developer: The Home Building Industry Has Normalized Failure
- 08/16/26 10:40 AM
If another industry routinely missed schedules, exceeded budgets, delivered inconsistent quality, lost materials, dealt with constant rework, and accepted unpredictable outcomes, we would call it a broken production system. In construction, we often call it normal. That is the part I think we need to challenge.
We account for inefficiency. We budget for it. We build contingency around it. We add float to schedules. We expect weather delays, trade conflicts, callbacks, punch-list work, material waste, change orders, and coordination issues. Then we congratulate ourselves when we manage those problems well. But managing inefficiency is not the same as eliminating it.
Somewhere along the … (2 comments)
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developer: Is Your Home Designed for How It Will Be Built?
- 08/16/26 10:37 AM
A home can be beautifully designed and still be badly designed for how it will actually be produced. I think that is one of the biggest disconnects we still have in construction.
Architects are solving for a lot of things at once. They are thinking about the site, the code, the program, the client, the aesthetics, the function, and the overall experience of the building. All of that matters. But if the building system is selected too late, the project may already be working against the way it needs to be manufactured, transported, assembled, and finished.
That becomes especially important with modular construction. … (3 comments)
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developer: Put Your Mortgage Goggles On: A Lender’s Credit Score View
- 08/16/26 06:44 AM
The first thing you hear when you start thinking about building a new home is usually, “Check your credit score.” That makes sense. Most prospective home buyers head to Credit Karma, their bank, a credit card app, or myFICO to see where they stand. For some people, it may be the first time they have paid serious attention to their credit score.
Then the big day comes. You apply for a construction loan to build your custom modular home and the lender tells you your credit score. Sometimes the number is different from the score you have been watching for months.
That creates … (3 comments)
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developer: I Would Talk Some Developers OUT of Modular
- 08/15/26 05:15 AM
Yes, I sell modular construction. And there are projects I will actively try to talk developers out of building modular.
Townhome projects are a good example.
If the entitlements are done, the site plan is locked, and the building footprints are fixed at 20 or 22 feet wide, modular may not be the right answer. Those dimensions are common in townhouse design, but they do not always align with efficient volumetric modular.
Modular is not just about whether a building can technically be broken into boxes. It is about whether those boxes can be manufactured, transported, set, connected, and finished well.
When the module widths … (6 comments)
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developer: Legos and Modular Homes: More Alike than You Think
- 08/10/26 05:46 AM
Legos, like modular homes, have been around for a long time. Legos started out as simple blocks, available in a limited variety of colors and were interlocking. The simple concept provided children with the ability to connect these blocks in different ways to create just about anything; a car, a building, or almost any object. Modular construction of homes began as a way to breakdown home plans into simple modules that could be constructed at a factory and then assembled, in Lego-like fashion, into a larger and complete home on site.
How Did Legos Get StartedIn 1934 a Danish carpenter created a toy company. … (6 comments)
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developer: Is Today’s Construction Process Basically a Rube Goldberg Machine?
- 08/09/26 05:03 AM
# **Is Today’s Construction Process Basically a Rube Goldberg Machine?**
If you are a Realtor, you probably spend a lot of time explaining the housing market to buyers.
Interest rates. Inventory. Appraisals. Inspections. Insurance. Affordability.
But there is another problem hiding underneath almost every conversation about new housing:
**How we actually build homes.**
Rube Goldberg was an engineer and cartoonist who became famous for drawings of ridiculously complicated machines designed to perform very simple tasks.
A ball rolls down a ramp, hits a lever, releases a weight, pulls a rope, tips a bucket, spins a wheel, and eventually accomplishes something that could have been done in one … (2 comments)
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developer: We’re Still Building Homes Like It’s 1900. Why?
- 08/08/26 05:31 AM
Some things survive for generations because they still work. The wooden mousetrap is a perfect example. It is cheap, simple, familiar, and available everywhere. But surviving is not the same as improving. The same can be said about the way we build homes. Stick framing has been around for more than a century, and when you look at old construction photos, the basic process is still remarkably familiar. Materials are delivered to a jobsite, crews assemble the structure one piece at a time, weather becomes part of the production schedule, and quality can vary depending on the people and conditions present … (5 comments)
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developer: Same House. Two Very Different Journeys.
