Technology Holds Promise to Help Homebuyers in Evolving Housing Market

(ARA) - With the current down economy and tight mortgage lending rules, building your dream home can be difficult. Finding an affordable home is often critical, and at the same time, more homebuyers are looking for ways to go green. Despite a common belief that green construction adds to home costs, new technologies can help provide an affordable, quality home you can feel good about owning. Home design and construction software plays a key role.

Visit a new home being built and one of the most useful tools that contractors use cannot be seen. Before the sounds of saws and hammers fill the air, more builders are using design software for the home. A primary focus is the structural frame -- the wall studs, floor joists and sheathing that make up the home's skeleton.

Framing design software can help ensure that the most appropriate materials are used in all of the necessary places to get the best performance with the least amount of excess or waste. The result is a home with solid floors, walls and roofs that can help meet buyer's expectations for years to come. Contributing to green building goals, such software can also help designers use wood more efficiently.

"Conventional building practices use more framing materials than needed for a sound structure," says Rob Brooks, a building code and standard specialist with iLevel by Weyerhaeuser. "Because most homes rely on prescriptive design methods to size framing members, builders often overestimate the amount of wood needed. Precision engineering coupled with a detailed material cut list can help size, order and install framing members more efficiently."

Examples of where more materials may be used than necessary are oversized floor joists and beams, or excess studs. Overbuilding the home's frame not only wastes materials, but also adds to builders' -- and ultimately homebuyers' -- costs.

To reduce the amount of wood used, while still ensuring that the home is structurally solid, more builders are relying on framing design software. Home designers can use programs such as iLevel Javelin design software to accurately figure out the sizes and placements of roof or wall members needed to carry the loads of the structure. Contractors can thus place beams, posts and joists only in the places they are needed.

Software also enables designers to study the structural frame from all angles and work out building conflicts on screen. This helps make the construction process more efficient and avoids the need to rework problems discovered during building -- reducing both material waste and labor.

"Homebuilding technology has advanced greatly in just a few years," says Tim Debelius, marketing manager for software tools and e-business for iLevel. "Design software enables builders to walk through a virtual home and work out a plan before a single board is cut."

Another area that software helps homes to be built using more environmentally friendly practices is by making better use of the materials delivered for construction. Framing design software can link with computer-controlled saws to reduce scrap lumber generated during building.

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), building a 2,000-square-foot home creates about 11 cubic yards of wasted wood. Imagine a dump truck full of scrap for each home built. The numbers add up quickly. Construction waste of all types makes up nearly 24 percent of the total solid waste in the U.S.

Sawing structural framing boards at the construction site to the required size accounts for most of the construction waste. The reason? Framing lumber used for floors, walls and roofs usually arrives on the job site in standard lengths such as 8-, 10- or 12 feet. But, if a 7-foot board is needed, a one-foot or greater piece of scrap is leftover after cutting the board to size. Considering how many boards are used in a typical home, the waste piles up.

Instead, builders can now order pre-cut and labeled material kits that are delivered to the construction site ready to install. Their suppliers use software to better plan board cuts in all parts of the home's structural frame. Additionally, the leftovers can be cataloged and saved for use in other home construction sites. The result is less scrap going to landfills.

While structural framing software is growing in popularity, it is still common for builders to rely on older practices. When speaking with your builder, ask them what technologies they use to support the home's design and construction.

For a fast, easy and free way to learn more about your new home's framing requirements, visit www.ilevel.com/performanceconnection or www.ilevel.com for more information on the role of software in home construction.

Courtesy of ARAcontent