The Simple Genius of a Prefabricated House - My Net Zero Home Build
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- Опубліковано 24 вер 2024
- The Simple Genius of a Prefabricated House - My Net Zero Home Build. Get Surfshark VPN at surfshark.deal... - Enter promo code UNDECIDED for 85% off and 3 extra months for FREE! I’m in the process of building a new energy efficient, net zero, modular home to passive house standards, that’s being built in a factory. Why did I choose this path versus one of the many other sustainable and energy efficient methods like stick built passive homes, ICF, earthships, etc. (fill in your favorite technique)? There’s no one right way to do this, but I think the best way to walk through why I went the path I did is to show you how Unity Homes builds their houses. This may spur ideas for yourself. I had the chance to see my house’s panelized walls getting built in the factory, and to say it was cool would be an understatement. After seeing this, you might see why factory building energy efficient homes and buildings might be a good path for the future.
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In 1968, right out of the military, my first job was framing wall panels in a prefab plant in Washinton State. A couple of months later I was plant superintendent. I worked for large and small homebuilding companies after that, then became an architect designing almost entirely houses. What you show in this video is where I hoped the industry would go. After all these years in the industry, this still excites me. Thanks, well done to you for the video and Ted Benson for moving the industry so far forward, and being willing to share his techniques.
Ah yes… the days you could start as a janitor and be the CEO in 4 months. Must of been nice having it that easy and that kind of loyalty in a company. But I guess we could have that if we would stop eating avocado toast and whining like I am now.
The plant doesn't look very busy...
In 1982 the wife and I designed and built a super insulated solar home in WA state. The house required no heat. We built wood and electric boilers, but they were not needed.
I have an Uncle who is a retired architect. He and his partner tried building homes similar to this using "Panelized" construction where the walls, floor sections and roof sections were built in a factory setting. This was in the 1980s. It wasn't this sophisticated and he had issues with contractors. They didn't have their own assembly teams and contractors fought him all the way. The old "we never done it this way before" attitude finally drove them out of business. But he did say that a major benefit was greatly reduced waste vs site built. Resistance to change and doing something new has kept us from progressing more rapidly.
I legit teared up a bit when he said "we've been developing this for... quite a while," and immediately thereafter says "it's going to be open source."
Everything about this video was beautiful. Those exterior walls were just astonishingly beautiful in their thickness, design, and the efficiency of the fabrication process.
My wife and I want to build a geodesic dome house (goodbye 90degree angle thermal bridges and wind pressure differentials), but we want to employ all of the net-zero design elements. (We just bought our first home, so it'll be several years before we can try to make that leap, but we're fantasizing now.)
Love this video (and all the others). Thank you!
That sounds fun! There are all sorts of cool new building options to prevent thermal bridges. If you like building, check out Matt Risinger's channel
@@MourningLobster It's not just the thermal bridging, we just love the design.
I've even lobbied my wife to allow me to build an indoor rock wall up to the 2nd story and she's said yes!
But yeah, I'm looking into any/all efficiency advancements I come across. I've heard of Matt Risinger before, but not looked at too many of his videos, so I'll give it another look. Thanks for the suggestion.
Have you talked to people that live in a dome? I know a couple of people that have them and they wish they went with something more conventional. I worked at a place where we had a dome built with a minimum of metal to calibrate induction tools and I spent many hours in there running test and couldn’t envision it as being a house. I know one thing the acoustics were strange in it. You could move a few feet one direction or another and the volume on a small stereo would change drastically. We built with double stud walls with 6” of 40 psi foam and live in a very windy area and the house never creaks. Some of the Air Force Remote Radar sites have huge domes for a camp and shop at a couple of the sites I have worked at. They were metal and leaked when it rained.
@@Chris_at_Home I wouldn't use military buildings as a basis for comparison. Not to disparage the military, but I've been around it plenty and let's just say that the cliche of government contracts going with the lowest bidder is very evident in many of their buildings. I think that is more an issue with construction than the dome design.
No we haven't been inside one, but we've checked out plans on some websites. Also, I'm no mind reader so I can't speak to what you're picturing, but this dome will be two stories plus a basement. The basement and the first story will be essentially normal 9-10ft ceiling rooms save for the rounded exterior wall; it's only the second story that will have the more rounded walls/ceiling, but even that should have enough height to not feel cramped or mess with acoustics too much.
Basically all I'm trying to drive home is that I think most issues are more a matter of execution than a flawed core concept.
Windows, were a problem, in the geodesic-house i saw... &, it was big, but not really, big-enough, on the upper-bridge. & the second one, i loved looking at, along a freeway, got taken-out, by a tornado, one year. sad... Both were wood.
The European tilt/turn windows are awesome! Things to consider. If they open inward you'll have an easy time cleaning the glass, but you'll need space inside for the window to swing open. This means if you're thinking about growing potted plants inside, well, the plants are going to get in the way when you try to open the window. You can solve this by putting the pots on a floor shelf with wheels.
If the window opens outward, you'll have a harder time cleaning the glass, and you won't be able to have a flower box outside your window without the flowers getting in the way. I'd use the outward opening windows on the ground floor if I didn't plan on have an outside flower box.
@@borjaetxebarria7746 PS: Having lived with those windows my whole life, I can attest to the fact that opening them fully is a rare event. Most times, they will only be tilted; in fact, at this very moment, there is only a single window in my home I could open without having to spend some time moving stuff out of the way. And that's the staircase window that doesn't have a sill to put things...
European Here.
That's why most Europe windows has the option to "unseal". (You have to pay extra for this, but really, not that much) You have the option to turn the handle further, so it's actually facing upside down, and then the whole window opens up just a little bit but.... hinging from the bottom! (Yes, the whole upper part of the window opens) It is super convinient to vent and to use, and you can keep your plants.
Just search for "tilt and turn window". I guess some people could be amazed seeing it first time. In Europe it is in Every house i see so people treat it as common knowledge.
One of the best things I noticed during the video is how this company, plus the process keep in mind the health and safety of their workers 10 fold. Every single station had some type of assisted device that took a 2-6 person job to one. Not a single person had to bend down to get something or hold a nail gun for a 16 hour shift.
