Resilient Outcomes with Light Gauge Steel Framing made from TRUECORE® steel

Resilient Outcomes with Light Gauge Steel Framing made from TRUECORE® steel

As the demand for construction materials with both performance and sustainability credentials continues to rise, frames made from TRUECORE® steel can offer a resilient solution. In response to global material shortages, rising labour costs, housing affordability challenges, and the increasing impact of climate change, the Australian construction industry is being driven to innovate. Light gauge framing made from TRUECORE® steel presents a versatile option for addressing some of these challenges.

Designing and building with TRUECORE® steel

Made by BlueScope, TRUECORE® steel is a metallic coated steel product designed for fabrication into light gauge steel frames used in both residential and commercial framing applications. Recognisable by its distinctive blue finish, it features a steel substrate with a metallic coating incorporating BlueScope’s Activate® technology, providing enhanced corrosion resistance. Specifiers and builders can design and build with confidence, knowing that TRUECORE® steel has been developed with durability, compliance, and sustainability at its core.

Steel and the circular economy

Steel’s inherent qualities - strength, durability, and recyclability - make it ideal for contributing to a circular economy. In some cases, steel can be reused without reprocessing, conserving energy and resources. Steel can be recycled repeatedly without losing quality, and its magnetic properties allow for easy separation during recycling, reducing landfill waste. BlueScope supports this approach to circularity by incorporating recycled content¹ into the steel it manufactures in Australia.

Additionally, frames made from TRUECORE® steel are lightweight and can be screw assembled, making them highly suitable for modular construction and projects designed for disassembly and reuse. Steel’s durability supports structures built for long life, with the potential for future reuse or reconfiguration without major structural changes.

Resource efficiency

Frames made from TRUECORE® steel are well suited for projects focused on resource efficiency. Prefabricating TRUECORE® steel frames off-site to precise specifications can minimise waste during both fabrication and on-site installation.

Specialist software used during the fabrication process can maximise material efficiency, resulting in minimal waste. Any offcuts generated can be recovered and returned to the steelmaking process. Prefabrication also reduces the need for on-site cutting, further improving material efficiency and helping to minimise on-site waste production.

Durable and resilient

TRUECORE® steel offers proven durability and resilience and is a reliable choice for long-term performance. Ongoing investment in innovation and product development, combined with rigorous testing, has led to the introduction of Activate® technology in TRUECORE® steel. Integrated into BlueScope’s industry-leading metallic coating, Activate® technology enhances the protective coating on the steel substrate, offering enhanced corrosion resistance. This results in a long-lasting product that helps conserve resources and energy that might otherwise be invested in products with a shorter life span.

TRUECORE® steel is also 100% termite and borer proof, and will not catch fire, making it suitable for projects in bushfire-prone areas. When built to the NASH bushfire standard, frames made from TRUECORE® steel can provide a simple construction solution to achieve National Construction Code compliance – even in the most severely rated flame zone (BAL-FZ). 

Under the National Construction Code, TRUECORE® steel may be used wherever non-combustible materials are required, making it suitable for various commercial and residential applications, including facades, walls, intermediate floor joists, and roof structures.

Warranty confidence

Choosing TRUECORE® steel means benefitting from the expertise and support of BlueScope, Australia’s largest steel manufacturer. Known for its durability, BlueScope offers a variety of warranties subject to application and eligibility criteria², providing added assurance for specifiers, builders, and homeowners.

Credentials and certifications

TRUECORE steel is manufactured at BlueScope’s Port Kembla Steelworks, which is certified to the ResponsibleSteel™ Standard v1.1, giving businesses and consumers confidence in the environmental, social and governance performance of BlueScope’s steelmaking facilities.

ResponsibleSteel™ is the steel industry’s first global multi-stakeholder standard and certification initiative, ensuring strong environmental, social, and governance practices. By specifying steel from a ResponsibleSteel™ certified site, stakeholders support steel manufacturers like BlueScope, who are committed to climate action and sustainability.

An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is available for TRUECORE® steel, providing transparent data on its environmental impact. To view the EPD, visit steel.com.au . TRUECORE® steel is also certified to the internationally recognised Global GreenTag^{Cert TM} GreenRate^TM ecolabel, achieving the highest rating of Level A.

Green Star

EPDs, GreenRate™, and ResponsibleSteel™ certification are recognised under the Green Star Responsible Products Framework and can contribute to a project’s Green Star rating.

With its EPD and GreenRate™ ‘Level A’ rating, along with the ResponsibleSteel™ certification of the Port Kembla Steelworks, TRUECORE® steel achieves a Responsible Product Value (RPV) of 21 in the Green Building Council of Australia’s (GBCA) Responsible Products Score Checker. This is considered ‘Best Practice’ under the GBCA’s Responsible Products Framework. The EPD for TRUECORE® steel also provides data that can support credits related to life cycle impacts and upfront carbon. Further information on these initiatives and how products contribute to a Green Star rating can be found at gbca.au.

Circular design in practice

At Smalls Road Public School in Ryde, NSW, prefabricated modules made from TRUECORE® steel were assembled on-site and craned into position to form the upper-level wall frames and roof trusses. This approach enhanced build efficiency and contributed to the project’s delivery in time for the start of the 2020 school year.

The precisely engineered frames, with their impressive strength-to-weight ratio, played a key role in bringing the design vision to life. Originally, the design had called for 230 tonnes of structural steel to support the roof and walls on the upper level. By reworking the design to substitute the hot-rolled structural steel with lightweight framing made from TRUECORE® steel, the steel frame fabricator eliminated almost 120 tonnes of steel from the build, saving an estimated 469 tonnes of CO2-e³.

For more information about TRUECORE® steel and its sustainability credentials, visit truecore.com.au

Smalls Road Public School, Ryde, NSW
Architect: Conrad Gargett
Steel Frame Fabricator: Austruss
Builder: Richard Crookes Construction
Image courtesy of School Infrastructure NSW and Austruss

^{1 The average recycled content in the steel is 23.3% which includes pre- and post-consumer recycled materials. Materials reclaimed within the steelmaking process represent an additional 2.1% average recovered content. According to recycled content categories defined in ISO 14021:2016. The figures provided are based on FY24 data.}

^{2 Warranties subject to exclusions, application, and eligibility criteria. For full terms and conditions visit www.bluescopesteel.com.au/warranties}

^{3 Calculated using the default emission factor for “Structural sections steel (welded beam, columns, angles, plates etc) (hot rolled)” from the NABERS Emission Factor Database v1.0, that is 3.91 tonnes CO2e per tonne of steel.}