Monday, September 7, 2015

NAHB Misses Another Chance to Promote Modular Housing

You would think that someone at the NAHB would walk down the hallway and talk to the folks running the Building Systems Council for their input when it comes to how many subcontractors it takes to build a modular home compared to a site built home.

But no, that never happened. The author of the article, Paul Emrath, talks about the number of subs needed to build a home probably doesn't even know that the BSC exists let alone that it is a part of the NAHB in Washington, DC.

Here is the first part of his article and a link to the online version.



NAHB addressed the topic most recently in the September 2015 Special Study in Housing Economics.  The study clearly shows that builders’ use of subcontractors remains as strong as ever.

For example, 70 percent of builders typically use somewhere between 11 and 30 subcontractors to build a single-family home.  On average, 22 different subcontractors are used to build a home.

Modcoach notes:

I'm sure I will take some hits for this article but wouldn't it be interesting to know how many "full-time" subs it takes the average modular home builder to complete a home.

Can anyone calculate the waste produced by all the subs at a site-built home? How much gas do all those trucks and cars that all those subs use driving back and forth to the site-built home use?

You really should look at the list of subs above and ask yourself why do site builders still cling to doing things the same way they have done them for the past 100 years when there is a better way staring them right in the face?

Oh, now I remember, nobody at the NAHB considers modular housing a viable alternative to stick built homes. Hey NAHB, the BSC has offices in your building.

CLICK HERE to see what the BSC webpage of the NAHB really looks like. Surprise!


Anonymous said...

What's up Coach. Who pissed you off at the BSC?

I know they are useless but God Love 'em, they try.

Harris Woodward said...

Anonymous, you missed the target. Coach is going after the NAHB for not recognizing the BSC. Not the BSC itself. And he's correct: NAHB has effectively left the BSC for dead in my view. It's a bitch being a red-headed stepchild.