Anyone who has spent time on a jobsite has probably noticed the often staggering amount of waste that is generated in the construction of a new home. Everything from the packaging of building materials to scraps and damaged goods end up in the Dumpster by the time the house is closed. All told, the average new home creates between an estimated two and four tons of waste before the homeowner even moves in.
While removal and tipping fees to handle the waste may seem insignificant when compared with the overall cost of home building, managing waste isn't just about the bottom line. Construction and demolition waste accounts for a quarter of the material dumped in landfills each year. Yet up to 80 percent of jobsite waste can be recycled or reused.
To aggressively tackle the issue of jobsite waste, builders have options that were unavailable just a few years ago. Today reducing the amount of debris that gets hauled off to the dump should be both a fiscal and environmental priority. The easiest way to lower the amount of waste generated on the job is to go back to the fundamentals of conservation: reduce, reuse and recycle.
Saving wood
Almost 40 percent of jobsite waste is wood. An estimated one-sixth of the wood delivered to the jobsite ends up in the landfill. Spare ends from framing and leftover pieces from roof, floor and siding sheathing go into the Dumpster when they might actually be reused or recycled.
But the often-overlooked key to true conservation of forest products is to reduce the amount used in the first place. Optimum value engineering (OVE) is a design technique that reduces the overall amount of lumber needed for construction while actually improving the energy efficiency of the home and reducing labor costs. OVE strives to get the most out of the materials used, while using less of them.
For instance, one common part of OVE is to move the standard 16-inch center wall framing to 24-inch centers. Besides having to place fewer studs, the extra-wide gaps in the walls allow for larger areas of continuous insulation. Construction is faster because there is less to build, and finishing goes faster because there are fewer nails and drywall screws to cover and finish.
Other examples of OVE is using single top plates and engineering the home's first floor so that it structurally supports the area directly above it. These options require special care to make sure the home remains structurally sound and free of code violations, but the overall savings in terms of natural resources, landfill space and dollars for the builder usually outweigh the start-up challenges.
