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Modern subdivision house construction is basically a moving assembly line. I don't think prefab makes any sense for a premium modern house. You want to use ma
by kingkongrevenge 18y ago
Modern subdivision house construction is basically a moving assembly line.
I don't think prefab makes any sense for a premium modern house. You want to use materials like steel reinforced and chemically sealed concrete, stucco, stone, and perhaps solid hard wood. You can't feasibly transport this stuff from a factory to a building site pre-assembled. Prefab only potentially makes sense for light chintzy crap made out of wood and fiberglass, and even then on-site construction teams are very efficient at nailing together stick-wood houses on a concrete foundation so you're not going to save anything.
- rsheridan6 18y agoThere are modern alternatives to concrete and wood which are cheaper. A house built of expanded polystyrene - basically a denser version of styrofoam with a hard shell over it - can be had for a materials cost of about $30K http://manolohome.com/2008/08/11/the-habitat-for-the-21st-century/ http://manolohome.com/2008/08/11/the-habitat-for-the-21st-ce... I could easily see something like this becoming ultra-cheap with economies of scale. Make them in a factory and ship them in a few truckloads, then snap them together almost like legos. This is not the only alternative to wood and concrete. If you look around, a lot of people are working on modern (or not so modern) alternatives.