Steel Frames
Choosing a cladding system is one of the biggest decisions in any build, and it sits right next to the choice of frame. Cladding is what everyone sees when they look at a finished building. The frame behind it is what actually holds that cladding straight, level and fixed for the life of the building.
CMC Steel Solutions does not manufacture cladding. What we do is design and fabricate the steel frames that carry almost every cladding system used across Melbourne and Victoria, from fibre cement sheeting on a suburban home to precast panel systems on a commercial development. This guide walks through the main cladding options available to builders working with a steel frame, how they compare, what affects compliance and cost, and what to think about when matching a cladding system to your project.
Cladding is the external skin of a building. It sheds water, contributes to insulation and thermal performance, and gives the building its appearance. What cladding cannot do is hold itself up. It relies entirely on the frame behind it to stay straight, plumb and stable so that fixings, joints and seals keep performing over time.
This is where the choice of frame material matters as much as the choice of cladding itself. Timber frames can shrink, swell and twist as moisture levels change through the seasons, and that movement gets transferred straight into whatever cladding is fixed to it. Cracked joints, popped fixings and gaps that let water in are often a framing problem showing up as a cladding problem. A steel frame does not shrink, warp or twist the way timber can, which gives cladding a stable, dimensionally accurate substrate to be fixed to for the life of the building. Our comparison of steel stud vs timber stud framing covers this dimensional stability question in more depth.
Most cladding systems used in Melbourne and Victoria can be fixed to a properly engineered steel frame. The main options are:
This is a different question to steel versus timber framing, which we cover in our guides to house framing in Melbourne and steel stud framing. Here we are talking about the external cladding skin itself, not the structure behind it.
Timber cladding has a natural warmth that many owners and architects specify for. The trade off is ongoing maintenance. Timber cladding needs regular staining or sealing to keep performing, and Melbourne’s seasonal humidity swings can cause warping, swelling or splitting over time if it is not properly maintained. In bushfire prone areas assessed under AS 3959, untreated timber cladding can also add complexity to achieving the required Bushfire Attack Level rating.
Steel cladding panels sit at the other end of the maintenance scale. They do not rot, warp or need repainting, they carry consistent, non combustible fire performance, and they come in a wide range of colours and profiles. The trade off is aesthetic: steel cladding tends to read as more contemporary or industrial, rather than the warmth many owners associate with timber.
For most projects the decision comes down to balancing appearance against maintenance appetite and any bushfire rating requirements for the site. Where a build sits in a bushfire prone area, a non combustible steel cladding option is often the simpler path to compliance.
Bushfire Attack Level, or BAL, ratings run from BAL-LOW through to the most severe category, BAL-FZ (Flame Zone), and are assessed under AS 3959 based on a site’s vegetation, slope and distance from bushland. The BAL rating for a site directly affects which cladding materials can be used, how they must be fixed, and what gaps and junctions need to be sealed against ember attack.
Non combustible claddings, including most metal panel systems and fibre cement, generally have a more straightforward compliance path across the full range of BAL ratings than timber. Where timber cladding is specified in a bushfire prone area, it typically needs to be a bushfire resisting timber species or carry specific fire retardant treatment, along with tighter detailing at joints, eaves and ground clearance. Because steel framing itself is non combustible and can be engineered to meet ratings from BAL-LOW through to BAL-FZ, pairing a non combustible cladding with a steel frame keeps the whole external envelope working toward the same compliance outcome rather than treating frame and cladding as separate problems.
Cladding is only one layer of a wall’s thermal performance. Behind it sits the insulation, the cavity, and the frame itself, all of which need to work together to meet the energy efficiency provisions in the National Construction Code. A ventilated cavity between the cladding and the sheathing layer helps manage moisture and improves drying potential, which matters for the long term durability of both the cladding and the frame behind it.
Steel studs conduct heat more readily than timber, so wall assemblies using steel framing are typically detailed with thermal breaks or continuous external insulation to avoid thermal bridging through the studs. This is the same principle covered in more depth in our guide to facade steel framing, which explains how thermal bridging is managed in lightweight steel facade systems specifically. Getting this right at design stage avoids condensation risk within the wall cavity, which can affect both the cladding fixings and the frame if left unaddressed.
Heavier cladding options, such as brick veneer or precast concrete panels, place additional load and fixing requirements onto the frame behind them. This needs to be accounted for at the design stage, not resolved on site after the frame has already been fabricated.
At CMC Steel Solutions, cladding loads and fixing requirements are built into the frame design from the outset using 3D BIM modelling. This means the stud gauge, spacing and bracing are specified to suit the actual cladding system going onto the building, rather than a generic assumption that gets corrected later. This is particularly relevant on multi storey or multi unit developments, where repeated bays and consistent cladding fixing points make coordination between frame and cladding design even more important, as we cover in our guide to steel framing for townhouse and multi unit developments.
Every cladding fixing that penetrates through to a steel stud is a potential point of contact between the fixing material and the frame. Where dissimilar metals are in direct contact in a damp or coastal environment, galvanic corrosion can occur over time, which is why fixing type and isolation detailing matter just as much as the coating on the frame itself.
