The process of home construction can be a stressful endeavor because of all the various decisions that must be made. One of the first decisions is what type of construction method is the best choice for your new home. A method that has become very popular in today’s frenzied housing market is a system-built home.
A System-built home is built through a systemized construction process. This type of construction is unlike a traditional “stick-built” home in that a portion of the home is manufactured under controlled conditions in an off-site manufacturing facility. A “stick-built” home is constructed entirely onsite one piece or “stick” at a time, or in a “stick by stick” manner whereas a system-built home is built in more of a “wall by wall” or “section by section” method of building.”
5 Benefits of a system built Home
The purpose of this article is to educate home owners on the different types of construction out there and the benefits of System-built construction vs traditional. Every home is different and so are the needs of the owner. If you are considering to build a home, it’s crucial to do your research to find the process, materials and builders that work best for your project.
System Built homes take less time to build
It is no secret that we live in a “microwave” society where we want what we want when we want it and have little patience in waiting for it. Unfortunately, the building of a home is more of a “crockpot” type of endeavor. To accelerate this process, one of the advantages of building a system-built home is that it is often quicker to build than its traditional counterpart.
Because much of the planning and construction has taken place ahead of time, and a portion of the manufacturing is taking place off-site, the time it takes to construct the pre- manufactured components can be far less than in a traditional stick-built home. The less time we have to spend stressing about a project and waiting for it to finally be done, the more time we can spend enjoying the space with the ones we love.
System Built Homes Can Offer Long-term Utility Savings
One of the larger benefits of a system built home is they tend to be higher in energy efficiency than your standard stick built home. For instance, Structural Insulated Panels, or SIPs, are manufactured under controlled conditions in a factory and include energy saving components that simply cannot be built on-site.
They create a “tighter” home that keeps the temperature of your home regulated and can significantly reduce your heating and cooling costs. In fact, it is often necessary to install smaller heating and cooling systems than normally installed in traditionally stick-built homes.
System Built Homes Produce Less Onsite and Offsite Waste
System built homes produce less waste as many of the required components arrive on-site already cut to the specific dimensions. When a system-built home is designed and portions are pre-manufactured in a facility where there is extremely little waste, and the waste that there is is recycled, everybody wins.
There is less going into the local landfills, which means fewer dollars going to waste during the building of the home, and let’s face it; it’s simply better for the environment. Picture putting together a Lego home vs a home made out of toothpicks that have to be cut to a specific size.
System Built Homes Require Less Labor
The current demand for construction is too much for the labor shortage that the construction industry in America is currently facing.
According to an analysis done in February 2022 by Associate Builders and Contractors, there is a shortage of about half a million workers in construction alone.Lack of labor can bring an entire project to a halt and leave projects lasting years past their deadline.
When you’re putting up a system built home, it’s usually by panels that include a lot of the framing and other materials. This can effectively minimize the need for multiple subcontractors, thus less laborers.
System Built Homes Offer Complete Customization
There is a lot of misconception on what a System-Built home is. What they are not, is a mobile home, or trailer. Mobile home manufacturers are limited in width, height, and length as well as materials due to weight. Therefore, they can only build the structures that are as large as what the department of transportation will allow on public roads.
A home constructed out of Structural Insulated Panels, (SIPS) for example, is not at all limited in design, either in size or style. Nearly any style of home, from Victorian to Ultra Modern to Rustic Mountain home can be designed as a SIP home. In other words, the custom design of a SIP home is only limited by imagination and, of course, the laws of physics.
Building a house requires a lot of decisions to be made even before signing a construction contract. Taking into consideration that there are many different types of construction, it’s safe to say that what works for one project may not be ideal for the next. Educating yourself about the different types of construction that are available is the best way to begin the process of making the right decision for your new home.