Choosing a building system

Conventional framing is the method that involves using rafters and joists to build your home.  Trained professionals use these building members by measuring, cutting and hoisting them into place on site.  The framing consists of a conventional post, columns and beams and also masonry walls.  Conventional Framing is a construction method with primary structural elements formed using a repetitive wood framing system.  It relies on load-bearing walls to keep the structure in place.

It is one of the more trusted and time-tested methods of framing. The conventional method of structure-bearing walls in multistory buildings with single-floor-high studs dates back as early as 1855.

It’s used in residential construction because it provides a great deal of customizability to home design. Still, designers need to keep in mind; you will have requirements from an engineering standpoint due to load-bearing structures in certain areas.

It is the dominant construction method in North America and because of the lower cost of the project. As a result, builders can significantly enclose a larger area at minimal cost using minimal structural material, all while achieving various architectural styles.

During the home’s construction, it’s far easier to make minor adjustments, like the size or placing of a window, when using the conventional framing method.

 Also, know as optimum value engineering.  It’s a framing method that uses less wood than conventional framing and limits the amount of waste that comes with traditional methods.  This method replaces lumber with insulation material that still maintains the structural integrity of your home.

The Whole-wall R-value is improved dramatically by reducing thermal bridging through the framing and maximizing the wall insulation area.

Advanced framing was developed in the 1960s by the Department of Housing and Urban Development as a way for builders to reduce costs.

In recent years, the decades-old framing system has been used by green builders who are looking to minimize their carbon footprint.

The Advanced Framing method will result in lower labour and material expenses than a conventionally framed home.

Fully implementing Advanced framing techniques, you could be looking at material cost savings from $500 up to.$1000, labour cost savings of 3% to 5% and annual cooling and heating costs from up to 5%.

It is easier for the builder to apply for complete insulation coverage and achieve a tighter building envelope.

 Insulating concrete form or insulated concrete form is a formwork system for reinforced concrete.   It is created with rigid thermal insulation that stays in place as a permanent interior and exterior substrate for walls, floors, and roofs.  The forms are interlocking modular units that are dry-stacked without the usual mortar and filled with cement.

The units are interlocked like Lego and create the base for the structural walls or floors. ICF construction has become commonplace for low-rise commercial and high-performance residential construction as more demanding building codes are adopted.

ICF first started to be used after blocks of treated wood fibres held together by cement were used in Switzerland.

In the 1940s and 1950s, chemical companies developed plastic foams, which by the 1960s allowed a Canadian inventor to produce a foam block that resembles today’s typical ICFs.

Usually, you will see ICF in low-rise buildings ranging from residential to commercial.

Single-family residential accounted for about 70 percent of ICF construction—versus about 30 percent for commercial or multifamily uses.

The growing market for ICFs tends to be more substantial buildings. As a result, they have become famous for various commercial projects, including apartments or condos, hotel/motel, retail, and even movie theatres.

Traditional finishes are applied to interior and exterior faces, so the buildings look similar to typical construction, although the walls are usually more robust and thicker.  You also wouldn’t experience mould, rot or mildew, and insect problems would be minimal to non-existent.    

It would also provide builders with faster construction due to ease of use and how lightweight it is.  That makes for speedier sourcing and shipping.

 SIP is a sandwich structured composite consisting of an insulating layer of rigid core sandwiched between two layers of structural board, used as a building material.

Boards consist of lightweight metal, plywood, cement, magnesium oxide board (MgO), lightweight or oriented strand board (OSB).  The core can either be expanded polystyrene foam (EPS), extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), polyisocyanurate foam, polyurethane foam or be composite honeycomb (HSC).

Although foam-core panels gained attention in the 1970s, the idea of using stress-skinned panels for construction began in the 1930s.  

Research and testing of the technology were done primarily by Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in Madison, Wisconsin, as part of a U.S. Forest Service attempt to conserve forest resources.

SIPs share similar versatility to stick-framed houses when building from custom designs.  Since SIPs work as framing, insulation, and exterior sheathing and can come from the factory for the specific job, the outer building envelope can be built with speed.

SIPs panels also tend to be lightweight and compact, which aids this offsite construction and long-distance shipping.

