“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” may be a risky term in today’s homebuilding industry
Home builders in the 21st century are expected to have a basic understanding of physics and chemistry to understand the physical behavior of a structure as a whole system and how each element used and how it is applied impacts energy efficiency, durability, comfort and indoor air quality.
Mother Nature has her way of proving that she is always in charge and ready to challenge some of our good intentions, like tightly sealing a house, that can cause other problems that early implementers didn’t foresee. We can all benefit from what our industry has learned through painful examples of defects and failures, and our study of what has been done to prevent such problems from recurring. Thanks to our building associations, industry educators and innovative building product manufacturers, we’ve come a long way in our understanding of building science to the point where most of us are very confident in saying that a newly built home is a better built home, or a home remodeled to today’s standards is better than one that’s unrenovated.
2021 is a time to check that your products and practices are up to date with best practices to mitigate risks and deliver the highest quality product to your buyers. Begin with a review of the structural process by reading this month’s Focus Section. But with spring around the corner, vie to get out, get away and get some fresh air…maybe even take up the sport of off-roading.
We hope you find this issue of Building Savvy thought-provoking and inspiring as you plan for another great year of home building in a marketplace where opportunity is huge, but so are the challenges. Watch the big players in the market to stay in tune with significant changes ahead in our industry.
