The Construction Industry Driving on Auto-Pilot - Solid Wood Panels are the Innovation We've Been Waiting For

What can the auto industry teach the construction industry?

I love cars. Some of my most fond childhood memories involved sitting in my bedroom listening to 80’s rock on my “ghetto blaster”, reading Hit Parader magazine, and building model cars. It all started with a Turquoise 1956 Chevrolet and it sparked an obsession that I still have today.

Growing up, I could see a taillight of a 1970’s truck and tell you the make, model, year, and maybe a useless factoid about its history.

My wife and kids have been the beneficiaries of this knowledge as I fill our long road trips with “look at that 1970 Chevelle…..I took my driver’s test in that”. Unless you too share this passion with me, you are likely as tuned out as my family was!  Trust me….there is a point to this.

George Jetson born August 22, 2022

Today, you can "summon" your car out of the garage without being in it. You can then enter the car, type in a destination, and, in some cases, it will drive you to that location. All without the use of an internal combustion engine.

While not a flying car like we were promised in our youth by the movies and television shows we watched, it's still pretty spectacular. Why did it take so long?  If you think about it, the car/truck/SUV has had few structural changes throughout most of my lifetime. Yes, aesthetics, styles, safety, stereos, and infotainment have changed, but it’s still a combustion engine and structurally very similar to that 1956 Chevy from 66 years ago.

If it ain't broke.....

The construction industry has changed little throughout my life. We’ve all driven by that housing development that is under construction and you see a poured stem-wall foundation, stud walls, and OSB sheeting with trusses creating that roofline. Add windows, vinyl/wood/concrete composite siding then rinse & repeat…..for decades.

Builders have become very efficient at this process and so it remains unbroken…. therefore, largely unevolved. Don't get me wrong, the aesthetics, technology (smart home), tools, and safety features have evolved, much like their automotive counterparts. But structurally similar to that house that kept me, my stereo, and magazines dry back in the '80s. However, like the automotive industry, change is on the way.

Fueling innovation, while learning from the past

We’ve all heard that innovation is the mother of necessity. Fuel efficiency standards have pushed the auto industry into the future. They didn’t like it at first, but some have committed to an all-electric future by 2030 because they see the industry evolving and need to be a part of it or go extinct. Energy regulations in housing and the cost to construct are having a similar effect on the construction industry.

Labor is hard to find, so you need to do more with less. With our global consciousness being awakened to the effects of climate change or fuel scarcity, building codes have become more restrictive, expensive, and challenging.

Many have rightfully professed that regulation may be killing the American dream of homeownership by making the cost of homes out of reach for many new home buyers. So the question our industry needs to ask is whether the fight is in decreasing this regulation or increasing innovation to meet the moment. If we are honest, fighting this change seems as likely as battling to save the livelihoods of ice delivery drivers before refrigeration. Is there a way to encourage responsible innovation, hold onto the great ideas of the past, decrease costs and increase homeownership in our industry?  

I'm an optimist, so my answer is yes.

Winning gold with sustainable concrete

Did you know that 8% of global emissions of carbon come from the cement industry alone?  But you see it everywhere. Roads, bridges, tilt-up industrial buildings, and home foundations to name a few. In 2012, the London Olympics had a strong focus on sustainability when building infrastructure for the games. As a result, a concrete mix coined the “2012 Mix” was created that used a larger portion of recycled materials resulting in 43 percent lower carbon content than traditional mixes.

As we approach the 10th anniversary of those games, how much of that innovation has made it to more conventional projects?  It’s inspiring and thought-provoking. Do we have an opportunity to reduce the amount of concrete in a conventionally framed home?  Could it speed up the process, reduce material and labor cost, disrupt less soil, and decrease the time it takes to construct?  

With products like pin foundations, that use strategic steel "pins" embedded to support structures, we are seeing products that require no concrete drying or setting time, specialty equipment, or specialty labor to install. While not the answer to all of our questions, it certainly can help or inspire other processes in construction.

Have we been framed for obstruction of insulation?

Conventional framing (2x4 and 2x6 stud walls), also called Prescriptive framing, is how most homes in the world are built. With increases in the energy efficiency requirements for new homes, there has been one glaring problem builders have been faced with. Thermal breaks. Every 16” around the perimeter of your home you have no insulation where the 2x4’s or 2x6’s are. That’s an inch and a half area every 16 inches equating to 22 inches of area on a 20-foot wall with the only insulation being the wood itself. With additional framing in the corners, top of walls, doors, windows, and beams as headers above doors and windows, it’s an amazing amount of uninsulated area in a typical home.

To combat this, builders are increasing the energy efficiency of windows, making them more expensive, and wrapping the exterior of the home in a continuous envelope of insulation over the sheeting. They are using higher efficient insulation in the walls between the studs. They are sealing the homes up to prevent any additional heat loss. We then complain that regulation is killing the affordability of the home while we stack layer upon layer of material to meet these growing needs. Is there a  different approach? Yes!  

Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) are solid wood wall panels. They are 3-6 layers thick and extremely strong, so they combat increased snow and wind loads. They eliminate all conventional framing and provide a continuous envelope around the home. You then wrap the exterior with 3-6 inches of rigid foam, eliminating all thermal breaks in the walls, around doors and windows, and in the floor. In some cases, like Watershed Structures’ ADU, the wall thickness remains the same so door and window installs are easy. This panelized approach is also much faster to construct, requiring only a few people, using limited equipment to lift into place. Another added benefit is that the interior walls are solid wood panels, eliminating the need for drywall….unless you want it.

I’ll trade you complexity for simplicity

No one person or company has all the answers, but we owe it to ourselves to ask the question “why?”. Without exploring why we do things or what the alternatives are, we will add more and more materials to homes, thus adding costs that go against our affordable housing goals. The CLT approach is a "work smarter not harder" approach to construction. If we can add simplicity then we can limit the number of people and subcontractors it takes to build a home. Those tradespeople are in short supply and not keeping up with housing starts as it is.

Whether you were in your room building model cars, computers, a photography portfolio, graphic art, or that next musical masterpiece, all industries have evolved. We are living through some of the most innovative times in history, so let’s not overlook the one industry that impacts everyone. That roof over your head!

‍

‍

Watershed Structures focuses on providing forward-thinking structures that allow small-scale, yet scalable, innovation. We use solid wood Cross Laminated Timber panels to construct backyard accessory dwellings, offices, or hobby spaces that help enhance the lives of our clients. Whether that space brings extended family closer with a more affordable home, or a quiet, detached space for that budding drummer in the family, we would enjoy working with you. Let us know how we can help bring your vision to life!