Every step was methodical and thought out for safety and clarity. Not a single finger in the way and everyone is going home at the end of the day in one piece. Awesome system all around 👏
I thought the same thing until I saw them bending over to tape the zip seams. Surely there's a better way to do that.
I agree! When I spoke to Tedd it was one of the first things I mentioned to him. The setup for the workers is impressive. Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!
I was actually kinda surprised they weren't wearing cut-sleeves and/or hardhats though, due to heavy overhead equipment operation.
I've spent a lot of time in metal manufacturing, so a bit different, but the same safety concepts would be applicable.
@@johntherat339 Yeah, it looked like there was lots of room for improvement still, but it still looks WAY better than typical construction.
@@johntherat339 adhesive tapes like that are really hard to do with machines unless the tape is prepared with the intent to be machine applied, and I bet ZIPs warranty doesn't handle a robotically applied tape yet... all their warranty material talks about hand rolling the tape. I wouldn't be surprised to see an automatic dispenser roller tool come from them soon to handle this kind of automation.
My first thought when seeing the virtual models was that it would be a perfect fit for VR. Let customers put on a headset and tour their future home, that way they can get a very good feel for the true scale and what changes they might want to make.
I rarely buy what UA-camrs talk about, but you sir are likely going to cost me more money than any UA-camr in the past, present, or future when I move forward with this home construction process. You've sold me. Well done. This is every design element I have wanted executed with precision and I absolutely love it.
Even if you spend a little more on an efficient factory built home than a traditional build, you'll quickly recoup any extra expenditure from reduced running costs. Sometimes a factory built home is cheaper to do than traditional methods; it just depends on where you live in the world and who you buy it from.
Ha! I'm glad you're getting value out of the videos, but sorry it's hitting your wallet. If you do end up going the prefab path, or another path, hit me up and let me know how it goes.
@@pinkelephants1421 and how much capital you have saved up for the initial buy-in. is there any good resource out there for getting loans for construction of homes?
@Frugal Family Living Thanks for that reminder. I actually forgot about that clause.
They also seem to be using just about the best materials available. The window seal tape they use, for instance (16:28), is Wigluv, which is the best on the market and Swiss made (I happen to know this because I needed it myself for a build 😋). Impressive.
Zip System shealthing is good stuff, too.
Good feedback, thanks
mix well- Zip System has been shown to leak where nails penetrate the panels .
Matt, The first thing you will probably notice in your new home will be how quiet it is. With the level of insulation and the triple pane windows it will be very nice 👍
I'm really looking forward to that aspect of it!
Indeed. In many parts of Europe, new construction is soooo much quieter and more solid than what I grew up with in the States.
I live in a newly built apartment in the EU; and if I close all my windows, hardly a peep comes in from the outside. I live right next to a pretty busy road, but all traffic noise that gets reduced to a very quiet hum at most when a heavy truck or something passes by. A neighbour opening their apartment door is louder.
Oh yes! That will deliciously calming ☺️
As a custom design small builder retired, I have found SIP the economical way to go. And in an attempt to protect the wall exterior wall assembly even more, we used a minimum of a 2’ overhang. Like your panels, they use less material than your factory built home and achieve an R30+ with a 6.5” depending on the type of ICF used. And has options to increase R-values barriers to R50+ when going to 2x8 or 2x10 thickness which for me is unnecessary as there are passive ways to capture heat thru solar that do not require any mechanical devices such as Trombe Walls. And I dare say, much cheaper to boot. Thanks for sharing, Matt.
Building a passive house has been a dream of mine, I took a course with Echo homes and came out convince net zero was the way to go. Construction normes need to be upgraded to a much higher standard. The energy saving will pay for itself. The added cost of building to double current standard adds less than 10% cost for an 80% energy saving.
👍
HAHAHAHA not to be rude but you have no idea what you are talking about.. I guess its fair because they were trying to sell you something, but lets just do a quick run down. typical wall paneling consists of 2X4 framing, exterior sheathing, batt insulation and dry wall. The energy efficient wall Matt put in has 9" I beam, zip sheathing, insulation, 2"X 3" studs and then dry wall. There is no way all that extra material and LABOR is "LESS THAN 10%" LOLZ I would love to see what they are selling you for less than 10% and still making a profit.
also a lot of these thing are kind of misleading, for instance say you install an electric hot water heater that cost $500 and cost you $140/year for electricity. Now you can install a hybrid hot water heater that cost $1500 and cost $100/year for electric. It would take you 25 years to make up the difference. (granted it last that long)
My point is you can build the tightest, most energy efficient home in the world but the truth is electricity is CHEAP!!
No, you are simply shipping your energy needs to another country. Where do you think all of the fancy technology, batteries, and insulations get manufactured? China, and Malasia, mostly. You are just moving the cost to build and operate your house to somewhere else plain and simple. Modern living has energy requirements and paying China to burn coal to produce batteries and solar panels for your home is just vanity to make yourself feel better. You would be better off to build with local lumber, insulate with nature products where possible or standard glass insulation with minimal plastic wraps, and then heat with wood or natural gas and maybe just maybe convince your state to allow nuclear power for electricity.
@@grast5150 As in many things, the ideal is often the enemy of the good, especially when idealists forget that "ideal" is in some senses an antonym for "real." In human affairs, the most utopian ideologies have often resulted in huge numbers of innocents slaughtered and atrocities committed. In housing, too-high standards have resulted in a housing crisis and lots of homeless people. Too many building and zoning officials have become the residential-housing equivalents of Tony Fauci-- corrupt Karens more concerned with controlling others' lives than with what's best for the people and for society.
-- The ICC codes, aside from turning over more sovereignty to international bodies, are badly written and petty. The codes of 50 years ago were far simpler, and didn't need much updating other than for energy efficiency and moisture control, with some revisions to deal with new materials that didn't work out well. One thing that tech-fanboys should keep in mind is that new tech generally results in lots of unintended consequences that reveal themselves only with the passage of time, whether it's in pharmaceuticals, automobiles, software, or biotech. Tight houses had a lot of moisture-control growing pains, and engineered wood may well show shortcomings over time. Polybutylene plumbing didn't work out all that well. Early types of foam insulation had some off-gassing problems. And so on.
