Building Your Home Indoors: The Greener Choice

Most people nowadays want to incorporate eco-friendly elements into their newly built home such as sustainable materials, high-efficiency HVAC systems and windows, and the list goes on. What many don’t consider, however, is the building process itself. How “green” is building a new home?

The sad truth is, that in most cases, building a new home isn’t very green at all. One study done in the United States, by the National Association of Home Builders estimated when building a single 2000 square foot stick-built home, more than 8000 pounds of waste ends up in a landfill.

Even when builders try to recycle, it often isn’t very effective. The cost of sorting materials at the building site, having two (or more) separate containers, and having to pay to haul those containers away to different sites can be hard to justify. Additionally, trying to repurpose a board that has already been cut is not nearly as convenient as simply cutting a new one.

Why Modular Home Factories Are More Environmentally Friendly:

When homes are built indoors, the amount of construction waste that is produced is considerably less. Where minimizing waste and recycling might be more expensive and time-consuming on a traditional outdoor construction site, it is more convenient and actually saves money in a factory environment. These savings can then be passed on to you!

Modular home factories minimize construction waste in the following ways:

Lumber is purchased in bulk already cut to length.
Flooring is bought pre-cut to size so there is no need to trim it.
Leftover materials get used on the next house rather than being discarded.
Due to construction materials being purchased in bulk, there is less waste from packaging.
Drywall off cuts are picked up for recycling.

Also, because modular homes are built indoors, there is less chance of building materials being damaged from sun or rain. When materials are found to be substandard, they can be shipped back to the supplier rather than get thrown out (as is often the case with outdoor construction).

Traditional building sites usually have one big dumpster where all unused material gets deposited and eventually hauled to a landfill. This leaves very little opportunity for any scraps or leftovers to get repurposed. By contrast, in a factory environment, there are separate bins for each type of material. These get sorted on a regular basis, and whenever possible, modular home builders find a purpose for the scraps.

Reducing Waste Means Saving Money! The average cost of a modular home is about 15% less than that of a stick-built home. One of the main reasons for this is that when a home is built indoors in a factory environment, the amount of construction waste is dramatically reduced.

If you are planning to build a custom home and want to make sure that you are following eco-friendly principles, then you should consider a modular home. To learn more, contact Quality Homes today.

CONTACT US:

Send us a message online: click here
Give us a call: 1-800-265-2648
Send us an email: info@qualityhomes.ca