?

I suspect it is just dry winter hands but I'd like to be sure.

It is recomended (best practices) that a galvanized base track should be isolated from concrete when it is part of an exterior wall. Concrete at the edge of a building envelop, ie the outside edge of a slab is very likely to contain moisture because it wicks it from rain and being close to damp soil. Track located to the interior of a building 'in most cases' doesn't need to be isolated because it doesn't encounter excessive moisture.

Simon;

so now I am really curious, because I have never seen a notation on any of your plans with a provision to isolate the exterior steel SIP base track. I don't think even on an exterior wall there is excessive moisture due to the claddings. Any thoughts?

Chris,

I don't think I ever specified plain galvanized steel base track to connect panels to a slab in any of your jobs. Way back when, I always specified the specialized powder coated aluminum base channel which doesn't need isolation. When using galvanized base channel for residential construction I always specify that blue foam sill gasket that comes in a roll.

If you look at the last set of drawings I did for you, (fire station for MS) it shows a strip of building felt to isolate the track from the CMU wall.

Below is a residential detail:

Posted By SimonD on 19 Oct 2010 08:58 PM

Chris,

I don't think I ever specified plain galvanized steel base track to connect panels to a slab in any of your jobs. Way back when, I always specified the specialized powder coated aluminum base channel which doesn't need isolation. When using galvanized base channel for residential construction I always specify that blue foam sill gasket that comes in a roll.

If you look at the last set of drawings I did for you, (fire station for MS) it shows a strip of building felt to isolate the track from the CMU wall.

I actually have 2 plans that you did for other people in my possession that show no isolation at all for the steel  base track. But regardless, as I said peviously a covered base it not a moisture prone area.
If moisture prone area is the critera, then why do you not isolate steel roof copings/flashings from direct contact with cement stucco on your plans? They are in constant moisture exposed to the elements.

other steel in direct contact with cement:
anchor bolts, PT post bases, truss straps (actually imbedded) , structural columns/bases, truss mfg's actually install galvanized plates for heels that are in direct contact with concrete tie beams

The long term study in Canada was done on G60 we use G90, the report also goes on to say that concrete is non- aggresive to corrosion on galvanized steel, the G60 was expected to last 300 years.