Very timely! I'm a custom home architect in Atlanta, GA and this topic of modular pre-fab construction has really become important to me because inflation has made the price of building custom homes outrageously expensive. This is the solution! I'll be watching the rest of your videos on this. 👍🏼
matt risinger and NSbuilders have a nice video tour of this company as well, worth watching. cheerio from a euro building engineer to a us architect
As someone who's worked in the field building many houses and doing every job in it, this looks beautiful and better than anything I have ever seen. I just want to see the Electric and Plumbing go in please that's my main question. Good choice on doing the extra thick walls, that's very good of you young man.
I'll be trying to cover the electrical and plumbing in future videos.
Built a custom SIPS home 9 years ago. Geothermal HVAC. Love everything about the home. Biggest problem is that the banks are not willing to finance the cost of the home since they use comps to determine the assessed value of the home. SIPS cost more so the homeowner will need to come up with a lot more cash and you own a home that costs more than it's assessed value
I had exactly the same question - how come we don't do this all over the place already. This is for sure the future. The ability to build it in controlled environment and then transport onsite, bolt together, that's a big thing. Imagine you would order a car and someone would show up with a bunch of steel sheets, CNC machines and aluminum and started to build it on your parkway...
Love that picture you painted, Robert.
Inertia, maybe employment inflation (that's what any bans you'll see will be about), sometimes paranoid HOAs. Those are my guesses, as someone studying architecture right now.
I would think one of the biggest issues is akin to factory built being serial in nature versus on-site being parallel construction - happening in cities all over the country at the same time.
Cost is the issue. Biggest problem is that the banks are not willing to finance the cost of the home since they use comps to determine the assessed value of the home. SIPS cost more so the homeowner will need to come up with a lot more cash and you own a home that costs more than it's assessed value
There are factory built home manufacturers all over the US. Have been for many decades. There are some misconceptions about manufactured homes probably because of the, generally, poor quality of mobile homes. Mobile homes are, largely, a thing of the past due to new building codes. Modern modular and panelized homes have come a long way from the early days of mobile homes. I worked in a modular home plant for over 30 yrs and I can tell you that they are as good or better than site built homes. The public is slow to accept them due to perceived stereotypes.
I built my home 12 years ago using a system that was very close to what you showed here. Factory built walls, insulation and window insertion etc. It also has a metal roof and ground source heat pump. I remember that the overall cost in the end was marginally more when you subtract weeks of labourers framing the walls. I love my home and now 12 years later... I would love to build again using the even better technology you showed. So exciting.
I'm a huge open source fan and have been contributing for 2 decades. Great to see people support open source and do cool stuff.
👍 Agreed.
I've always loved modular building for all the obvious reasons. The best part of this particular company is that they're beginning to share the plans that will help enable, hopefully, more modular builders. Hire as many different people as you can to do this work because there's a shortage of housing.
I'm very curious as to how much more (or less) your house will cost compared to a "normal" house that is not assembled in a factory. (If there's already a video about that, I hope another of your subscribers can direct me to it.)
would also like to know
Ditto
I am interested in a cost comparition between this method and traditional method too.
According to their website the most expensive model starts at roughly $603,000.
Here in the states, for a house that size, it's a pretty reasonable amount.
Hey! This sounds like a perfect chance for Matt to make another video on the subject!
As a software developer who also is really interested in building science this was fascinating but the thing that blew me away was when they talked about making their future software product open source. That is awesome and really shows me that they are willing to add competition to the market for the sake of having better houses in this country.
You're not crazy to be geeking out about your triple glazed windows, especially since you and your wife have worked hard and saved for some considerable time to be able to afford to build the house of your dreams. One of the neighbours recently swapped out her double glazed windows for triple glazed ones and she's absolutely delighted with them.
There are European countries that require them as standard on new builds, i suspect only an American would get excited by something so common.
@@bzuidgeest European here. They are still quite rare compared to the total number of windows.
And yes, I would be excited too.
Finnish here, triple windows have been standard for at least 30 years here. Makes in nice and quiet inside too.
@@Sagittarius-A-Star as you may have noticed from other comments, 30 years as standard for the finish. Yes in many EU countries double glazing is still more common, but that is because European build houses tend to last a lot longer. The American houses blow away every few years or get eaten by bugs out rodents.
@@bzuidgeest And we Europeans regularly tear down those built-to-last houses after 40 or 50 years, and haven't exactly built out of renewable resources. There are good elements to both approaches. Home ownership is much more affordable in the US than most European countries, for example.
Hey Matt, Matt Risinger is a contractor who has a UA-cam channel where he has shared a lot of the net zero/nearly net zero construction he and other contractors have done, including his own house. In this video he shares a process to make a tight house even tighter. This process is done when the envelope of the house is fully assembled and sealed (well, sealed as well as humans are likely to get). So the windows and doors are in and sealed, wiring and plumbing is in and sealed where it penetrates the insulated shell of the house, but (ideally) before the drywall is put up or the rest of the interior is finished.
Then a blower door is put in place in an outer door opening and a system is brought in that produces a fog of aerosolized caulking material. With the blower door pressurizing the house air will start to leak out of the house out even through the most convoluted pathways and through the tiniest of holes. As the air moves from the inside to the outside it entrains the caulk particles that are so small they are suspended in the air like dust particles. As the air and caulk pass through any whole it sticks to the sides and caulk builds up until the hole is sealed. The decrease in the blower door reading is remarkable, especially considering just how carefully the other Matt and his crew were trying be when caulking and sealing in order to make an exemplar of energy efficiency out of his own house.
ua-cam.com/video/JYugiSwWoPk/v-deo.html
This is a pretty impressive process. You actually have a chance to see your finished house before construction even begins, and find any problems that normally wouldn't be seen until completion.
Manufactured homes have been doing this for decades. I remember going to the factory with my parents to see their manufactured home being built back in the early 00s, we got to tour the factory floor and see where ours was in line. We were welcome to come watch it at any point, and that was just a thing that anyone was allowed to do.
What I'm wondering is when the big established players such as Cavco, Clayton, Fleetwood, etc are going to start pumping out net-zero or passive homes. I think that is when we'll see a BIG shift if passive homes being attainable for your every day working stiff.
@@nasonguy After selling my mother's house for 40 cents on the dollar I recommend pre fab steel with insulation rodents cannot penetrate. Seriously.
@@reestyfarts I live in the desert (pack rats) in a manufactured home. I know the struggle well.