The coating class applied to the steel frame needs to match the exposure conditions of the site, not just the building type. Our guide to corrosion resistance and coastal steel framing in Victoria covers how coating class is matched to a site’s actual exposure, which is a detail worth confirming with your frame supplier before cladding fixing details are finalised, particularly on projects near the coast or in areas with prolonged damp conditions.
One advantage of a steel frame that is easy to overlook once cladding is on and the wall is closed up is that steel does not attract termites or require chemical pest treatment the way untreated timber framing can. Because cladding conceals the frame behind it for the life of the building, choosing a frame material that will not need pest treatment or repair behind a finished wall is one less long term risk to manage. Our guide to termite and pest resistance of steel framing covers this in more detail, including how it applies across different building types and cladding systems.
Commercial buildings often combine more than one cladding type on the same facade: a metal panel feature zone, fibre cement or precast at the base, and glazing systems in between. Each of these needs to meet the fire performance requirements set out in the National Construction Code for the relevant building class, and light gauge steel framing is compatible with all of the standard commercial cladding systems used in Melbourne, including fibre cement sheeting, metal cladding panels, brick veneer, curtain wall systems and precast concrete.
Commercial cladding in Victoria also sits under closer regulatory scrutiny than it did a decade ago. Following building safety reforms driven by Cladding Safety Victoria, combustible cladding products such as certain aluminium composite panels are restricted or banned on many building classes, and specifying a compliant, appropriately fire rated cladding system from the outset avoids costly rework or rectification later. Our guide to commercial steel framing in Melbourne covers the broader engineering and compliance context for commercial projects in more detail, including how load bearing and non load bearing walls are specified for different cladding and fit out requirements.
A number of the most common, avoidable issues on a cladding project trace back to a mismatch between the frame and the cladding system, rather than a defect in either product on its own. Specifying a cladding weight or fixing pattern after the frame has already been fabricated, rather than at design stage, is one of the most frequent causes of on site rework. Others include using a coating class that does not match the site’s exposure, skipping the cavity or drainage plane behind the cladding, and inconsistent fixing centres that leave cladding under supported between studs.
Our broader guide to common steel framing mistakes builders make covers a wider range of framing specific issues, several of which have direct flow on effects for whatever cladding goes over the top of the frame.
Cladding cost varies significantly by material, with fibre cement generally sitting at the more affordable end, metal panel systems in the middle, and precast concrete or natural stone finishes at the top. Beyond the material itself, the cost of a cladding system is affected by the complexity of the facade (the number of junctions, corners and penetrations), the fixing method required, and whether the frame behind it needs additional engineering to carry the cladding load.
Because frame design and cladding specification are connected, it is worth pricing them together rather than in isolation. Our pricing guide, how much does steel framing cost in Australia, sets out the main factors that affect steel frame pricing, several of which, such as stud gauge and bracing requirements, shift depending on the cladding system specified.
CMC Steel Solutions does not sell cladding materials. What we supply is the engineered steel frame that a builder’s chosen cladding is fixed to, fabricated in house at our facility in Craigieburn and delivered to sites across Melbourne and Victoria, including the growing south east corridor around Pakenham, Cranbourne and Clyde. If you are sourcing cladding through a separate supplier for a project in these areas, we can work directly with your builder or cladding contractor to make sure the frame is specified to suit the exact system going on the outside.
Cladding type | Typical use | Maintenance | Fire performance |
|---|---|---|---|
Fibre cement sheeting | Residential and commercial | Low | Good, non combustible options available |
Metal cladding panels | Residential, commercial, industrial | Very low | Excellent, non combustible |
Brick veneer | Residential | Very low | Excellent |
Precast concrete panels | Commercial and multi residential | Very low | Excellent |
Timber and composite cladding | Residential feature areas | High, ongoing | Variable, check BAL rating |
Steel cladding needs very little maintenance and performs consistently through Melbourne’s seasonal humidity changes, while timber cladding offers a warmer appearance but needs regular staining or sealing to avoid warping, swelling or splitting over time.
Yes. Brick veneer is one of the most common cladding types used over a steel frame in Melbourne, tied back to the frame with brick ties fixed at specified centres.
Non combustible options such as metal cladding panels or fibre cement generally offer a more straightforward path to meeting Bushfire Attack Level requirements under AS 3959 than untreated timber cladding.
They can, if dissimilar metals are in direct contact in a damp environment without proper isolation, which is why fixing type and the frame’s coating class both need to match the site’s exposure conditions.
No. We design and fabricate the steel frame that cladding is fixed to. Cladding materials themselves are supplied by specialist cladding manufacturers and suppliers.
Yes. We supply and install engineered steel frames across Melbourne and Victoria, including Pakenham, Cranbourne and Clyde, fabricated in house at our Craigieburn facility.
Heavier cladding, such as brick veneer or precast concrete panels, increases the load and fixing requirements on the frame. This is factored into the stud gauge, spacing and bracing at the design stage using 3D BIM modelling.
Call CMC Steel Solutions on 1300 285 566, email info@cmcsteelsolutions.com.au, or contact us online to talk through your project.