Builders Consider Metal Framing

As lumber prices soar and supplies of good-quality wood shrink, builders are looking at metal framing--long used in commercial construction--as a reasonable alternative to wood for house framing.

Developments in metal framing will be discussed Monday in Costa Mesa at a dinner meeting of the Home Builders Council, a branch of the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California.

Speakers include Doug Glover, vice president of construction for Warmington Homes, a Costa Mesa builder that plans to start using metal in some of its single-family projects by early this summer; Ray Beer, head of sales and marketing for Western Metal Lath in Riverside, a major manufacturer of steel framing components, and Newport Beach architect M.J. Knitter.

The meeting is open to anyone who is interested and willing to pay the tab of $45 per person. For reservations, which are required by noon today, call (714) 396-9695.