There was me thinking that factory built homes were a relatively straightforward evolution, little to hold them back. But now I appreciate the mind boggling complexity involved at so many levels, from software to engineering to human factors in the assembly and final construction. Very impressive, I reckon we're seeing the inflection point of a whole new industry, and one where AI could have a tremendous impact too.
here in Sweden it's very common that houses are pre fabricated in parts. even if the houses aren't passive houses. There's numerous companies producing pre fab houses and to very high standards
here in the netherlands it is too but unfortunately we built mostly concrete prefab homes, with wooden roof rafters tho. we got very little natural wood. I know the scandinavian countries, germany, swiss, austrians have incredible prefab factories indeed. wood lends itself much better for prefab homes than concrete of course.
Is wood fiber a common insulation material in sweden, or is it mostly rockwool?
@@ducoh2093 To my experience insulation is 99% Rockwool. Wood fiber is used sometimes if the person ordering the house really really wants it. We also use none of that foam insulation that one often sees in American houses. (we have foam insulation but it's used in very specific cases and in very limited numbers. We never insulate an entire wall or wall section with foam.)
@@TyphorT38 Thank you, yeah I remember another swede saying something like most is rockwool. Surprising tho giving the fact that the germans and swiss absolutely love wood fiber. They place their OSB with taped seems on the interior side as a vapor control layer, and then use wood fiber board on the exterior side. It is water resistant, so it is their waterproofing membrane and continuous insulation all in once.
We use mostly glass wool, it is very cheap and since we have brick and concrete walls, we dont need a drying cavity. They just get stuffed in there. But yeah, giving the fact that we already have a really high carbon footprint for the concrete walls I guess builders cant be bothered using sustainable insulation materials at all.
Shame we miss you in the Euro 2024! Regards
I LOVE LOVE the idea of CNC cut engineered supplies. From a carpenter perspective, it's literally IKEA for houses, and it must make the workday so much quicker!!
Ikea actually is involved in housing in Boklok project. But it has similar things. Factory built and highly standardized.
I live in 22 year old factory built house and it works like new.
This what we have in the pipeline. We've just bought our lot (cost a lot $$$) and we're working with a company that builds the frame, walls and roof of the house in their factory. Looking forward to seeing your videos on the new home build.👍
My questions are:
What is the longevity of these homes? 30 years? 50, 70+ years?
Are these homes built for regional weather and environment? For instance, will they hold up in Alaska, Arizona, tornado alley and so on?
For example, the last adobe home was built in Fountain Hills, AZ. It maintained a constant temperature through out the year, was fire proof, held up during the monsoon, very inexpensive to build as it used the natural materials around the area, sound proof, fire proof....
Because it was so cheap to build, energy efficient etc., a law was passed that adobe homes could no longer be built because housing companies and developments couldn't make a substantial profit from these homes.
Just curious.
That’s why lobbyists are a dangerous group of special interest. Interesting about you earthen homes. Surprised that your government protection focused on business rather than consumers. Thanks what’s wrong with our country.the tail is wagging the dog.
I have heard this I am a believer in adobe I’m a framer in SLC Utah
Ted Benson is certainly an innovator and the factory build takes a huge risk out of managing contractors that may want to interpret drawings to their advantage. The triple pane tilt and turn windows are a huge part of the thermal performance and I see lots of effort to make the house air tight so the HRV systems will be another key element. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the mechanical and PV systems.
You nailed it! I'm no framing expert but I am a carpenter who has been dreaming of building my own home for decades. I've heard a little about this method of mass-production but never with enough detail to convince me of it's merits. I'm sold!
Super cool to hear that their software project will be open source and available for others to work from. This is a really cool process and i can't wait to see some of the other developments as your house gets closer to completion
I also find this cool an hope it can be used with standard software and file formats. I work with software in the construction industry, and there is a multitude of software for all sorts of things, the big problem though is that there isnt one software for everything so we are all forced to export and import file formats and we loose data all the time when we do this because the export and import quality isnt perfect because of how the files are written and read (Not all software are fulfilling the standard file format requirments equally good). And the standard file format for this conversion itself isnt allowing for all kinds of information to be exchanged.
Actually amazing seeing them go open source on such a monetizable software is absolutely admirable.
It sounded almost like slicer software from the 3d printed world. Take house plans and turn them into planned out stages of automated manufacturing
Like many others watching I am very anxious to know the cost differentials between this FB process and a premium (net zero) site built project. Of course I would expect both would cost much more than a "traditional stick "site built" home. The ultimate litmus test, at least for "tightness" is a blower door (BD) evaluation. The BD results tell you if all that extra money spent on Euro windows, and ZIP both sides, etc. was worth it.
Very cool! Don’t blame you at all for being excited about any and all aspects of this, it’s really cool. I hope everything continues to go smoothly, and that you continue to share the process for as much as your comfortable doing so - it’s very interesting and informative.
Glad you think so, Scott. I do plan on sharing more, but still figuring out what and how much.
Thanks for the tour of the factory. Fascinating. Hopefully the way future construction will go. Factory prefab pieces that are just "leggo'ed" together on site. More efficient, consistent (in theory) higher quality build, much more quiet construction site, and again in theory faster assembly at the construction site. I'd really like to see apartment and office buildings built that way. Factory prefab components with most/all of the interior fittings already installed. Then those prefab units are just lifted into position on the building and connected together. Quick connectors for water and electrical would reduce need for professionals. Very little need for onsite construction, just some fit, finish and final touch up.
They try to account for settling of the blown in insulation, but I'd like to see on site confirmation that after transportation settling has not happened. Especially for walls that were shipped vertically! Maybe on-site ultra-sound/sonar inspection of walls or maybe a built in "window" segment at the top of the wall that can be opened for onsite inspection and "topping up" of settled insulation.
Blown insulation is obviously easier for them, but batt style insulation would be less likely to settle.
.
As part of the price, do you get detailed construction blueprints? Or can you buy them for extra cost? They would be handy for future enhancements to know where electrical, water, HVAC infrastructure is in the building before cutting into walls.
Sure there are "cost savings" in using CAD to design and an automated/CAM factory to build vs building "by hand" on site, but the buyer does not see them. The "savings" are offset by the extra cost of the extra "engineering" in the design and build quality. Multiple layers in the wall that you don't see in a "stick" wall, etc.
