Story: Comprehensive project research
I had a meeting with clinet the end of July. I promote their product(not company) in local market. Everyone wants to have own house(or condos) someday. However, I don’t know how to build a house(process) actually. If I don’t know it, I don’t understand why customer looks for this products. What problem do this products solve for customer? Therefore, the research is very important for a designer.
At first, I read client’s website. I learn thierproducts, business, industry, market and user. I take this process almost all the time.
The Steps in the Home Building Process
The 10 steps to build a new home are:
1. Prepare construction site and pour foundation
2. Construct rough framing
3. Complete rough plumbing, electrical and HVAC
4. Install insulation
5. Complete drywall and interior textures; start exterior finishes
6. Finish interior trim; install exterior driveways and walkways
7. Install hard-surface flooring and countertops, and complete exterior grading
8. Finish mechanical trims; install bathroom fixtures
9. Install mirrors, shower doors and finish flooring, and finish exterior landscaping
10. Final walkthrough with builder
I felt that there are many possibilities for installing client products in the process, interior or exterior. I would like to know how an architect chooses each material.
I also curious about the process of buying a house, contract and payment, but it’s not subject. For now, I postpone research about it.
NewHomeSource: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Home Building Process
Types of materials
Foundation
1. Concrete
This material is used in places with moderate and mild climate. You can create a poured concrete foundation by filling steel-reinforced plywood forms with concrete. Another option is a crawlspace foundation made up of a number of concrete blocks.
2. Preservative Treated Wood
This material can be used for building a crawlspace foundation too. It is quite inexpensive in comparison with other foundation-construction materials. The preservative treated wood is produced by soaking wood in preservative chemical substances to make it pressure-resistant. What makes the preservative wood attractive is its ease of use. Foundations based on wood need no poured concrete base.
3. Clay and Sand
These materials guarantee that the water at your property will be drained well. The first step in building a foundation is to level the land with a bulldozer to remove the topsoil. To ensure better drainage, the foundation should be raised above the grade level. Then, spread a layer of clay and sand over the foundation and roll over it with a bulldozer to pack the material down. Two days under the sun, and your clay-and-sand foundation is hard and ready to accept other construction elements.
4. Fly Ash Concrete
You have an alternative to using cement in the concrete when building your foundation. It is fly ash. This material has several benefits. By using it, you have lighter and at the same time stronger concrete that costs less. In addition, the fly ash concrete doesn’t require so much water as the ordinary concrete does.
Roof
Now, on to the part of your house that is the first “line of defense”: your roof. There is a wide choice of materials here.
1. Fiberglass Shingles
These are very sophisticated. They consist of a thin layer of fiberglass. That layer is then enveloped in whether-grade asphalt. In addition, special granules are placed atop. Their function is to give a fiberglass shingle color plus make it fire-resistant.
2. Metal
This material is famously known for its durability. It is also extremely windproof. You will find all types and shapes of it.
3. Tiles
Tiles come in various shapes and colors, too. They can have a standard weight or be lightweight, and are made of all kinds of materials like clay, wood, or asphalt.
4. Concrete Tiles
Those are not for every roof frame. Make sure that the roof frame of your house is sturdy enough to support the heavy weight of concrete tiles.
Other construction elements
Finally, let us talk about materials used for other construction elements like beams and walls.
1. Recycled Steel
This very durable material is choice number one in regions where earthquakes and hurricanes are not a rarity. Another benefit of recycled scrap steel is that it is more energy-efficient in its production compared with traditional steel. It is also environmentally beneficial since it helps save trees. Normally, recycled steel is used for beams. One of the downsides is its relatively higher cost.
2. Brick and Block
These are widely used construction materials. If they are of good quality, they can serve for a long time. However, you should consider several demerits of bricks and blocks, too. One of them is their inability to withstand earthquakes (which is important for the residents of California, for instance). Another drawback is their heavy weight, so that a deep foundation is required. Finally, if you deal with porous bricks, expect mold in the damp places of your property.
3. Wood
As the rest of building materials, wood has both pros and cons. Speaking about positive characteristics, it is lightweight and is easily processed. On the other hand, wood is susceptible to water, fire, and insects that can damage it.
Reality Times: What materials to use to build a house
Reader’s Digest Australia: Types of Building Materials
Why to choose to live in wooden house?
Some people suffer from allergies below.
– House dust
– Mold spores
– Pollen
– Fabrics
– Dust mites
– Cockroaches
– Cat dander
– Dog dander
– Pet rodents
– Horsehair
– Houseplants
Wood influence air quality, humidity and oxygen balance. Wood is a renewable healthy and safe material.
Cost Advantages of Building Wood Structures
Video mentions cost efficiency. On the site, constractor can build wood house like a lego. It means a construction term will be shorter than concrete. Labor fee drops.
Looks they are wood materials provider. Therefore, the video doesn’t tell us negative aspects. I cannot trust the only benefits. I have to think of wood as a consumer’s standpoint.
What is Cross Laminated Timber (CLT)?
3:36 Is building with timber safe?
Cross Laminate Timber(CLT) is a wood panel product made from gluing layers of solid-sawn lumber together. Each layer of boards is usually oriented perpendicular to adjacent layers and glued on the wide faces of each board, usually in a symmetric way so that the outer layers have the same orientation. – Wikipedia
Advantages
CLT has some advantages as a building material, including:
– Design flexibility
– Eco-friendly
– Prefabrication
– Thermal insulation
– CLT is a relatively light building material
Disadvantages
CLT also has some disadvantages, including:
– Higher production costs
– Limited track record
– Acoustic performance
A CLT fire resistance test of the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences (ENG)
Very end, the person said, “we must not forget that wood is still combustible material and it has its own risk.” That’s fair.
Why Are Houses in America MADE OF WOOD?!
One hypothesis. There is a lot of wood in America. Therefore, American build house by wood even a hurricane, tornado or flood sometimes hits the town. The video says even concrete or stone does not make house tornado-proof.
I found a blog at same title on Medium.
Ever wondered why most of the houses in US are made of wood, and not of brick and concrete? Why even after repeated natural disasters, US is not building houses using brick?
Fire rating: The Camp fire that broke out in Butte County, Northern California on November 8, 2018, destroyed about 18,800 structures. If these structures were made out of brick, could we have saved these houses or at least postponed the damage giving our fire fighters more time to put off the fire? It is estimated that losses from wildfires have added up to $5.1 billion over the last 10 years.
Medium – Why are US houses made of wood?
Combinate function and cost
Either way, concrete/brick or wood, there are pros and cons. Needless to say, it’s a balance with safety.
Even we build a house to protect a natural disaster, it won’t be enough countermeasure. Climate change becomes bigger than bigger. what we can do for it? Let’s think about energy and natural resource on the earth. Build a sustainable life for the next generation.
Reference:
cover.build: LA startup offers custom small prefabs adapted to area code
The B1M: Dalston Lane – The World’s Largest Timber Building
