Impact of cold form shear wall sheathing (plywood vs steel sheet)

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I’m beginning the structural design for a building with cold form walls and shear walls. For it, the basis of design has assumed steel sheathing at the shear walls. I know that a 1:1 comparison of wood structural panel sheathing and steel sheathing will have the same seismic parameters and a lower embodied carbon, while generally matching shear wall strength. However, wood structural panel sheathing requires blocking, meaning more steel and more labor. Additionally, wood panels are thicker than steel sheathing so I worry that adding it will require that rooms get larger and the overall building footprint will increase.

Has anyone done a thorough comparison of the two sheathing elements to determine which has the lowest impact?

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Hey Olivia,

Plywood’s greener with lower carbon, but needs extra steel blocking and labor. Steel sheets are thinner, quicker to install, and fire-resistant, but have a higher carbon footprint. Both handle seismic and shear strength well. If you can cut down on blocking, plywood’s the eco pick; otherwise, steel’s faster and slimmer. Try an LCA tool like Tally to nail down the best choice for your project!