- 08/06/26 02:37 PM
Traditional construction and modular construction can produce a home that looks nearly identical when completed. The difference is often found in the journey required to get there. Traditional Construction: More Variables at the Jobsite With traditional site-built construction, most of the home is assembled outdoors. That exposes the project to variables that are difficult to control:
Rain, snow, heat, and wind Material exposure and jobsite damage Subcontractor scheduling conflicts Rework and change orders Theft, waste, and site congestion Delays caused by labor availability Traditional construction can produce an excellent home. But the process depends heavily on coordinating labor, materials, inspections, and … (0 comments)
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developer: August Issue of Offsite Builder Magazine is out!
- 08/04/26 07:49 AM
Everyone keeps asking the same question: *How do we get industrialized construction to scale?* I think we're asking the wrong question. The better question is, *What has to change for industrialized construction to become the default instead of the exception?* That question drove every editorial decision in this month's issue of *Offsite Builder*.
This isn't another magazine filled with project photos and product announcements. It's about the decisions that determine whether companies grow or get left behind. We explore whether you should open a modular factory, how firms are winning more commercial work, what high-volume 3D printing really means beyond the headlines, … (0 comments)
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developer: "Craftsman" is one of the Highest Compliments in Construction, but...
- 07/31/26 04:56 AM
We use the word *craft* as one of the highest compliments in construction. A craftsman is someone who has mastered their trade through years of experience, discipline, and repetition. They deserve our respect. But here is the question our industry rarely asks. Why does construction require so much craft in the first place?
Much of what we celebrate as craftsmanship is actually the ability to compensate for the shortcomings of traditional site-built construction. We praise the carpenter who straightens a wall that wasn't framed correctly. We admire the trim carpenter who hides imperfect framing. We applaud the drywall finisher who makes uneven … (2 comments)
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developer: I'm Speaking at IMN's Build-to-Rent Fall Conference in Dallas
- 07/30/26 05:40 AM
The Build-to-Rent industry has reached an inflection point.
Institutional capital has embraced BTR because demand is real. The challenge now isn't whether people want rental housing. It's whether we can deliver communities fast enough, with enough certainty, to meet investor expectations.
For years, we've talked about modular construction as a better way to build. I believe that's the wrong conversation.
The real conversation is about capital efficiency.
Every month a project is delayed ties up equity, increases carrying costs, pushes lease-up further into the future, and reduces returns. Those aren't construction problems. They're investment problems.
That's why I'm excited to be speaking at IMN's Build-to-Rent Fall … (1 comments)
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developer: They Weren't Talking About Bamboo...
- 07/26/26 04:50 AM
For decades, the construction industry has confused resistance with strength. Every labor shortage, every supply chain disruption, every affordability crisis, and every missed production goal has been met with the same response: work harder, protect the status quo, and hope the next cycle will be different. That isn't resilience. It's inertia.
The strongest companies are rarely the ones that refuse to change. They are the ones that recognize change before everyone else and adapt while others are still debating. Industrialized construction is not about replacing builders. It's about giving them a better business model. Factory-built construction doesn't eliminate craftsmanship. It moves more … (3 comments)
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developer: Day 2 of the Industrialized Housing Summit - Austin
- 07/25/26 05:11 AM
**Day One at the Industrialized Housing Summit in Austin reminded me why I remain so optimistic about the future of housing.**
The day started with something every industry conference should include. We got out of the ballroom and onto real jobsites.
Our first stop was **ICON**, where we saw large-scale concrete 3D printing in action. Whether or not you believe printed concrete will become mainstream, you cannot walk away without appreciating the engineering, automation, and manufacturing mindset behind it. The conversation isn't just about printing walls. It's about asking a much bigger question: *How do we fundamentally rethink how we build homes?*
From there … (1 comments)
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developer: Today in Austin, TX
- 07/23/26 03:59 AM
This morning I'm in Austin at the University of Texas for the Industrialized Housing Summit, and I'm looking forward to speaking tomorrow alongside many of the brightest minds in our industry.
What excites me most about this event isn't simply the opportunity to be on stage. It's the people in the room.
Developers. Manufacturers. Investors. Builders. Engineers. Policymakers. Technology companies. Capital providers. Researchers.
Everyone is here because we all recognize the same reality.
