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March Dates to Remember |
How home construction has changed
How
home construction has changed
Besides building homes bigger, construction
has evolved drastically over the last decade. Here are just a few ways you should
know about:
- Swankier modular construction.
Forget thinking that modular homes are tacky, small and amenity-free. Homes
built mostly in a factory and completed onsite can be big, stylish, loaded
with bells and whistles, and indistinguishable from stick-built houses.
- Better energy efficiency.
HVAC systems outfitted with furnaces that have computer-controlled chambers
can sense outside temperatures and adjust interior heat or cold. More windows
come standard with low-E glass and vinyl-clad rather than aluminum frames
for better heating and cooling transfer. Also, roof insulation has more than
doubled to R-38 or R-42 from R-19.
- Greater severe weather
tolerance. Houses used to be able to withstand 80- to 90-mile-per-hour
winds, but with structural steel plates and rods and huge fastening systems,
exterior walls now can hold them in place from the roof to the foundation
footers during 120-mph storms. Metal roofs also are favored since they remain
intact, unlike asphalt or fiberglass shingles that may crack.
- Healthier materials.
Anything that had contained toxic ingredients in the past – paint, carpeting,
adhesive, stain, or glue – has been replaced with healthier variations.
Many are water-based rather than oil-based, which also has driven down costs.
- Changes in layouts.
The dining room may still be alive and well, even if infrequently used, but
more homes are built with a casual living space instead of a formal living
room. Gaining popularity are first-floor master suites, gourmet kitchens,
laundry and mud rooms, a shaft for a future elevator, wiring for a media center
rather than a separate theater, and screened porches with the option of glass
panes for three- or four-season use.
- Greater detailing.
Instead of spare spaces that often look cold, many builders now fashion warm,
inviting interiors with carved cabinetry, crown and baseboard molding, and
lavish paint finishes.
- Radiant heat.
No more surges of power to heat and cool, radiant tubing distributes heat
evenly throughout a house and can be controlled by a thermostat, and even
zoned.
- Synthetic decks and
porches. Manmade materials – wood chips and plastic formed into
boards – are replacing wood and pressure-treated wood to save trees,
cut mildew and rot, eliminate poisonous materials leaking into the soil, and
make outdoor living areas impervious to weather.
- Smart wiring.
With easier living a goal, improved technology now allows sprinklers, lights,
audio-video systems and security to be programmed from an office or any computer
connection rather than flicked on and off at home.
(Reprinted from REALTOR®
Magazine Online (www.realtor.org/realtormag),
April 2008 with permission of the National Association of REALTORS® Copyright
2008. All rights reserved)
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