January 2002
INTRODUCTION
The technology of manufacturing wall panels in a factory and delivering them to the construction site for assembly is known as panelized wall construction. Although the panelized wall construction technology offers great potential, such as reduced construction cycle time and improved framing quality, the majority of new houses in the United States are still framed on-site using “stick-built” practices. Due to extensive practical experience, the “stick-build” approach is often viewed as the preferred, traditional, and historically “proven” method of construction, yet it can become the limiting factor for introducing advanced management, construction, and engineering practices in the framing process.
If successfully implemented, panelized wall construction can provide a spectrum of benefits by relocating the wall framing operations from the construction site to the controlled factory environment. Factory operations can be optimized and automated for mass production of the wall panels that are engineered to meet the structural and functional specifications. Furthermore, the factory environment provides methods for more efficient utilization of materials and human resources. Moreover, the panelized construction technology can successfully incorporate innovative and improved wall systems developed through research and engineering to economically meet the performance-based building code provisions.
Realizing the conflict between the potential of panelized wall construction and the relatively weak position of the panelized wall industry in the current residential market, the NAHB Research Center designed and conducted two case studies with the objective to:
- Demonstrate and communicate panelized wall construction methods to the residential building industry
- Identify the barriers to a wider acceptance of panelized wall construction
- Examine current engineering practices used by the panelized wall industry; and
- Based on results of the first three objectives, provide feedback relevant to development of a standardized guideline for panelized wall construction.
Prepared for
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office of Policy Development and Research
Washington, DC
74 pages
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