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2005 Consumer Practices Report - Interior Finishes

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The Home Innovation Research Labs’s Annual Builder and Consumer Practices Reports provide market demand data for building product and material usage in the United States and Canada. Market demand data on repair and remodeling expenditures obtained through the annual Consumer Practices Survey (CPS), an annual online survey of U.S. and Canadian households, results in tabulations that represent the demand for building products and materials purchased by consumers for home improvements, repairs, and remodeling. These reports also provide key information on purchasing and installation practices, as well as demographic information about the respondents.

TechSpec: Advanced Framing Techniques

File Under: Structural Performance

Advanced Framing, also known as Optimum Value Engineering (OVE), refers to a series of techniques designed to use less lumber in framing a house, thereby reducing material cost and use of natural resources, and increasing the level of insulation as a result.

2005 Builder Practices Report - Structured Wiring

File Under: Energy Efficiency & High-Performance Building

The Home Innovation Research Labs’s Annual Builder and Consumer Practices Reports provide market demand data for building product and material usage in the United States and Canada. For the past 15 years, the Annual Builder Practices Survey has been tracking building products and materials used in new home construction, documenting the rise and decline of various products’ and materials’ popularity. Our Annual Builder Practices Survey is the most comprehensive source for market demand data on building material purchases available.

2006 Homeowner Indoor Air Quality Study

File Under: Ventilation & Indoor Air Quality

The purpose of the Indoor Air Quality Study was to understand homeowners’ perceptions of air quality inside their homes and how climate and vintage come into play. In parallel, a field protocol was developed and tested in a pilot study to quantify indoor air quality (IAQ) for homes. The findings of this project provide a basis for a comprehensive, Phase II, field investigation.

ZEH Impact Study

File Under: Energy Efficiency & High-Performance Building, Sustainability

Once just a concept, truly Zero Energy Homes (ZEH) are now a reality in a handful of locales throughout the United States. And the opportunities to construct ZEH are growing as solar and other energy-efficient technologies become more affordable. To demonstrate the significant long-term energy and environmental benefits of ZEH and encourage more builders to investigate the idea for their customers, a new publication has been released – The Potential Impact of Zero Energy Homes.

Top 5 Ways to Sell Innovation

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You built a better home—energy efficient, environmentally friendly, durable, disaster resistant—all for competitive price. Now how do you sell it?

Of course, even a product with all of these virtues doesn’t sell itself. It may well take just as much creativity, enthusiasm, and effort to sell a high-performance house as it would to sell ice to Alaskans, but the efforts will pay off for your reputation and long-term success.

Revised Builder's Guide to Frost Protected Shallow Foundations

File Under: Resilience, Structural Performance

A frost protected shallow foundation (FPSF) is a practical alternative to a deeper, more-costly foundation in cold regions with seasonal ground freezing and the potential for frost heave. The International Residential Code® (IRC) includes prescriptive methods for constructing frost protected shallow foundations in heated buildings. By the IRC reference to ASCE 32-01 (American Society of Civil Engineers, Design and Construction of Frost-Protected Shallow Foundations, 2001), FPSFs in semi-heated and unheated buildings that meet the requirements of the IRC may also be designed and constructed.

SEER 2003 Case Study Report

File Under: Energy Efficiency & High-Performance Building, Sustainability

The goal of the Strategies for Energy Efficiency in Remodeling (SEER) project is to provide information, based on research and case studies, to remodelers and consumers about opportunities to increase home energy performance. Opportunities to include energy efficiency often arise while undertaking general remodeling work. Of course, energy efficiency may always be pursued as a remodeling project unto itself to improve the comfort of the home and reduce monthly utility bills. A case study in the mid-Atlantic region was undertaken to develop and test the application of energy efficiency (EE) strategies, to evaluate the benefits, and to identify any weaknesses in their design or application. Taken together as a system, the strategies provide opportunities for energy and cost savings, increased durability, and increased comfort of the remodeled home.

The Practice of Low Impact Development

File Under: Sustainability, Building Practices

This U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) document, The Practice of Low Impact Development (LID), is intended to assist the housing industry during the land development process. It complements the 1993 HUD publication Model Land Development Standards and Accompanying Model State Enabling Legislation, which simultaneously promoted safe, high-quality housing and eliminated needless requirements that add to a home’s final cost.

Subdivision Regulations: Practices and Attitudes

File Under: Building Codes & Standards

This study gauges the impacts of subdivision regulations on the design of residential developments and the practices of developers in rapidly growing regions of the country. Through a nationwide survey of jurisdictions which are experiencing rapid development growth and developers who are working in these areas, the study assesses the attitudes and perceptions and identifies the issues within subdivision regulations that members of the housing industry and the regulatory agencies feel are affecting housing development. The study also partially replicates similar research done in 1976 to gain an understanding of changing practices within the last 25 years.