# Pacific Palisades: a home framed in steel

> Job-site photos of a home APB framed in light-gauge steel in Pacific Palisades: numbered panels, braced walls and a complete steel roof frame, explained.

Source page: https://apbmetalstudbuilders.com/projects/pacific-palisades
Builder: APB Inc. (CSLB #951030)
Location: Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, CA

## 01. Panels arrive

Walls are built as panels before they reach the site, and every panel carries a number that matches the shop drawings. The crew sets them in order instead of cutting studs on the lot.

- Photo: Panels arrive built and numbered (RF10, RF13) to match the shop drawings. (https://apbmetalstudbuilders.com/_next/static/immutable/media/panels-staged.2w40eefzmvla3.jpg)

## 02. Walls stand

Each panel is stood up on its line on the slab and held plumb with temporary wood braces until the walls and roof tie together. Door and window openings come framed in the panel.

- Photo: From the street: window openings, headers and the roof line, all in galvanized steel. (https://apbmetalstudbuilders.com/_next/static/immutable/media/street-elevation.0fqjk12m3asnv.jpg)

## 03. Roof goes on

Open-web steel roof members span the rooms and a ladder-built steel overhang forms the eave. Materials go up by telehandler and crane.

- Photo: Lift day: a telehandler brings up ladders and decking; steel trusses wait in the foreground. (https://apbmetalstudbuilders.com/_next/static/immutable/media/lift-day.111pfl-v0gg94.jpg)

## 04. Details that matter

Studs and joists come pre-punched, so plumbing and wiring pass through without cutting the frame. Connections are screwed steel to steel, and the members are galvanized against corrosion.

- Photo: Panel L29 up close: studs, tracks and pre-punched holes for plumbing and wiring. (https://apbmetalstudbuilders.com/_next/static/immutable/media/panel-on-deck.2pufpnmmyk-hx.jpg)
- Photo: Connections: screwed steel-to-steel joints, straps and built-up headers. (https://apbmetalstudbuilders.com/_next/static/immutable/media/frame-detail.1li1jcm2e4ui1.jpg)

## 05. Frame complete

Steel rafters now run the full length of the house, and every wall, header and opening is in place. The structure is ready for sheathing, the roof deck and the trades that follow.

- Photo: Crew fastening at the eave. Every member carries its mark (L9). (https://apbmetalstudbuilders.com/_next/static/immutable/media/eave-crew.3-6qtkvfab5e1.jpg)

## Reading the frame

- **Steel roof framing**: Open-web steel members at regular spacing form the roof plane. The open webs leave room for ducts and wiring.
- **Steel eave overhang**: A ladder of steel members cantilevers past the wall and frames the eave in noncombustible steel instead of wood rafter tails.
- **Built-up header**: A deep steel header spans the wide front opening and carries the load above it down to the posts on each side.
- **Panel marks**: Each panel is marked (L16, L17) to match the shop drawings, so every piece lands exactly where the engineer placed it.
- **Temporary wood braces**: The wood diagonals only hold walls plumb during construction. They come out once the structure is tied together.
- **Concrete slab**: The frame stands on a concrete slab foundation, and the bottom track of every wall is fastened down to it.