Reducing Waste During Construction of New Homes

One of the big topics in building green is reducing the amount of waste generated during the construction process. The average 2,000 sq. ft. home generates about 7,000 lbs of waste. That is 3.5 tons of wood, plastic, cardboard, metal and misc. other building products dumped into landfills for each 2,000 sq. ft. (New Home Construction, Green Building Guidelines), home in America.

There are many ways to control the amount of waste generated on a job site. One of the ways that we’ve been able to drastically reduce waste is to have our wall panels built off-site at a local factory that specializes in pre-fabricated walls. The walls are built the same way we’d build them on-site with the exception that they are built in a factory under controlled conditions. The walls are all designed using specialized software that allows the builder to minimize the amount of waste and build the walls as efficiently as possible.

Another way we are reducing waste is by re-using damaged lumber for temporary bracing and blocking. By doing this we are using far less new lumber for bracing and blocking. Another great way to reduce waste is by using pre-engineered wood trusses. Again by building the trusses off-site in a factory the amount of waste material can be reduced. The trusses are very efficient structural members and use less material than a raftered or beam roof.

One of the easiest ways to help reduce the amount of waste put in landfills is by allowing the carpenters to take home left over scrap material that’s suitable for burning. In this part of the country the scrap dimensional lumber makes for great kindling wood.

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5. Prefabricated Wall Panels Save Time