Fantastic! I love how you dissect every aspect of whatever topic you are discussing. This video, in particular, is exactly what we need to understand a topic that has had way too many negatives applied to it. Many people I talk with think manufactured homes are nothing more that trailers. Not so. And you show that clearly! Thanks Matt - most appreciated
Thanks so much, Larry. Glad you liked it and thanks for watching!
Awesome! I'm a machinist by trade, had been working with 3D Cad Cam software for years... This is incredible, very impressive!
You are super valuable, hats off to you Matt!
Thank you very much for bringing us great contents!
Excited to finally see your build. This feels like the actual realistic scalable future of home construction, especially as it becomes progressively more unattainable.
We are finishing up a renovation/restore on a 1909 house in our small town. The walls we had to frame, floor joist systems we had to rebuild and fire damaged roof structure that had to be re-engineered and rebuilt were ridiculously expensive and depending on the contractor, the build quality varied. I foresee a future when a local lumber supplier has a similar automated prefab facility which enables contractors to digitally build the walls or other structure, submit the plans and pick up and install the components which are engineered, perfectly fit together and have minimized waste. I bet it would be less expensive if you're paying $X for materials and a few hours for contractor time vs. dozens of hours plus $X materials for a lower quality result. Wouldn't it be nice if your contractor was only 5 days out instead of 5 months out due to work backlog
As a retired professional 3D CAD architect and engineer I'm totally impressed.
I came to say this - Well said Jeffrey B - "I legit teared up a bit when he said "we've been developing this for... quite a while," and immediately thereafter says "it's going to be open source." Ted is an exemplary human being, I love that he is doing this! He is truly committed to this model and driving the industry forward without making it solely about making more money. +1 to Ted for being a role model of a human. And +1 To Matt - I thouroghly enjoy you videos. Thank you!
Matt, maybe I missed this discussion in an earlier video but you could have done a 2x6 or even staggered stud 2x4 wall with external insulation to achieve that R-38 rating more cost-effectively. Doubling up the Zipshield also seems like overkill. With mechanical ventilation you have a lot more flexibility with sealing up the house and controlling ventilation. I do like the pre-routed holes for electrical as that will save a lot of time in the field. There are always trade-offs in design and construction. I'm sure you'll have no trouble reaching your blower door performance and insulation goals.
I had the same thoughts about the wall system. I do wonder if the double sheathing is in part to keep the walls straight and tight during transport and installation.
When I was a kid, I use to watch Ted Benson on "This Old House". He guested on several projects of theirs. I remember being impressed by the QUALITY & BEAUTY of his timber framing.
Matt I am a firm believer in this process. I have been building for over 40 years and I purchased a factory built home in 1997 for my own family because I see so many benefits there.
My question to you and the company you worked with is why not use metal framing? Made from recycled metal it is more stable and dependable?
I love following your channel and appreciate all I am learning there. Thanks!!
I suspect the heat/cold transmissibility of metal framing might be part of the problem.
@@lancethrustworthy continuous exterior insulation would solve that problem, like they use in commercial construction.
The cost is considerably high in metal framing a home. That would be insane!!!!
I did two jobs like this but not quite as complicated. I renovated my house and added 800 ft.². I did it partially to keep my neighbors happy since there was less construction on site. The other reason was that I wanted to support this whole concept of factory built housing. Four years later I built a 600 square-foot cottage on the back of my property using the same company and the same ideas. I’ve been delighted with both projects.
Could you tell me the company name and the cost? I really need this now. Thank you in advance.
Happy new year
Would have been really niceto see the tilt turn windows totally in action. Everything's hella thick, so yeah, that'll help that passive home thing really work. So cool to see this process! Love it. Thanks for showing us.
Yeah, I wish I got some better video of them in action. I'll definitely be showing those in more detail later as the build progresses.
As a Mechanical Engineer designing his own home at the moment and researching a lot of this stuff... I catch myself wondering.. "why are they (architects and builders) not taking advantage of 3D CAD technology?". Probably for the age old, 'this is the way we've always done it' reasons. 3D CAD allows so much parameterization in the assembly process, you could literally build a 3D model of a home in a few hours, once the component libraries are in place. Drop a new one in, enter a few parameters and you've got a new wall with X, Y, Z sized window and/or some configuration of windows. Truss systems, floor systems, you name it.. import and constrain in position. CAD files can then be used to manufacture SIP panels or whatever it is you're after on the shop floor. Really great to see that someone is embracing this and even more so, developing and offering it as an open source product. That's amazing.
One thing that doesn't get mentioned much is the fact that, unless you plan to build yourself, you're at the mercy of framers and others who are most likely use to traditional methods. If they're anything like building tradesmen, they likely don't see the necessity for a lot of 'silly' things the engineer wants them to do.. and will just do what they want to get the job done. Maybe you can find a crew that has built in a particular manner, has experience there and will produce a suitable finished product.. but unless you're able to oversee, or hire someone of like mind who will oversee.. you're left with whatever you get.
In my world, we'd place it on a CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machine) and if it doesn't meet spec, send it back to the maker to do again, using the print and specs as an insurance policy to control quality. You have very little of that in this sphere.
These are the future Sustainable homes. All parts of the house can be reused even after it has finished its shelf life. The wood must be made long lasting to the extremes of weather conditions.
Started watching this channel about a year ago, I've learned so much now I'm in the planning stage of getting my own solar panels installed and removing my gas boiler and getting a heat pump installed - thanks for the bright Ideas 💡
Thanks as always MATT & TEAM .
appreciate the insight and sharing your home with us all!
Thanks, Dave!
I always love when Americans who are used to crappy windows, first experience the high-quality German windows I grew up with in the 1980’s. American home building is so behind the times by comparison to a German home. If Matt also has rolladen on those windows, then I’ll really be impressed.
Fascinating dive into your net-zero home. I'm totally hooked. I see the value and benefit of this approach...First Principles of Engineering applied to the design and construction of a home. Makes so much sense. This video series and content completely changes my opinion of pre-fab houses.
@@Unityhomes I'm checking out your site and other videos very closely. I like what Unity/Bensonwood is doing!
I'm really liking this. I just wish they weren't applications specific and the elements could be reused in multiple configurations. Bolts instead of nails that sort of thing.
