The Benefits of Building Systems

First off you may be asking yourself, what is a panelized building system? According to the NAHB it is “a construction technique that utilizes advanced technology, quality materials, and a controlled work environment to build wall and roof systems and construct and energy efficient home in less time.” Or to say it another way we systematically design the exterior wall system and roof system and we use the same process in all of our homes be them our models or completely custom homes-they all are assembled the same way-so a builder who has used our system before will know exactly how the next one is going to come together. Within our system we do utilize technology, and high quality materials, the added touch of insulated core headers, and pre-cut TJI roof systems or truss roof systems, but we also reduce waste and are better for the environment.

Many studies and experiments have been conducted comparing off-site construction to traditional on-site construction (also referred to as component framing) but the study that I reference the most is the SBC’s “Framing the American Dream” study (https://sbcindustry.com/fad2) because they filmed and detailed every aspect of building the exact home traditional stick frame style, and utilizing component framing / off-site construction techniques side by side. To summarize they found in their study, which they conducted in 1995 and again in 2015, is that a construction crew can frame two and a half homes using off-site construction methods in the same time it takes to stick frame on house. That’s right using the same overhead a construction company can build more homes in a year! They also don’t need to have as many skilled framers on-site which is such a big help right with the scarce availability of skilled framers in our industry right now.

On average traditional stick framing requires 25% more wood product to stick frame compared to off-site framing, with the lumber market being as crazy as it is reducing the wood product used by 25% is a huge boon. Stick framing a house created 30 times, yes 30 times, more jobsite waste than framing with off-site construction. What that really means is that there are no mistakes to make up for, damaged or stolen materials. No unpacking framing tools from the jobsite trailer every day and getting the saws and other items needed set up, and your not packing it all away again at the end of the day. Also there is less time picking up waste, throwing it in the dumpster and then paying for the dumpster hauls. The crew doesn’t have to run to the lumber yard if something is missing and damaged-because it’s all already installed in the wall system and ready to be set.

Every contractor should want to build with building systems, but change takes awhile and there’s always a bit of resistance to doing something that they’ve never done before, but any contractor that can stick frame a house can build with a panelized building system it’s basically the same thing they are used to but it’s just built off-site in a quality controlled environment and will require less on-site framer skill and experience. We’re easy to talk to and here to help answer any questions the builder may have to ensure that our building systems are set correctly and everything is in-order, but we rarely have to walk a skilled contractor through it once they’ve reviewed the stamped engineered plans.