84 Lumber is participating in the 2024 Innovative Housing Showcase (IHS), hosted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), by collaborating with the Structural Building Components Association (SBCA) and the National Framers Council (NFC) for the upcoming event scheduled June 7-9, 2024, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
The SBCA will be constructing a 2,400-square-foot structure in under eight hours on June 3, 2024. This one-day framing event will show the improved cycle times now possible with available offsite manufactured products such as floor trusses, wall panels, and roofing truss panels while highlighting what framers and offsite manufacturers accomplish when working together.
“I am thrilled to announce 84 Lumber’s collaboration with the Innovative Housing Showcase,” said Ken Kucera, VP of installed sales and manufacturing of 84 Lumber. “This public outreach effort will promote the importance of sustainable and cost-effective housing solutions for communities in need and we are grateful to be a part of it.”
84 Lumber, one of the SBCA’s largest national members, will be supplying all structural framing components, windows, and doors for this year’s project. With its strong ties to regional framing crews, the company aims to utilize these relationships to construct the structure efficiently and effectively.
According to the SBCA, nearly 70 percent of homes constructed in America leverage offsite construction technology, particularly in roof trusses, which dates back to the 1950s. This method not only decreases construction costs compared to traditional stick-framing, but also significantly enhances a home’s resilience against severe weather conditions, thus drastically underscoring its efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and durability in the construction industry.
“As this is SBCA and NFC’s third year of participating in HUD’s Innovative Housing Showcase, we definitely see the benefit of being part of this great effort,” said SBCA executive director Jess Lohse. “That’s why this year we are glad to have the opportunity to co-present this event with HUD and other housing and building organizations to provide information and knowledge of all the benefits and efficiencies components, such as trusses and wall panels, bring to the housing industry.”
The Innovative Housing Showcase aims to raise awareness about innovative and affordable housing designs and technologies to demonstrate how these advancements can boost housing supply, decrease construction costs, increase energy efficiency and resilience, and ultimately make housing more affordable for both homeowners and renters.
Following the end of the event, the framing crew will return to the National Mall and disassemble the structure before transporting it to Waynesboro, Virginia. The home will then be donated to a local Habitat for Humanity chapter, which will provide a home for a seven-person family desperately in need of affordable housing.
“In our area, 40% of all households are below the local household survival budget. Finding affordable housing is a huge challenge,” said Charlie Frankfort, board chairman of Habitat for Humanity-Waynesboro. “We are thrilled to be working with SBCA and NFC again this year to provide two more homes for families in need.”
This is the third year the SBCA and NFC have participated in the Innovative Housing Showcase. Both organizations remain devoted to highlighting the groundbreaking advancements in housing and design.