This is fascinating. No Matt, you are not weird for getting excited about these doors and windows. They look brilliant. I'm thinking that if a person were to live in a region where hurricanes or were other extreme weather conditions are a possibility, maybe a monolithic dome home should be considered.
domes don't work that well in practice, a slopped roof really does improve the durability of a structure.
@@cyberpunkspike I said monolithic dome. Monolithic domes are made of concrete.
I just checked out Unity Homes house plans and they have a wide range of designs. I think this is the way to go for people who want to save money and get a home that meets all their needs. One that stands out for me is the Nano that starts at 477 square feet.
Hi
I like your video and found it very informative and to the point. I was in the process of building one house with Passive Standard, and Net Zero will be ready in early spring 2023. This house is in Sebright, Ontario.
My next one is in the USA for my nephew. I am also planning to build 3 semi detach in Ontario. I have decided to help build new homeowners just passive standard Net Zero homes. May be one house at a time. Can't wait for politicians or greedy builders to bring that change. You are bringing awareness to the building industry and letting new home buyers demand such houses, and that will change. No one should buy brand new leaking homes.Buyers ask / demand for Blower door test results.
I am a builder engineer, I think about all of it, Worked in giant HVAC factory giant ones. This makes good conventional sense. Compressed earth makes sense and the south with reflectors to power the home a swampy to digest waste. I have yet to try to make a comprehensive design. I love passive solar and using the earth as a heat sink. A foam cement molded lego. A bullet proof wall is good for a home too. A home that lasts not wood. If you can improve it like injecting it with Boron. Non toxic fire resistant. Bug won't eat it either.
Genuinely hope Benson/Unity establish a UK based factory. The thought and engineering that’s gone into these pre-fab homes is just mind boggling!
That really would be cool, I built some similar houses in Hemel Hempstead many years ago , but we had to have the panels made in Germany.
Wow. I'm 57 and my Father was a carpenter, so I grew up on jobsites building homes from a young age. We did some different things insulating homes in the Mid-West back in the 70's/80's and trying different things. I remember building an "envelope" around the living area of the house to try to get better insulation values back when people really weren't worrying about that sort of thing. I remember arguing that stopping air infiltration was more important then R-value, if you have arctic air traveling through an electrical outlet it doesn't matter how well the walls insulated, you have to stop the air, then insulate. I know it sounds basic now but not so much in 1982. Pre-fab back then was a good idea but I think poorly executed, it's amazing how far they've come.
The windows you are excited about are very nice. Some of them open on two different axes depending on which way you rotate the handle. That means you can tilt the top of the window inward (there's a stop which limits how far) so you get fresh air but rain generally won't blow in. Or you open the window sideways like a door.
You asked the question: Is this the way to go with new homebuilding? The answer is obvious (but I'll be that a lot of established players in the industry will resist (until they are so unable to compete that it won't matter anymore). Thanks for sharing this, Matt.
I’ve looked at Unity in my long term goal to build a small net zero home (800 sq ft not including garage). I love the thought that goes into what they do and I don’t think there is anyone else that is as thoroughly detailed as they are. A question I have is with the wall thickness and quantity of materials necessary to achieve their results. Matt, was there any anyone you found that uses SIPs or other technology? I would love to know the R-value, thermal bridging, engineering, cost, simplicity comparison to something like SIPs or other. The walls Unity constructs look incredible, but I’m wondering if similar results are achievable with less complexity? Thank you for the videos you produce.
There are many different paths you can go and get the same exact final results for R value and air tightness. It's actually kind of head spinning with all of the ways you can go. I didn't do a detailed SIPs comparison for myself, so don't have an info to share ... but that could be a good possible future video.
I bought a modular back in 1995.... Got the factory tour and thought it was amazing. This - this is 2 generations beyond mine...
looking forward to seeing the home progress and getting built. i'm really curious how heating and cooling the house will be. Thanks for sharing the experience and process
Thanks for watching, Joe. I'm really eager to see how heating and cooling works out. I'm definitely going to be making a video about that.
I have always liked the concept of panelized building. I had a small introduction to it when I was constructing on apartments in Modesto, CA in the 80's. The walls of all the units were nailed together in the factory and shipped onsite and a crane put the longer units in place. We would nail them together and only bracing and sheetrock nailers were added by the framers. It was only the 2x4 framing that was prefabbed. After plumbing and bracing the walls we put on plywood and insulation in the walls and on the roof trusses.
What's up Matt?
I like the way they cut up the whole construction process. In one word efficiency on champignons league level. All the components can be re used. Next step is on the materials. US wants brandnew materials formed out of waste. Building longlasting energysystems that can operate standalone
Fantastic! This overall assembly concept is how many motorhomes have been built for several years. Now to come up with a simple cheap floorplan design that can be pre-made and stockpiled to ship by rail to the next hurricane disaster site.
Hey Matt great video! Curious... What's the cost per sqft vs regular stick built homes? Thank you!
I am very curious about the cost difference. !!!!!
@@vandettabuilds6641 Im planning on purchasing a prebuilt modular home as well and have found them averaging between (depending on the size and features) anywhere between $10k and $200k, while stick built houses usually run between $150k to $500k and even more. If saving money is your aim, there are much better options than stick built, such as 3d printed houses, built with a huge 3d printer out of a variety of material including both solid concrete and foam concrete which is just as strong as solid concrete, but uses 1/10 of the materials. If sustainability is your aim, you can even choose a material such as hempcrete. Hope this helps. You can Google "pre built modular homes" to see the extensive variety, with the most expensive being made in Europe and the US, while the cheapest are built in China (2k-10k for a studio-2 bdroom home). Also, for amazing value also check out "container homes", built from shipping containers, once insulated you have a home that is termite proof, fire proof, earthquake proof and extremely durable.
@@AnnetQuintanaKnowsBest Annet you are not considering all the sub contractors coming in after the shell is put up For all the different types of materials you could use to build the home the subcontractors are going to charge you a arm and a leg to carry out their job because it’s not a standard building material they have to work around to install their product into !!!
Do you understand what I mean Wood framing structure is a standard building material that subcontractors are familiar with and their materials are a standard material designed for wood framed houses
You notice he didn’t give a cost per square foot on final product because it’s considerably higher than stick framed houses
I come from a family of builders as well as realtors
Trust me I know exactly what I’m talking about
Please feel free to as me anything!!!
