“They don’t build them like they used to.”
“New homes are put together too fast.”
When it comes to home construction, some people still long for the “good old days”.
The truth is that new homes are better built, better designed, and use better materials, products and systems than ever before.
Today’s professional builders understand building science and know how to build a home that not only looks good, but is well constructed and great to live in. Today’s new homes are bright and comfortable year-round, save on energy costs and have good indoor air quality and take full advantage of the many advances in building products, materials and systems. And to top it off, a new home is carefully crafted with attention to the details-both what you can see and what you can’t.
Modern home building is a team effort under the direction of a professional builder who uses the expertise of more than 30 different skilled trades working on a home at various stages of construction.
Builders use a variety of efficient construction technologies to achieve unparalleled quality and performance. While the majority of new homes continue to be based on wood frame construction (a system that Canada has perfected over many years), the use of other, more recent systems is growing, including steel framing, insulating concrete forms and panelized wall assemblies.
From roof trusses to cabinets and pre-finished flooring, many building components, which in earlier times were built on site, are now made to order in factories and arrive on site ready for installation. The result is tremendous time savings, greater precision, consistently high quality and elimination of storage.
Some aspects of the construction process are highly mechanized today. Thanks to standard foundation forms and specialized framing crews, the foundation can be prepared and the frame of the house erected efficiently and quickly. And automated tools such as powernailers allow trades to work with much greater speed and accuracy.
Continued research and development by the industry has resulted in an incredible range of new building components and materials. From engineered floor joists to high-performance windows to composite countertops, new products provide greater design options, reduce maintenance and increase homeowner comfort and enjoyment.
As new homes have become more energy efficient, it takes less to heat and cool them. Today’s mechanical systems are compact and energy efficient. New integrated systems combine functions, such as space heating and hot water heating, in a single piece of equipment. Heat recovery ventilators ensure a continuous flow of fresh air into the home, while exhausting stale air.