A well-built home using SIPs will have higher insulating properties, which leads to fewer drafts and a decrease in operating costs. Also, due to the standardized and all-in-one nature of SIPs, construction time can be less than for a frame home and require fewer tradespeople.

As a result, the total life-cycle cost of a SIP-constructed building can be lower than a conventional framed one—by as much as 40%.

 Thin sheets of galvanized steel are cold-formed into steel studs for structural or non-structural building material for both external and partition walls in residential, commercial, and industrial construction projects. With spans of up to 6m, builders can eliminate internal load-bearing barriers, leading to flexibility in interior space planning.

Steel framing started to grow in use in the 1850s.   Builders utilized it when erecting the first high rises. After that, it became the standard for skyscraper creation. Any skyscraper, warehouse or garage has a steel framework underneath.  It’s still the only way to build a tower.

The sustainability benefits of light steel framing and modular construction are due to the off-site nature of the construction process; these are: High levels of thermal insulation and air-tightness are consistent in light steel framing.  It also won’t provide fuel to an out-of-control fire.

Lightweight Steel framing is also ideal for residential home building due to ease of use and value. In addition, steel is competitively priced and comes in exact lengths.

Service length for steel can be a whopping 150 years.

Log homes are constructed by stacking the logs horizontally to form the interior and exterior walls.  From there, the builder can choose from milled log homes, which have uniform log diameters and shapes, or handcrafted logs, which vary in size, shape and texture.

Log style (round, square, Swedish cope, D-shaped, shiplap), interface styles (tongue-and-groove, chinking) and corner style (dovetail, saddle-notch, butt-and-pass, corner post) all contribute to the overall esthetic of the cabin.

Constructions of log homes was a common building technique in large regions of Northern Europe, the Baltic states and Russia.  Log homes date back centuries in Finland and other parts of central Europe; the first American log house came up for sale dating back to the 1920s. Log home sales have more than doubled to $1.7 billion since 1995.

Log homes are still constructed today and are often in demand from those searching for status and a connection to nature.  You can also see the method used in niche hotels to market to nature-loving tourists.

The most significant benefit of the system is genuinely the aesthetic appeal.  Although, log homes are surprisingly energy efficient.  Wood is an excellent insulator and is highly durable.

Log homes are incredibly safe also known for holding up well during extreme weather events like snowstorms and tornadoes.

These systems come in various ways, and are typically created in a controlled indoor factory and shipped out to be assembled on-site. 

Hybrid Log homes are a pretty flexible concept where you combine elements and materials. You can finish the exterior with logs, cedar, stone or other timber materials. Owners can add rustic accents such as logs or timber posts, trusses, porches or further details to the outside.

It’s a design that can be both traditional and rustic, modern and classic, all simultaneously.  Logs on the outside and drywall on the inside, the options to customize are endless.

In 1624, the English brought a panelized wood house to Cape Ann for use by the fishing fleet.   This house was subsequently disassembled, moved, and reassembled several times. It would seem like this would be the first example of a 'demountable' home, one that can be assembled, deconstructed and reassembled.

Prefab log homes produce standardized components off-site in a factory or workshop that can fit together on-site. The pieces can be shipped flat-packed or partially assembled.

Prefab construction is cheaper than stick-built homes by an average of 10 to 25 percent. That is because mass-produced materials on an assembly line cut down costs since factories buy supplies in bulk.

Prefab Log homes can also be bought in kits, replacing the need for builders if you are the ultimate DIY'er.

Heavy timber framing is a framing method that uses rustic, large, heavy sawn timbers or it could be structural glue-laminated timber joined together with traditional mortise and tenon joinery or modern metal joinery.

Heavy timber can be handcrafted, but most timber frame construction uses power tools and CNC machines. That allows for production to be built to exact specifications.

The result is reduced labour costs, and that makes heavy timber construction more affordable.

Timber framing is one of the first methods of building. Heavy timber was used at the beginning of human civilization – the first timber frame structure was built during the 10th century.

Heavy timber construction sees a crane used to lift the timber pieces of the cabins skeleton into place. Then the joinery connections can be placed, making sure to tighten them into place