I used to work(early 2000s) at a prefab home builder. We built earthquake-ready housing for the PNW(we're in BC) and arctic accommodations in addition to standard housing.
Having all this CAD and computer help would have been amazing. The process was generally the same, but all done by hand.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for sustainable practices like these shown. If you have ever done any handywork within your home, then you will see that the best part about this autonomous process is that your studs will be exactly 16" center-to-center.
Finally Matt, you are talking about technology that we can actually use, today. Speculating about what this new discovery or that new process could mean in the future is fine, but a constant diet of it makes a person feel like we are never going to get "there". I need to heat my house today. Not in thirty years with power generated by a fusion reactor.
Matt and Undecided team, thank you for the near end-to-end look at the the fab processes for this new efficient home. I’ve always been biased against new builds b/c of the often poor quality and very high cost of building the ‘atypical’ high efficiency homes. This look in has me interested again in new build b/c of the ability to design right from the start. Thanks again!!
Thanks, Dave. Appreciate it ... and thanks for sharing.
I remember seeing Ted Benson on a "This Old House" build years ago. Glad to still see him around. Think he was doing a timber frame project.
This process is pretty sweet! I'm 90% done building my own high energy-efficient tiny house that I designed, and it was a trip to 3D model every structural connection myself. However, you spoke about thermal bridging, and it seems to me that your envelope will still have thermal bridging through every stud. I used 2 layers of 2in polyisocyanurate insulation to eliminate this on the walls and roof, with 1 layer under the floor (I made pier foundations, so it is 6in+ off the ground). How are you mitigating thermal bridging?
I might be wrong, but I believe the Zip sheathing is a large part of breaking those thermal bridges.
@@nasonguy ah ok, I suppose if that's true, that's a good feature. Being up in the NE of the US though, it won't do all that much. Maybe south of NY it'll be good enough? Thanks for the heads up 😊
The I-Beams (as opposed to traditional studs) will significantly reduce the thermal bridging by reducing the total amount of material.
That may be true, however it's still there. Just 1 layer of exterior rigid insulation eliminates thermal bridging, which is a more cost effective technique
My wife and I went with a prefab home 17 years ago. It was a challenge but we are so happy that we did. The challenge was everyone back then that heard prefab thought it was a Mobile home or a double wide. The bank, the local contractors, and my neighbors all thought they knew what I meant when I said prefab. We have changed so many minds when they see our home. So much so that my neighbor decided to go the prefab route vs stick built. I wanted to do the factory tour but I had heavy work demands that didn’t allow me to get there. Now these days there are so many advancements in building that I would have to research which path we wanted to take to build a new home. We probably will never do it. We only have one more kid to move out of the house and then we will be empty nesters and our home will actually be too much room for my wife and I.
I am so excited for you and your family! Those windows look fabulous, I'd geek at them too :D
Fantastic to hear they plan to opensource their software, while I'm not an architect it fascinates me anyway, makes me want to check that out!
Shipping: The first question we had in a discussion was what would the shipping cost be added to this? But we realized that it should be less. Considering that it would be a one way one time fee. On standard construction that fee is 2 way and spread out between each and every item. 2 way because there is a massive amount of waste that has to be collected up into a dumpster and shipped off.
I worked for a landscape company at one time that did every step of the landscape construction. Clearing, foundation prep and fill, Grading, all the way to the final yard plants, irrigation, and flower and plant arrangements. We saw the impact the total construction had on the site and surrounding area including neighbors. Often there where areas that the plants and grass would just die. This was due to materials contaminating the soil. Seems this would all be a thing of the past in this type of construction.
I am also excited for your triple-glazed European-style windows. If this were my build, would Benson be able to accommodate European-type exterior roller shades as well into the construction?
You should be able to accommodate exterior shades.
This tech makes so much more sense than 3D printed concrete buildings. This actually solves so many problems and improves on construction and build quality, rather than geeking out on some new tech that doesn't actually make sense for it's intended use. I'm especially excited for prefabbing and modular pieces scaling up to larger scale multi-unit buildings, especially going up to 20 or 30 floors.
This is very neat. I’m curious if this outfit only builds houses regionally. There is a lot of bureaucracy in residential building and the building code can change region by region annually.
Their facility is in NH and most of their builds are in New England and upstate NY.
I have been advocating the use of prefabrication in homes and other buildings for decades! It is the one true way of making certain you get a perfectly stable platform and a house that will be draft free & to the best standards possible all within a very reasonable price range! In fact when you go only a step up from the Static caravan style of home they can be delivered on two trucks and installed on site withing a single day, fully connected to all services! This would revolutionize the homeless situation if they were brought down to a price point that was cheaper than renting in the public sector!
Prefabulous!
Underrated comment.
Tip of the hat.
Jeez, seeing the home being constructed is making me jealous. The house I just finished was stick-built and they did such a bare-minimum job on it. Blow-in insulation that pushes the drywall, so nail-pops are easy to make. OSB sheathing with no tape, so all sorts of air leaks. On and on... I wish I was able to do what you're doing when I started, but the cost was just too much.
There are many advantages of factory built housing. Weather is never an issue and neither is lack of daylight. Factories can run 24/7 unlike a traditional site built home. Many people think homes are limited to 1 story. Multi story homes are built all the time. Limitation is moving modules on roads. First and second floors are separate modules and stacked on site. There have been developments where every home is built in on site factory. This avoids moving modules over public streets. Once all home built, factory is moved to next development.
I am building my 3rd modular home and we love how fast they go up and the quality.
It so cool to see Ted!! I met him in 1999!! When he gave a talk at MIT about his story and I have been inspired by it since. I’ve applied his philosophy to machine building. Build frames that will last for ever and leave other areas to be change and route wiring where it can be access not thought the frame it self.
This is a great step forward in house building. We’ve had prefabricated homes before, particularly in the post war times, both in the UK and US in particular come to mind. Homes (and jobs building them) for those who fought in the war. And to allow for a recovering of economies, with growing families and what not.
The problem with the old stuff was it was thrown up with just speed and cost in mind. This meant corners were cut.
