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Building Home Value by Reducing Construction Waste

By
Home Builder with ImpresaModular.com Licensed Nationwide

Have you ever driven by a home construction site and noticed that big dumpster in the yard? For most, the initial impression is that it’s great to have a place to put the construction garbage to keep the jobsite looking neat and to keep the trash from blowing around. However, it’s a custom built home and what if it were your home? That 30 cubic yard dumpster is getting filled with materials that you paid for! Framing lumber, OSB, drywall, and wire are expensive and that dumpster is full of it. Not only do you have to pay to have the dumpster there and then pay to have the waste disposed of, but you paid for all the waste that is in the dumpster. That’s when it strikes you that there has to be a better way!

WHAT IS CONSTRUCTION WASTE?

Job Site WasteWhen building anything there will be waste generated. In construction there will be cuts that have to be made leaving a board that is too short to use, drywall that needs to be cut to fit the wall it is covering, and shingles that have to be trimmed as they are being applied to the roof. There are lots of legitimate reasons that construction waste is generated.

Construction debris adds millions of tons of solid waste to landfills every year. It is made up of wood, metal, paper, and multiple petroleum based products (items such as vinyl siding, roof shingles, carpet, etc.). All of this is headed to a landfill somewhere. While residential recycling efforts by communities have helped reduce what actually ends up going to most landfills, it just hasn’t seemed to reach the traditional custom home construction industry as a whole. The EPA has estimated that waste from construction accounts for up to 40% of the solid waste in the U.S. On most home sites, there is still just a single dumpster that collects all waste in that one container to be taken and disposed of at the nearest landfill.

SITE BUILT HOMES: THE WASTE MAKER

Lack of Recycling with Construction WasteAccording to a National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) study, an estimated 8,000 pounds of waste is created from the construction of a site built 2,000 square foot home.  The majority of that 8,000 pounds is wood, cardboard, and drywall.  Almost all of that waste ends up in landfills. Site construction is just inherently inefficient. Materials are dropped and left outdoors in the sun and rain. Framing lumber tends to twist and warp when left exposed for extended periods of time. Materials that are too warped or are too twisted can’t be used in the homes construction and get thrown in a dumpster.

Materials aren’t efficiently reused. Human nature is to take the fastest and easiest way to do something. If you need a short board, why walk to the other side of the job-site to repurpose a piece of scrap when you can cut the new board beside of you more easily. At the end of a job, lumber that is left over isn’t typically returned or reused, it is thrown in the dumpster because it just isn’t cost effective to haul to the next job-site and there isn’t enough for the lumber supplier to pick up and take as a return.

Recycling efforts for construction waste are time consuming. The cost to bring separate containers to a job-site, the labor cost to that sort waste, and the cost of trucks to haul each container away adds up. Because of the inefficiencies of building onsite, the traditional construction industry has found that it is just too expensive and inconvenient to recycle job-site waste.

MODULAR HOMES: GREEN AND EFFICIENT

Modular homes allow for the responsible management of waste in construction. What this means is that there are opportunities for modular home factories to practice responsible construction more easily because construction is concentrated in one location. Modular construction is a building system and one of the goals of that system is to eliminate, minimize, or recycle construction waste.

Modular construction is great at eliminating much of the construction waste that is created in home building, to begin with. Examples include:

  • Buying lumber cut to length – No need to cut and create wood waste
  • Purchasing flooring pre-cut to room/home width – Efficient use of material
  • Bulk Product Purchases – Reduction/elimination of packaging waste

If waste can’t be eliminated, then modular construction works to minimize it. By building indoors, water and the sun doesn’t damage wood and other construction materials. By protecting framing materials, everything delivered to the factory is actually used in a home’s construction. Framing that is delivered and considered to be substandard is either returned (cull lumber) or cut into smaller pieces to be used where appropriate. If cuts are required, the scrap is re-purposed in other areas of that home or the next home being built. For example, a scrap 16” piece of board becomes blocking for a kitchen cabinet.

Green Waste Management with Modular ConstructionWith the waste that does remain in modular construction, factories have put in place practices for the reduction, recycling, and reuse of waste items. These processes go to the heart of green construction by minimizing any waste that actually gets to a landfill. On the site of a traditionally built home, there is one dumpster for everything. In a modular home factory, there are typically 3 cubic yard dumpsters scattered on the production line. These dumpsters are used to collect waste, either for reuse or recycling. True trash, waste that will actually be sent to a landfill, is all but eliminated.

