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Minimize to maximize: frost-protected shallow foundations. In-line framing. Single-layer subfloors. These techniques can save on your hard costs, at the same time benefiting generations of homeowners. Here''s how to shave costs without sacrificing quality or energy efficiency.

Article Excerpt
ANALYSIS OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC trends likely to impact housing in the next decade makes strong case for continued growth in the housing industry. In fact, the NAHB has predicted that housing starts may hit the two-million-per-year mark in this decade due to immigration, smaller families, and removal of existing housing stock.

According to a report recently published in the Forest Products Journal, the way those homes are built is rapidly changing And for small- and mid-sized builders, getting in on that change is no longer optional Why? Because fewer skilled tradespeople are entering the job pipeline, and building codes have changed. What's more, the public has become much more savvy about home energy efficiency--and more litigious.

Add to those trends the growing cost o construction waste disposal, the enormous need for affordable housing (with affordable energy bills), and the approaching thunder of big builders pulverizing smaller builders and you see where things are headed. Smaller builders face a tough mandate: Streamline operations to cut material and labor costs and at the same time improve energy efficiency and reduce waste--yet leave no weak points in construction quality.

THE LONG HAUL

Fortunately, pulling that off isn't impossible Most of the products, research, and know-how can be readily obtained. Many systems previously relegated to the "fringe" have gone mainstream and found a place of honor in the new International Residential Code (IRC), including structural insulated panels and frost-protected shallow foundations.

But before deciding to dive headfirst into optimized building systems and products, largely ignored research points out some major blind spots in the way homes are constructed. Before you can offer a home that genuinely costs less to build, yet lasts as long or longer than standard construction, you may want to check out a study done...