Thin walls, little to no insulation. Crazy building materials in hindsight eg. Asbestos.
Of the many which still remain to this day in the UK some following 40 year projected lifespans; maintaining them is becoming an issue, also getting mortgages on some of them can be particularly difficult due to their “non-standard construction”. Buildings to mind suffering these issues are some with thin steel framed construction, and ones with unusual roofs such as flat concrete.
Seeing them built like your to a high standard, aiming for modularity gives me hope that we’ll be able to build homes which have a lower carbon cost to build, quicker to build, less labour (wasted due to weather, snagging, schedule problems). It should allow home builders greater turnover rates.
I wonder how costs will pan out long term compared to retrofitting old housing stock.
I have built 2 Modular homes in the past 15 years and they were Very energy efficient. This panelized build allows more freedom than the old "box" design of Modular building. I do not understand why homes are stick built anymore. When you want a car does the manufacturer drop all the parts in your driveway and have you assemble it? The construction industry is so wed to its old "tried and True" methods that it has stood in the way of these amazing new processes and building methods which will reduce build cost, increase energy efficiency and cut down on the amount of thermal breaking which is the Bain of heating a house. I can't wait to see the next edition of your build!
Modular, pre-dimensioned housing designs have been utilised for a long time. Over a hundred years ago, Villas were designed with modular design and sent from England, ordered by catalogue. It was a pretty bold business plan for back in the day.
We built a passive home in Belgium, almost same built-up as your house except it was built in site.
It saved us in 10 years living in it a lot of money I can tell you. Only regret is I had the idea to ask for larger windows as I thought they would capture more sun in the winter. Except in Belgium the sun in winter is next to nothing... But in summer is usually is too much sun. So our house is quite warm in the summer. But the cellulose isolation in the walls sucks up humidity so the warmth feels nice than the heat outside.
Yes, why are we not doing it, As an apprentice carpenter I helped to build a Cedar bungalow, a lovely smell from the wood, but that was more than 55 years ago!!!!! with a shortish of labour and homes this is the way to go
This is the future. I have been around Constrution for 42 years and almost from the beginning I knew delivering prefabricated sections was the most effective and cost efficient way to build a home. Congratulations on your new home.
Back in the late '70s I got into an argument with one of my instructors in Architecture. I had just bought one of the first Apple ][ computers. It was the stone age for computers. I maxed out my computer going with 48K memory. Programs loaded via cassette tape, there was no lower case on the keyboard, you had to buy a printer controller card to print anything, no modem, etc. Even so, I could see a day coming, soon, where you could make a rough design of a home and the computer would look at local building codes, which may say studs have to be 16" on center, or 12" on center, and the computer would adjust the room dimensions an inch or three here and there, move a window or door slightly, all to make the most efficient to build home.
Great choice - Benson is a high quality firm that I first saw on "This Old House." many years ago. They are clear quality. Also, TOH wouldn't work w/anything less. Pre-Fab building is the future of home building. Looking forward to seeing more videos.
Thanks for the video, Matt. I have to admit, the longer this video went on, the more interested I got. It'll be interesting to see what it costs to build a home like this and how long it takes to get the build done.
Yep this is basically how my sister house was built. I dont think it was a selling point that it was built this way but watching them build it, everything was mostly pre built off site and put together on site. Makes the build go quicker and nothing gets left out in the rain. She was able to get I believe is about 2500sqft+ house for 120k 5yrs ago. Very very sweet deal!
im also amazed with this especially when they open their software for us all to design/cost our projects. unity ought to think about creating these assembly lines glocally everywhere, then they will really get deserved dividends for their brilliant solution. we save months in the building construction process... specify from the menus, layouts fenestration insulation finishes see it in 3d and know what it costs a winner from the start 🙂
Fire sprinklers... Going to check out unity homes now but wanted to drop a comment that this is something everyone should have and hopefully they are offering:
- Prevent loss of life (your family)
- Lower lifetime costs (insurance discount ROI)
- Reduce propert losses (hence above)
I thought about doing a SIP (Structural insolated Panel) home 25 years ago. This looks even better.
This is super cool. We built a similarly insulated home in Vermont with triple glazing and double walls. I was nerding right along. We stick built on site but many similarities. Rock wool instead of wood fiber for main wall insulation. A crew built the outer envelope for us and we added the interior walls and did all insulation, vapor barrier, electric, plumbing and HVAC, drywalll, floors. My wife's job (bakery) was on hold cause of pandemic so she had more time to help.
Looking at the prices on the Unity website I'd hazard (very roughly) we built for about half the cost and ours has higher insulation rating and passed blower door test. The way we did it was sooooo much work and time but we did not have money to do otherwise and avoided a mortgage. If we were building now, I'd surely consider prefab like this for speed and excellence in design and integration but we'd have to get a loan.
hi craig, i'm working on a similar project in VT currently targeting double-stud walls and triple-pane windows, where abouts did u build? i'm at a crossroads between stick-built and modular and considering aesthetic/complexity/cost factors. because u did interior-framing, insulation, vapor, electrical, plumbing, hvac, drywall and floors, the half-cost statement is difficult to place because i can't do all those things. my question would b: if u had to sub out all those parts, what would the cost comparison look like?
@@buildzilla
We built in Bridport. So much depends on the labor cost (labor is expensive here). Off the top of my head I think we'd have spent at least double for labor if we had to pay for all the interior labor that we did. Professionals would have done it quickly (tho finding people sometimes isn't easy either) and expertly, not something I can say about all our work. But it allowed us to not need a mortgage. It was not the first house I've built and have also done some remodel work. But I'm far from a real professional in any of the trades.
thx craig, if i understand correctly could b a wash with prefab if u had to pay going rates for labor. i'll point out that bensonwood has diff levels of service (mostly having to do with design time from what i can gather), but straying from the common assemblies requires more design and starts to get pricey. unity < open < custom.
@@buildzilla That sounds about right. Even though we built a custom house, we kept it very simple and that helped with our need to be economical. We were spendy with windows and insulation and thrifty with design (self designed) and labor (did as much as we could, oddly COVID helped as the biz my wife worked at had more time with it closing for months during pandemic).
Most people cannot afford to build a house as you describe it. Yes, it is a laudable goal to have a net zero house, big Advantage being that if you lose electricity, you have your own backup.