Benefits of Parallel Construction

Increased Precision and Craftsmanship

In standard linear construction, errors made on the foundation are compounded by errors made on the first floor. Those errors are further compounded by errors which may be made on the second or third floors as well as on the roof. Rarely is a room built in linear construction which matches exactly in size to what was planned on the drawings. Furthermore, these errors lead to delays and improvisations in standard construction which can often jeopardize the quality of the home being built. In parallel building, all components of construction are individually constructed as in the Eiffel tower and have to each meet the strictest level of precision in order to fit together on site. Like Legos, each part is made to precisely fit the next. Reliance on this precision enables skilled craftsmen to begin constructing cabinetry, millwork, and other materials to finish the home. Traditionally, a cabinetry maker would have to wait until the home was built and sheet rocked before he would feel confident in beginning to build custom cabinetry for the home. The parallel building method allows that same cabinet maker to feel confident that the CAD drawings of the home will match the home being built and therefore he can begin crafting his cabinetry as the home is being built in order for it to be ready once the home arrives on site and is ready for finish work.  For this reason, our ability to provide even more precise and finer detailed craftsmanship is expanded. Furthermore, the builder is able to dedicate financial and time resources not wasted in the rough construction of the home and focus them on the having even finer interior details.

The Green Revolution

The Green revolution has played a vital role in promoting the parallel building method. Because of the level of precision required in order to build these complex structures, all materials are pre-cut using automated saws. Traditional Linear Construction typically results in 30% of the total materials purchased being discarded as waste. That represents nearly 15% of the cost of construction being thrown away. On a typical construction site, a half-used can of adhesive is thrown in the garbage. In a factory, that same half-used can of adhesive is put back on the shelve for the next project. Furthermore, of the waste which is produced in a controlled environment, it is significantly easier to sort, reuse, and recycle discarded pieces. All of this results in an approximate 98% reduction in waste for parallel versus linear construction. That is good for the environment as well as allows builders of parallel construction projects to offer their buildings at a more competitive price. 

Stronger Engineering

Because components of the home which are built off-site need to be transported to the foundation, engineering code requires that each part of the home be built to a stronger sheer strength than if the home was built using the linear building method. A home built using parallel construction has approximately 30% more wood in its walls than the same home built using the linear building method.  Whereas a standard home would have a 16” space between each 2”x4” wall stud, Parallel Building requires that each 2”x4” stud be spaced only 12” apart. Very few if any homes built using linear construction could withstand being transported on a freeway. The result is that homes built using parallel construction are significantly stronger and able to resist natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. This was clearly seen among homes subjected to Hurricane Andrew in Florida and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

Less Time… Better Finishes

The second significant advantage to parallel building, as seen in the Eiffel Tower history, is that the construction of a structure using the Parallel Building Method is substantially shorter than using standard methods of construction. The opposite is true in terms of planning. Because the home is able to be built so fast, every decision for the home needs to be made before the project starts. The tile for the bathrooms is often ordered before the foundation is started. The result is that the time to design, engineer, and permit a custom parallel construction project is between one to two years. In contrast, standard linear construction has these hundreds of thousands of changes and decisions being made and re-made over the course of the three to four years of design and construction. One significant advantage to having all decisions made at the same time is that a bathroom fixture vendor can have influence on the design of the bathroom before it is built to make sure that the tub that he or she specifies will actually fit in the space constructed. Then the tub can be purchased at today’s price and put directly into the home a few months later. In the linear building method, an architect may design a bathroom and once it is built, find that the tub which the client wants three years after designing the bathroom is no longer available, the price has increased, or does not fit the space. Spreading out these decisions results in ever more unpredictable delays in the project. Is for this reason that builders of linear construction joke amongst themselves: “It will take twice as long and cost twice as much as you planned.” By increasing precision, having all decisions made up front, and by shrinking the time required to build, parallel construction projects can fit a much more dependable time for construction and contractually agree on a precise cost for construction. The potential for variant error is dramatically reduced using parallel construction. Furthermore, because the costs of construction are fixed, the resources allocated for home finishes are not jeopardized. Often times when builders set out to build a home, they spend much more on the construction of the home than they anticipated. For that reason, much of the budget for high-quality finishes is spent before the finishes are being purchased. The result is that the quality of the home being built is often less than what was anticipated. By working off of fixed costs and fixed timelines, a builder using parallel building can guarantee and deliver quality construction much more reliably.