Photos courtesy of Veev.
The United States is facing a shortage of 6.8 million homes, according to the National Association of Realtors. To fix the housing crisis, innovative solutions are needed to speed the production process at affordable prices. California-based Veev has developed a system using steel framing to build homes four times faster than traditional construction and for a lower price.
Each wall of a home is built in the Veev fabrication facility and strategically integrated and routed with MEP – electricity, plumbing, light, and sensors – prior to being fully closed and cladded on both sides.
Veev Disrupts the Residential Building Industry
Veev was founded by technology entrepreneurs who saw the opportunity to transform real estate development with an inventive new approach, says the Veev website. Homes have been built the same way for centuries, driven by an industry focused on its own needs instead of its customers. Cost, complexity and variability have gone up while innovation has fallen behind. Veev is changing all that, its website says.
According to USA TODAY, Veev designs, manufactures and assembles every component of its homes. It manufactures walls with mechanical, electrical and plumbing hook-ups already in place that can be transported and assembled onsite faster than traditional construction. The company hopes to cut down on the many layers and stages of construction and the number of parties involved in production and installation.
Veev made a decision to eliminate lumber from the homes it built, replacing wood with steel framing to build homes faster and at a lower cost.
Switch to Steel Framing Speeds Home Construction
In 2019, Veev made a decision to eliminate lumber from the homes it built, replacing wood with steel [framing] and slabs made of a mix of acrylic and minerals that bind together, says USA TODAY. By using this process, Veev can build homes faster and at lower cost.
In addition, building with steel results in near-zero waste framing and a low carbon footprint, says Veev.com.
“Veev is not the only company using a factory to make buildings, but with a uniquely integrated approach that pulls design, material supply chain, manufacturing, and construction in-house, it’s carving a niche of pure efficiency,” says Fast Company.
Since 2019, Veev has completed 138 residential units and is currently developing 231 residential units, of which 86 are single-family homes.
Why Steel Framing?
Cold-formed steel (CFS), or metal stud framing, is made from structural quality sheet steel formed into C-sections and other shapes by roll forming steel through a series of dies. CFS, a preferred framing material, is:
- Versatile and can be cut to exact lengths
- Dimensionally stable and won’t expand or contract with changes in moisture content
- Lightweight compared to wood and concrete
- Durable and won’t warp, split, crack or spall when exposed to the elements
- Sustainable and 100 percent recyclable
- Highest in strength-to-weight ratio of all structural framing materials, according to the Steel Framing Industry Association
- Non-combustible, a safeguard against fire accidents
“We Are Building the Tesla of Homes”
The construction industry shut down for several months at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, losing more than 1 million workers, notes CNN. Since then, the industry has recouped nearly 80% of its workforce, but it will need to hire over 430,000 workers this year to meet demand, according to Associated Builders and Contractors.
During a time when the construction industry faces a severe labor shortage, Veev provides a system to build more homes with fewer workers, says USA TODAY.
Amit Haller, Veev co-founder and chief executive officer, says using steel framing instead of lumber during the pandemic helps to avoid issues related to lumber shortages, and lowers the overall costs and time needed to complete projects.
“The amount of labor we need to build a house is about 10 times less than we need to build a traditional home because we prefabricate all of the components,” says Haller. “At the same time, we’ve managed to take the quality of our buildings to new levels. We are building the Tesla of homes.”
Veev’s Walnut Street development, San Carlos, California is proposed to be a new five-story, mixed-use residential building featuring 35 residential condominiums and two commercial spaces.
Innovations Using Steel Framing
Cold-formed steel (CFS) framing enables building professionals to complete projects more efficiently, in less time and with lower costs. For example:
- The use of portable steel roll-forming machines to fabricate mobile structures is an emerging technology gaining traction within the U.S. Navy
- Using CFS framing components and an automated fabrication system, Straight Cold Rollin in Wyoming used four untrained laborers to build a 60-by-140-ft. pole barn in two months
- A white paper from FrameMax lists five steps to investing in CFS roll-forming equipment and saving money in the process
Additional Resources
- 3 Pandemic Construction Challenges Solved With Steel Framing
- 4 Reasons Prefabrication is Here to Stay
- Steel, Modular Homes and an Opportunity to End the Housing Shortage