Why can't we build houses more efficiently?

[MRH]

The prices of lumber are stupid. If builders and developers can figure a way to cut costs due to lumber prices, they will do it.

I find it crazy to imagine steel costing less than lumber. It must be made, cut, formed, etc....Its not like we are short on lumber. We hardly produce steel in the US anymore, regrettably...Who benefits the most from this? Is tin really better than wood?

I have worked with metal a lot in my life. Pre fab to be installed, custom work...It is easy to assemble if one knows what he is doing.
Still, pre fab is very costly and many times very inaccurate. There is a huge difference in what you see on a piece of paper and what you see during installation. It is,.often, a huge cluster truck.

 

[joel2000]

It is a great idea in theory and it has been tried many times but it never seems to work out. The biggest challenge is trying to convert the construction labor force from what they've always done to assembling completed parts and pieces. It's the same reason we don't use light steel in residential construction even though it would make perfect sense - can't get the framing industry to put down a skill saw and pick up tin snips...

The most exciting thing to happen in residential construction in a long time is 3D printing and I really hope to see that take off!

Very well said.

 

[THREEJAYS]

It’s definitely about the dollar, every thing at the end of the day revolves around it. So if they can figure out how to do the job quicker or save in materials we will end up seeing it in time

 

[WinstonSmith]

I'm watching 3d printing, hempcrete and ICF with interest. I'm surprisised PHIUS isn't more of a thing. The theories behind that have been around a long time and enough has been built for proof of concept.

 

[Whitey]

Many moons ago, I was a salesman, and one of the products I sold was a very innovative prefabricated housing system. It simply did not work because there are too many variables in the sites and the concrete foundation. Stick building with wood allows you to smoothly make up for these variables. Metal studs are great and have their applications, and I think they are underutilized. But, as much as people try to mass produces houses, they are all just as individual and unique as their owners

 

[AR-Trvlr]

The other issue to mass-production is local rules & regulations:
* Zoning ordinances dictate what can be built & where, and often exclude manufactured housing (i.e. mobile homes)
* Local building code, code review, and inspection can all have slightly different requirements from one city to another

 

[Just1more]

A few years ago, I watched a video at work in a training class that showed a new (stick built not pre-built sections) house being built in an insane amount of time (it was like 7 days total). The build went non-stop, day and night but it was amazing they finished it within the time frame they did. When I saw the post title “efficiently”, this came to my mind first.

 

[Cadcom]

Many moons ago, I was a salesman, and one of the products I sold was a very innovative prefabricated housing system. It simply did not work because there are too many variables in the sites and the concrete foundation. Stick building with wood allows you to smoothly make up for these variables. Metal studs are great and have their applications, and I think they are underutilized. But, as much as people try to mass produces houses, they are all just as individual and unique as their owners

That's really it. At the end of the day prefab really lend itself best to mobile home applications which are built on more of an assembly line process.

 

[basstracker89]

I've seen prefabs built. They had so much trouble with inspections it wasn't worth it. They had to have heavy equipment on the job to put together then had to knock holes in the walls for the inspector to view. Then you have to repair those problems....

 

[roundhouse]

The pre fab homes that are efficiently constructed in factories have been available for decades.
They are called “house trailers “
Now they are called “mobile homes “ or “manufactured homes “

I will soon be having an addition done to my house and I would consider a more efficient construction like the new insulated concrete or something but you can’t find anyone who has experience doing it .

and I don’t want to be the first house a builder learns all the mistakes on .

it’s hard enough to find a contractor who has sub contractors that will do quality work and not cut every corner they can to make an extra dollar.

I looked at ground source heat pumps but again, the only place I could find with experience doing it was 150 miles away and it was gonna cost 3x what a normal heat pump costs.

i am planning on having the attic spray foamed , but the walls will likely be normal fiberglass insulation.


The metal studs generally don’t support the weight that wood studs will support.

the metal ones are used in commercial buildings for fire resistance, not for efficiency.