Moisture, in all its physical forms, is commonly regarded as the single greatest threat to durability and long-term performance of the housing stock. Excessive exposure to moisture is not only a common cause of significant damage to many types of building components and materials, it also can lead to unhealthy...
This document focuses on the development of a technology roadmap that addresses the "whole house" perspective on home building, and the entirety of the home building process. It describes new technologies and processes, which offers promise to the building industry in many ways. The adoption of innovative business practices from...
The Fair Housing Act covers most housing, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In some circumstances, various type of properties are exempt from the Act, including: owner-occupied buildings with no more than four units, single-family housing sold or rented without the use of a broker, and...
While construction of homes has reached record highs in the United States over the last decade, many home product manufacturers and home builders still rely on traditional materials and practices, and today's housing is increasingly unaffordable. At the same time, homebuyers are requiring higher performance and better quality in their...
Avoiding moisture-related problems - such as material degradation and staining?is a challenge in all types of structures, particularly those located in the hot, humid Gulf Coast region of the U.S. Air movement is a major mechanism for moisture transport. Therefore, understanding how a home's design, construction, and operation impact airflow...
There are major factors that determine under what conditions manufactured homes are viable for attached construction. This report explains these factors. It also presents compelling arguments for further research and development of new applications for manufactured homes, and highlights the significant cost and time savings that this technology can offer...
This book presents several cost-efficient practices that, when implemented, can help affordable housing providers and owners to improve a home's performance, resulting in projects that are high quality, safe, comfortable, energy efficient, and more affordable. These practices are intended as examples for housing providers and homeowners to ensure cost-efficient construction....
The NAHB Research Center, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD, and the Steel Framing Alliance have worked cooperatively to introduce cold-formed steel framing into the residential construction market and to provide builders and homeowners with a cost-effective alternative construction material. There is one barrier in the progress...
Building professionals and municipal planning officials each have numerous goals and try to satisfy many needs during land development. Private developers are interested in profitable business ventures that also effectively address environmental concerns and meet regulatory requirements. Public sector officials ensure that development projects mesh with applicable zoning ordinances and...
Builders who have combined insulating concrete forms and cold-formed steel framing in homes complain of a lack of information on making the connections. This publication is intended to alleviate these problems by providing construction details and schedules for the connection of cold-formed steel frame walls, floor decks, and roofs to...
In general, airflow through homes, and its impact on building performance and homeowner comfort, is one of the most difficult building science phenomenons to quantify and predict. Whole-house ventilation is the process of supplying fresh air to a living space and exhausting stale air, either by natural or mechanical means...
This report describes the need for improved air distribution system performance in manufactured homes. Virtually all manufactured housing units in the nation use forced air systems for heating and cooling distribution. The typical manufactured home air distribution system ADS wastes a significant amount of energy through leakage of conditioned air...
This report focuses on a program to develop vacuum insulated panel products for home construction, renovation, and remodeling. Vacuum Insulation is a technology with the potential to improve the thermal performance of housing. A vacuum insulated panel consists of a core material sealed in an evacuated envelope of some impermeable...
Ventilation of attic and cathedral ceiling air cavities have been recommended building practices for four reasons: moisture control, energy conservation, asphalt shingle durability, and ice dam prevention. The intent of this report is to investigate attic ventilation strategies that may improve the performance of manufactured homes. The report begins with...
Cold-formed steel has been widely used in commercial buildings, especially in non-load bearing partitions and curtain wall applications. This report investigates regulatory requirements, available test data, and typical practices relating to acoustics and fire protection of cold-formed steel framing. This document starts by providing an overview of fire and acoustic...
This document focuses specifically on taking a whole house perspective on home building and refining the building process. This document details industry challenges, and outlines activities and accomplishments that will lead to the achievement of the vision. These include managing the change process, creating an environment that facilitates systems solutions,...
This document focuses specifically on panelized construction systems and processes. Advanced panelized construction can bring the benefits of mass production into the highly customized residential market through the pre-production of components and integration of parts into subsystems. This technology roadmap identifies research needs to develop advanced building panel design; establish...
This document focuses specifically on improving energy efficiency in existing housing. It describes the challenges, and outlines activities and accomplishments that will lead to the achievement of the vision. These include promoting new technologies, evaluating products and processes for retrofit, building capabilities among trade contractors, and identifying potential consumer incentives.
This document serves as guides to help the housing industry make decisions about research and development investments. This document focuses specifically on activities and strategies that will lead to improvements in Information Technology systems for the home building industry. It describes a need to develop a common language to communicate...
Close to a fifth of the United States population lives in multi-family rental housing. Most of these residents do not pay a water bill. Water charges are embedded in their rent and residents are usually free to use as much water as they wish without additional charge. These expenses are...
