Western Homes Top the Nation in Quality Production28 June 2006
Western production homes outranked all other parts of the U.S. in construction quality, according to a study of more than 31,000 new homes completed in 2005 by Quality Built(R), an independent risk management firm.
The study, encompassing new homes and condominiums in 27 states and constructed by more than 900 different builders, indicated that common problems, such as window flashing problems, improper roofing, missing structural hardware and other defects were more prevalent in the eastern and southern states, despite the insurance industry's reports of higher claims in the west. The inspections were conducted and data collected by independent inspectors specially trained to identify high risk construction defects, a significant departure from studies based on homeowners' questionnaires such as J.D. Power & Associates and others.
"This study clearly indicates a pattern of improved real construction quality, which cannot be measured by a homeowner answering a questionnaire," noted Stan Luhr, CEO of Quality Built and the author of the study. "These findings tell us that west coast builders are building a much better product than ever before, despite the increased complexity of the product and the diminishing labor talent. I am very pleased to see this, and also somewhat concerned that the eastern U.S. and Hawaii rankings have fallen over the prior year study."
Luhr believes the study indicates the results of a growing trend outside California of increased labor shortages and also the spread of more complicated, western-style housing designs that are popular in the west.
Luhr attributes the increased quality in the west, particularly in California, to builders who are embracing quality metrics and cultures used by other industries. "Builders are learning very quickly through new computer technologies that we can track quality metrics to justify these changes, and the changes are very good for business. Everyone wins when defects are eliminated in the construction process," said Luhr.
More than 4.8 million Checkpoints were gathered on 20,867 single-family and 11,128 multi-family homes during this survey period. The three predominant construction risks discovered in single-family homes were in Building Envelope (41%), Framing/Structural (34%) and Plumbing/Electrical (8%). In multi-family homes, the top three defects were Life Safety (29%) Framing/Structural (26%) and Building Envelope (23%).
The single highest risk problems identified in single-family homes included improper framing around windows and doors, building paper and house wrap installation flaws and missing structural connections. In multi-family homes, the risk problems included building paper and house wrap installation flaws, unprotected penetrations in life safety assemblies and missing fire-rated materials.
No cosmetic flaws were tabulated in this study, a radical departure from conventional builder quality surveys. Instead, high risk components and systems were evaluated which, when improperly installed, can lead to serious safety, comfort and durability issues during home ownership. Some flaws, such as missing structural connections shown in the approved plans, would not be noticed by the homeowner until there was a catastrophic event such as an earthquake or high wind event.
"It concerns me that we routinely find missing structural connections in buildings around the country. This is the exact type of component that builders pay thousands of dollars per home for municipal inspectors to catch. It shows to me, and is supported by litigation evidence, that the municipal inspection process is failing us and we need to take a different direction," Luhr said.
One alternative, which is now approved in Florida, is to allow private engineers to conduct the necessary inspections, while often providing additional testing and quality assurance for the builder at a reduced cost.
"The advantage of privatizing the inspection process is that builders can save up to 15 days on a construction schedule for a home since they wouldn't have to wait days for re-inspections and pre-pay fees before an inspection is scheduled. This unnecessary bureaucracy costs consumers millions of dollars in higher housing costs, and is something that builders cannot control. Private inspectors do a better job and are more accountable, which is a win-win for everybody."
Today, Quality Built is the nation's largest risk management services firm operating in 27 states with over 80,000 units in production. Endorsed or mandated by the nation's largest insurance companies, as well as builders and commercial developers across the country, the company uses patent-pending risk assessment systems to accurately identify and track construction quality issues on all types of construction.
A Checkpoint is "a qualitative measurement of a construction process, installation or building component that is verified as being installed in accordance with applicable codes, standards or manufacturers instructions." Positively worded Checkpoints with risk values assigned to them are a patent-pending process of Quality Built and are accepted as the industry standard by the nation's largest insurers for new construction projects.
Source: prnewswire
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