Housebuilding

The current shortage in housing has put a lot of pressure on the house building industry. The industry has been told it must build and build quickly but John Prescott’s office is not currently providing it with clear direction as to how this might be achieved.

The vast majority of the UKs housebuilders continue to build in brick and block for a variety of reasons:

Public Demand
The public prefer to live in solid masonry homes – 90% of the population prefers the solid attributes of brick and block homes.

A reliable, well proven method of construction
The industry understands brick and block, it has been used for centuries and has stood the test of time. Many Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian houses form some of the most desirable blueprints for homes today – not only are they full of character but they are easily adaptable for modern living with extensions, basements and conversion into flats and offices.

1) A Cambridge study in brick and block

2) Housing thinks thin

Offsite Construction is Not Quicker
NHBC figures prove that offsite construction is not quicker than methods built entirely on site. The NHBC quarterly report December 03 clearly shows that new build construction for traditional family detached housing is taking exactly the same time to build regardless of the construction method.

3) NHBC December 03 Statistics

Available Workforce
There is a skilled, trained workforce familiar with building in brick and block. Factory built options do not have the appropriate level or numbers of trained workers to meet the demand. The building industry and CITB are working hard to produce more skilled workers in this industry.

Ready Supply of Materials
The reliable supply of materials is vital in the build process. It is crucial that these be easy to source and that they can be delivered to site at the appropriate times. Housebuilders will often begin a development placing orders for blocks as they go, secure in the knowledge that the suppliers will cope and the performance of the materials will not be affected by their being stored in the elements.

Factory Built Options are a False Economy
By contrast investment in a prefabricated development involves a heavy level of commitment from the builder before the first brick is laid. Factories by their very nature are set up to produce volume and deliver in bulk often resulting in large quantities of modules being left in costly storage or delivered to site and left in inclement environments.

Masonry is innovative
The perception is that “new” is innovative. But factory produced goods by their very nature produce volume items that are the same. By contrast, building in modern concrete masonry allows for far greater flexibility in design, room shape, size and larger open plan living as the residual strength is borne in the structure, not in the modular sections.

Examples of innovation:
Some developers are using modern masonry construction to produce exciting developments that not only test the boundaries of design but also produce energy efficient sustainable homes, which could be a blueprint for contemporary living that will last for generations:

Links to relevant releases:

4) Traditional materials - unconventional build

5) Concrete provides the answer to low energy housing

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