America doesn't have a housing innovation problem.
It has a housing deployment problem.
We already know how to build faster. We already know how to improve quality. We already know how to reduce schedule … (3 comments)
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developer: Building Science for Dummies
- 07/19/26 04:31 AM
When it comes to building a custom home, the fun part is choosing the building site, designing the home, and selecting colors. What most home buyers don’t think about is how the construction of their home will impact their comfort and affect their health. That’s where building science comes in. A house is much more than four walls and a roof. It is an interactive system made up of many parts (e.g. the structure itself, ventilation systems, heating, and cooling systems, etc.). Each component influences the performance of the entire system.
Home building materials and home building techniques have improved substantially over the years. While this is good … (1 comments)
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developer: Turnkey Home Building vs Owner/Builder Completion
- 07/15/26 10:48 AM
When it comes to building a custom home, you have construction options. Some who are contemplating building a new home feel they know what they want and want control over the subcontractors and the process by which their home is built. By acting as their own general contractor, they feel like they can save money and build their new home with higher-quality materials. For others, the mere thought of the home-building process is enough to trigger a panic attack. Let’s explore the advantages of both options.
Turnkey: Here’s My Building Lot Call Me When You’re DoneMost who are building a custom home … (2 comments)
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developer: The ROAD to Housing Act Became Law On Saturday
- 07/13/26 08:08 AM
For 50 years, one of the defining characteristics of a HUD Code manufactured home has been its permanent steel chassis.
Now, with the passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, that requirement becomes optional.
I have been watching people celebrate this as an automatic cost reduction. I am not convinced that is the right conversation.
Removing the permanent frame does not automatically make a home less expensive. In some cases, engineering another structural solution could actually increase costs. The real value is not cheaper. The real value is design flexibility. It gives engineers, manufacturers, and builders another tool to solve housing challenges … (2 comments)
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developer: Lawyers Still Not Getting it Right in 2026: Stop the Madness!
- 07/12/26 04:24 AM
Fifty years.
That is how long it has been since the 1976 HUD Code fundamentally changed manufactured housing in America. Fifty years of engineering advances. Fifty years of improved building science. Fifty years of innovation in offsite construction.
And yet here we are in 2026, with attorneys still writing CC&Rs that ban "mobile homes."
Mobile homes.
A legal term describing homes built before June 15, 1976.
If you are drafting new restrictive covenants in 2026 and using the phrase "mobile home," you are immediately telling everyone reading the document that you do not understand the subject you are regulating.
It gets worse.
Many attorneys then lump "modular," "manufactured," … (3 comments)
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developer: I'm Speaking at the IMN Build-to-Rent Conference in Dallas Sept 8-10
- 07/11/26 04:48 AM
I'm looking forward to speaking at the IMN BTR Fall Forum 2026 this September in Dallas, where I'll have the opportunity to participate in both the Preconference Workshop and a main conference Education Session focused on one of the biggest opportunities in Build-to-Rent today, industrialized and modular construction.BTR has matured into an institutional asset class. Capital is more sophisticated. Underwriting is tighter. Investors are demanding greater certainty. Yet many projects are still built with delivery methods that introduce unnecessary schedule risk, labor uncertainty, financing drag, and inconsistent quality.That disconnect is where industrialized construction changes the conversation.In the preconference workshop, we'll discuss … (2 comments)
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developer: I'm Speaking In Austin About Industrialized Construction July 23/24
- 07/10/26 05:17 AM
The housing conversation has changed.
The question is no longer whether industrialized construction works. The question is how we deploy it at scale, consistently, profitably, and without reinventing the wheel on every project.
I'm honored to be speaking at the 2026 Industrialized Housing Summit on July 23-24 in Austin, Texas, joining leaders from across development, manufacturing, government, finance, and construction to tackle the issues that actually determine whether industrialized housing succeeds. This isn't a conference built around theory. It's a working summit focused on solving the operational, financial, and execution challenges that stand between innovation and widespread adoption.
If you're a developer, builder, manufacturer, … (1 comments)
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If another industry routinely missed schedules, exceeded budgets, delivered inconsistent quality, lost materials, dealt with constant rework, and accepted unpredictable outcomes, we would call it a broken production system. In construction, we often call it normal. That is the part I think we need to challenge.
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