MODULAR CONSTRUCTION: PROVIDING VALUE THROUGH RESPONSIBLE WASTE MANAGEMENT

Most that have researched using modular construction for building their new custom home find many reasons that make it an attractive option. Indoor construction means water doesn’t get into the home and create mold and mildew issues while quality is enhanced because of the assembly line controls and oversight. But most never discover that one of the key reasons that modular homes can be provided at a great value is because of their leading edge material and waste management techniques.

By concentrating the construction of so many homes in one location, modular home factories are able to sustainably manage their construction waste. Everyone wins! Homebuyers get their home for a better value, landfills don’t accumulate unnecessary waste, and the factory lowers its cost of construction. Modular construction provides the environmentally responsible way to build a custom home at a great value!

Posted by

Ken Semler

ken@expressmodular.com

877-419-2525 Direct Number

800-275-7532 Main Number 

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Sheri Sperry - MCNE®
Coldwell Banker Realty - Sedona, AZ
(928) 274-7355 ~ YOUR Solutions REALTOR®

Hi Ken Semler

This is a very interesting post and something that real estate agents who sell resale homes may not think of very often.  With the popularity of tiny homes, this could even be a more exciting application. One day, land & lot as well as city building codes will catch up to this and make it more affordable with less encumbrances to help with green building for tiny homes. 

Sep 18, 2017 05:56 AM
Ken Semler

Building code is starting to get there for tiny homes. The 2018 version of the IRC has a supplement specifically addressing them. The government will get there.... it just takes longer than we want!

Sep 19, 2017 11:13 AM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hi, Ken -- I came here via the reblog by Sheri Sperry - MCNE® who I see left a comment reflecting my same thoughts.   A very good post.

Carol Williams -- what about Ken's post as a candidate for Second Chance Saturday if it isn't featured by then?   

Sep 24, 2017 07:14 AM
Carol Williams

Thanks for the suggestion,  Michael Jacobs .  I've put it in the queue for the next edition.  

Sep 24, 2017 09:11 AM
Ken Semler

Carol Williams , Thanks for the feature in Second Chance Saturday! I welcome every opportunity to share the word about modular home construction. I wish more custom builders and realtors worked together for the advancement of both!

Oct 01, 2017 12:35 PM
Sally K. & David L. Hanson
EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI
WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

It's not hit our area...but can see where flood prone parts of the country would 

appreciate the advantages it offers.

Sep 24, 2017 11:30 AM
Myrl Jeffcoat
Sacramento, CA
Greater Sacramento Realtor - Retired

I know there can be a considerable amount of construction waste, because I've witnessed it even with simple home renovations.  Often we don't think about these things.

Sep 24, 2017 02:11 PM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Hi Ken- thanks to Sheri Sperry - MCNE® for reblogging your post. The numbers certainly are staggering in terms of waste materials. My husband is a retired builder and I have seen the amount left at sites. 

Sep 24, 2017 03:18 PM
Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

Wow, 40% of solid waste is from construction? That's a huge percentage!

 

Sep 30, 2017 03:33 AM
Grant Schneider
Performance Development Strategies - Armonk, NY
Your Coach Helping You Create Successful Outcomes

Good afternoon Ken - I have learned so much about the opportunities here.  We have a modular homes builder in my BNI.

Sep 30, 2017 10:55 AM
Ken Semler

Thanks Grant, I think with the construction labor shortages that modular construction is going to be the way of new home construction going foward. 

Sep 30, 2017 11:03 AM
Lise Howe
Keller Williams Capital Properties - Washington, DC
Assoc. Broker in DC, MD, VA and attorney in DC

I am so glad that Carol featured this - I missed it before and I love to know as much as possible about new home construction

Oct 01, 2017 08:21 AM
Jeff Dowler, CRS
eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Carlsbad, CA
The Southern California Relocation Dude

Hi Ken

Thanks to Carol I found your post. There is some good learning here, and you've raised some important points. I wonder if any cities are implementing tought standards around waste and recycling for builders, or will? Modular construction certainly makes lots of sense!

Jeff

Oct 01, 2017 08:59 AM
Corey Martin
Martin Presence Group - Ruston, LA
Real Estate and Management Solutions

Creating value through less waste. Great idea. Thanks for telling us about the steps modular home manufacturers are taking to increase value in the market. 

Oct 01, 2017 12:07 PM
Luke Acree
ReminderMedia - King of Prussia, PA
Making Agents Memorable

Great post. In Philadelphia, it's incredible how many materials are simply left behind at sites.

Oct 03, 2017 07:16 AM