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Timber is the popular kid. It’s still the most widely-used framing method in U.S. residential housing.
But its days as a building material are coming to an end. Here are six reasons why and what will likely replace it.
Wood burns.
And in this so-far super-hot summer of 2023, the risks of wildfires are rising. As are the dangers they pose to stick-built homes.
In response, one California contracting company started building with non-wood materials in 2020. As the company’s president works with clients who lost homes in the 2020 fires, 19 out of 21 rebuilds are using non-wood materials.
“His workers have traded in hammers and nails,” says Time Magazine, “for pneumatic tools that fasten together steel panels.”
We think he may be onto something.
The development of mass timber seems to show great promise around sustainability. Mass timber is an engineered wood that involves large structural posts, panels, and beams glued under pressure or nailed together in layers. The wood’s grain is then stacked perpendicular for added strength.
But as the Yale School of the Environment puts it, “There are big questions about just how sustainable the new building material is.” Notably, about the management of mass timber forests, and the amount of CO2 emitted during the logging, manufacture, and transport of mass timber products used in construction.
And other environmental experts point out there’s a lot to be said for doing nothing.. Climate change is worsening dry conditions. Plus, trees absorb CO2 and reduce human emissions, and keeping trees in the ground is one of the most cost-effective ways to slow the changes.
Timber is a staple in the diet of termites. More specifically, they love the cellulose compound within wood. Every year the critters cause more than five billion in property damage. And property owners spend over two billion dollars to get it all fixed.
What’s worse, the structural damage caused by termites is often hidden in the walls and floors, where it’s not visible. And most annoyingly of all, insurance companies won’t cover it.
When I was a kid, my family moved into a house in the Twin Cities only to discover a “situation,” as a contractor carefully put it.
Because the previous owners had failed to provide adequate ventilation beneath the timber-framed den addition, the foundation was rotting from beneath us.
The rest of that summer, plastic sheeting covered a good chunk of the house and many, many loads of dirt were carted upstairs and dumped in our backyard flower beds.
Anyone who’s lived below a person fond of high heels or midnight vacuuming (or both) can attest—the noise transmission of certain building materials can be a problem.
Timber frames transmit sound more easily than other materials, leading to noise issues between rooms or floors in a multi-story house. Soundproofing solutions to the stompers exist, but their costs add up.
Timber isn’t the easiest material to work with. It moves. Moisture makes it swell and shrink. Small errors in the construction can lead to big problems as timber dries and ages.
Windows can be hard to set into wood frames, and contractors dread drywall callbacks. Timber framing requires regular maintenance – including treatments to protect against rot and weathering – to ward off wavy walls.
Here’s the thing. People are pretty clever when the chips are down. With so much at stake in housing and sustainability, builders are innovating with some left-field stuff, like wood-based concrete, ABS thermoplastic and pressed hemp straw.
Our personal favorite, cold-formed steel, has a longer track record of success in construction. It resists fire, moisture, and pests, and is 100% recyclable. It’s part of our vision for helping builders build homes today that thrive in the world of tomorrow.
Cheers,
Mike
Mike McAllister is head of story for Momo Homes.
Concrete is a pour substitute.
For home foundations, that is.
Concrete slabs can crack, slide, break, and leach.
Plus, concrete has a gnarly carbon footprint.
And working with concrete is messy. Have you ever tried to get dried concrete off work pants?
By the way, recommendations vary.
Some sources recommend using a dull knife.
Others recommend bristle brushes.
One even suggests using a power washer. A power washer?! (Seriously, did they even consider how demeaning that is to the power washer?)
Fine.
If you DO decide a power washer is called for, we recommend using it only after removing your jeans.
Of course, you could skip the whole mess and avoid concrete altogether.
We do.
Momo Homes uses the Surefoot footings system, a 100-percent-steel system that works like a tree’s deep root network.
Surefoot footings give you a stable base in any penetrable soil: sands, silts, clays, small gravels, and even rock.
Surefoot footings are fully recyclable.
And they install in about half the time of a slab, with no dried concrete to clean off your pants.
Which means you can wash your pants the normal way.
And preserve your power washer’s dignity.
Cheers,
Jeff
Jeff Williams is Momo’s chief marketing officer.
“We’re getting worse at construction.”
That’s the opening line of a recent New York Times op-ed.
They point out that a construction worker in 2020 was less productive than her 1970 counterpart. They then contrast that fact with the labor productivity of the overall economy, which grew by 290 percent in the last forty years.
Regardless of whether you prefer the New York Post to the New York Times, few in construction would claim that the industry is building much more, much faster, or much more efficiently than in the past.
Experts (and even the Times) can’t agree on the causes, but one thing is clear: there’s a massive shortage in affordable housing.
Here are five reasons why.
Let’s look at capital. It takes a whole lot of upfront money to build a house right now. And it’s not getting any cheaper.
The construction of traditionally built homes is one of the more capital-intensive endeavors you can take on. Stick-built construction calls for lots of up-front investments, and lack of capital—be it debt, equity, or hybrid—can make or break a homebuilder. Post-market-crash, banks and other lenders are more risk-averse than ever, and favor large, established builders over the little guys.
Finding and acquiring a sweet piece of land can carry a hefty price tag, depending on location, location, location. Getting it ready with site prep, grading, and permitting carries high costs, too.
Plus, a lot goes into a house, like a lot a lot. We’re talking lumber, concrete, roofing materials, insulation, electrical wiring, plumbing fixtures, and those heated tiles and towel rods that make morning bathroom visits a thing of beauty.
The cost of these materials can vary widely, and fluctuations in the market impacts project costs.
Laborers with specialized skills in the trades don’t come cheap (and increasingly, they don’t come easy, either, considering the huge shortage of workers in 2023.)
Traditional homebuilding projects call for multiple stages, from architectural and engineering design to obtaining permits, coordinating subcontractors, and chasing down local building codes.
The longer the construction timeline, the more capital is tied up in the project. And unfortunately for builders, the average home now takes eight months to construct.
Delays can result in additional costs, such as extended loan payments, increased labor expenses, and potential penalties or fines.
Add in seasonal fluctuations in building demand, regulatory requirements and risk management, neighborhood opposition, or an overstocked inventory of materials, and your working capital turnover ratio can sputter and stall.
Running a business is hard right now. Growing a business is even harder.
We may not have all the answers to the problems troubling the construction industry. But we believe there’s a better way to build a home.
We want homeowners to be happy, and homebuilders to be successful, and our factory-perfect, quick-build homes are engineered efficiently enough that homebuilders can triple their production with no increase in capital.
Our process means shortened build times, too, for an increase in capital turns and higher profits. That means less financial punishment and more Growth (with a capital G).
Cheers,
Mike
Mike McAllister is head of story for Momo Homes.
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