U.S. Las Vegas-based Tori Contracting has been building luxury accommodations since 2015, at which time they invested in their first FRAMECAD System. Their work building wall panels and trusses and joists soon expanded to include commercial and institutional projects as well as residential offerings across Nevada. Tori’s smaller, cohesive structure results in superior workmanship and economical solutions.
The team at Tori Contracting sees many benefits in using CFS framing. It doesn’t warp, twist, crack, or split as wood does and there is very little waste material on or offsite. Vice President of Business Development, Robert Johnson says “Using cold formed steel is a better way to build and we have learned that termites hate it.” Design-led construction using the FRAMECAD system significantly reduces the need for onsite labor as more time is spent on the design upfront. There is no cutting, punching, or drilling required onsite and the components are easily clicked and screwed together which requires less skill.
Offsite prefabrication has helped reduce labor costs while allowing for higher precision and accuracy. With prefab, there are very few time delays due to the sun, rain and wind elements. Tori sees steel framing as the superior choice over wood due to it being a lightweight and non-combustible material. Its high speed allows them to build better, more affordable homes.
Robert has found that owners and developers who have built with wood previously have said they will never build another way once they have seen and experienced construction with cold formed steel (CFS). He said, “It’s a game changer for people, they say ‘I don’t know why we weren’t doing this before!’”
He added, “We need to be showing the world what we can do and be convincing the U.S. that this is the way to go.”