Written by Chantal Contreras, NAHB President at CSULB
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early 80% of new homes in the US today are built by National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) members, which include single-family and multifamily homes. The NAHB has over 700 state and local associations, and 140,000 members. Roughly a third of members are homebuilders and remodelers. The NAHB provides educational opportunities, and hosts a student competition every year at the International Builders’ Show (IBS), which is the world’s largest residential and light commercial construction trade show that brings 60,000 visitors from 100 countries to see the newest and best products in the industry. The NAHB offers many opportunities to get people involved in the industry and make connections with industry leaders early on. Becoming an NAHB member has many benefits including discounts online, in stores, at car dealerships, credit card companies, hotels, and car rentals. Member benefits also include access to student scholarships, classes, and trainings in different
areas such as design-build, building safety, project management, risk management, green building, and The Builder Assessment Review (BAR). Building safety has always been a primary concern in the construction industry. In order to raise public awareness on this issue, the NAHB has started a campaign called Safety 365 to provide information and resources to the public to keep construction workers safe, and eliminate preventable accidents, injuries, and deaths. The Safety 365 campaign highlights different aspects of construction safety each month, and also promotes safety outside of the job. The NAHB offers classes, safety training materials, and news updates to educate employers and workers on safety and health hazards in the industry and on the jobsite to comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements. The NAHB also supports the increase in sustainable or green building in response to rising energy costs, the need to improve air quality,
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T H E N AT I O N A L A S S O C I AT I O N O F H O M E B U I L D E R S
Chantal Contreras, NAHB President at CSULB
ensuring clean water, and conserving water usage. The goal of sustainable buildings is high performance through construction and development techniques, materials, and designs that minimize the home’s impact on the environment and conservation natural resources. Sustainable buildings are moving towards using more efficient systems; some of the energy conservation systems include
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high-performance windows, energyefficient appliances, lighting, better insulation, and HVAC systems. Another important factor that contributes to green building is water conserving systems such as waterefficient appliances, fixtures, filtration systems, and low-maintenance landscaping and irrigation systems. Using better resources like high performance engineered wood, wood
alternatives, allergen-free materials, and recycled building materials also aid in sustainable building. Lastly, using effective HVAC equipment, formaldehyde-free finishes, and products with minimum off-gassing or low-VOCs will ultimately better the home’s indoor air quality. Sustainable buildings not only encourage environmental awareness and more efficient uses of scarce resources, but also result in an improved living environment and lower utility bills. The NAHB continues to follow current issues that arise in the industry. Some of the hottest topics in the industry right now are that design build is on the rise, as
design-bid-build seems to be winding down, collaborative approaches are becoming more and more common for projects. Cyber risks are an enormous issue nowadays, as the rise of technology becomes more advanced, the exposure to information is put at risk for many companies and digitally collaborative programs including building information modeling (BIM). The rise of robotics in the construction industry in projected to make construction sites virtually human-free by 2050 by using drones to monitor site status, smart sensors to track people on-site, and radiofrequency identification to track site equipment and materials.
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T H E N AT I O N A L A S S O C I AT I O N O F H O M E B U I L D E R S
Residential construction is governed by building codes and standards set by local and state laws. These codes often reflect local construction practices, climate, and geography. Most US communities have adopted the International Code Council’s I-Codes. The I-Codes address all aspects of single-family
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and multifamily construction, including structural and MEP, and energy conservation requirements. The codes protect public health and safety, and have now turned to energy efficiency, sustainability, and property protection. But some of these energy code changes are benefiting specific product manufacturers and
take away consumer flexibility. The ICC codes are updated every three years, and the NAHB analyzes their impact on new and existing buildings. Their role is to ensure that the ICC evaluates all proposals objectively and that any changes or additional code requirements that are adopted are necessary and cost-effective. Through
NAHB efforts, the International Code Council’s Board of Directors now requires cost impact information. If that information is not included, the proposed change will be rejected. If you are interested in learning more about the NAHB or becoming a member, please visit our website at www.NAHB.org.
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1201 15th Street NW Washington, DC 20005 Tel. 1-800-368-5242 www.nahb.org