Factory-built homes are in the election spotlight as a fix for Canada’s housing crisis. It’s a faster, easier way to build, and less polluting than traditional construction methods. So why aren’t neighbourhoods packed with prefab homes?
This is such a weird, fact-less comment. Plywood and 2x4s do not come “precut to the exact length needed”. They come in standard sizes: 4x8 foot sheets and 8 foot lengths (I’m generalizing here, there are of course other sizes). Every construction site in Canada has skilled carpenters on site that cut those standard sized goods (what I called “raw materials”) to correct dimensions.
most of the 2x4s in a us site are precut to 92 5/8. This with the top and bottom 2x4s add up to your standard 8 foot wall. A few are cut for windows/doors and those top and bottom plates are cut to size, butithe vast majority come precut to length. Your plywood is put in place directly, only the pieces around the edge are cut. Yes you hear a saw all day - but the majority of parts are precut.
you can also get 2x4s in 104 5/8 length. And drywall in 4.5x8 foot sizes for your standard 9 foot tall ceilings.
the above is us. I’m not sure how metric canada house construction is but there are similar sizes for metric regions.
I’m not saying that lumber doesn’t come in sizes optimized to save time and material, that’s only sensible. But as you’ve said there is still cutting on site and frankly there’s a fair bit of it, despite what you claim. With prefab most of the cutting is done in a factory and there are very few if any cuts on site. Complete modular components are delivered and fastened together, and on site assembly is measured in weeks not months. The idea that this will not ultimately be a better way to build homes just isn’t well founded. It’s a better way but different and it’s going to take time and investment for the industry to change. We have an opportunity here to help our country put people in homes and invest and be a leader in that change, and that’s what I’m voting for.
This is such a weird, fact-less comment. Plywood and 2x4s do not come “precut to the exact length needed”. They come in standard sizes: 4x8 foot sheets and 8 foot lengths (I’m generalizing here, there are of course other sizes). Every construction site in Canada has skilled carpenters on site that cut those standard sized goods (what I called “raw materials”) to correct dimensions.
most of the 2x4s in a us site are precut to 92 5/8. This with the top and bottom 2x4s add up to your standard 8 foot wall. A few are cut for windows/doors and those top and bottom plates are cut to size, butithe vast majority come precut to length. Your plywood is put in place directly, only the pieces around the edge are cut. Yes you hear a saw all day - but the majority of parts are precut.
you can also get 2x4s in 104 5/8 length. And drywall in 4.5x8 foot sizes for your standard 9 foot tall ceilings.
the above is us. I’m not sure how metric canada house construction is but there are similar sizes for metric regions.
I’m not saying that lumber doesn’t come in sizes optimized to save time and material, that’s only sensible. But as you’ve said there is still cutting on site and frankly there’s a fair bit of it, despite what you claim. With prefab most of the cutting is done in a factory and there are very few if any cuts on site. Complete modular components are delivered and fastened together, and on site assembly is measured in weeks not months. The idea that this will not ultimately be a better way to build homes just isn’t well founded. It’s a better way but different and it’s going to take time and investment for the industry to change. We have an opportunity here to help our country put people in homes and invest and be a leader in that change, and that’s what I’m voting for.