This naturally varies with the volume purchased and the design adopted. However, generally, steel is similar in cost to timber – the final constructed cost will be the same or less for a house of comparable size and quality. Although framing costs are only around 10% of the total building cost, steel provides other cost advantages too. As it is a lot faster to erect and frames are much easier to handle there are usually no call-backs or cracking to plaster linings, which reduces labour costs.