Home

The contractor promised an "all masonry" home and is not using wood!

Question: 

We're having a home built that is supposed to be "all masonry construction". Phase I homes were all masonry: cement block, wrapped in a brick facade. We're in Phase II of construction. Because of the cold Chicago weather, the developer wants to change the construction materials so that he can start development now. He wants to use a wood frame, wrapped in Tyvek, with a brick facade. I believe that the all masonry construction is better because it will last forever, is better protection against fires and is quieter. Does all masonry construction have a longer life expectancy? Amtrak and a Freight train runs across the back of the home. The models in Phase I with the masonry construction did a good job of muffling noise. Will the Tyvek construction muffle the noise as well? Finally, can they change the construction materials without our consent? There were many advertisements saying this would be "all masonry construction", but our contract says they can change the materials with equal or better value. Its been eight months since we signed the contract.

Answer: 

Shirley,

I am a big fan of wood frame construction and you may find that the sound insulation value of such construction is better than that of masonry. Here again ?the devil is in the details?. A tightly built and well-insulated wood frame home has some very good sound mitigation properties. And some of the very important ?details? have nothing to do with the material used for the walls. For example, the roof vents can allow a great deal of noise into the home and in order to reduce that path, a baffle can be installed under the vents. Such a baffle allows for air-flow but reduces noise transmission.

My reading of the data also suggests that there should be little concern about the fire safety of today?s wood frame construction. The use of various materials like drywall and ?Class A? fire rated roofing products combined with today?s building codes has resulted in a dramatic drop in residential fires. Here is a very good example where we can sing the praises of ?those dreaded governmental regulations?. Just ask your local fire department about the rate and severity of residential fires in newer homes.

One item that is of little sound mitigation value is the Tyvek house wrap and I am not sure how this material could be used to muffle noise. House wraps are one component of frame construction and have mostly to do with moisture issues and not with sound.

How will the wood-framed constructions last? Will it last as long as the ?all-masonry? home? My guess is that neither one of us, nor our great-grandchildren will live long enough to know that. And if one or the other of these structures does fail, it will have a lot more to do with construction details and the maintenance of the home then with the material used for the structure.

I will not be much help to you with your contract issues, you will need a local attorney for that. But you do raise a common set of problem with pre-purchasing homes. I see it all the time, buyers put down a deposit, and they may even pay up front for some changes and upgrades. Then the contractor makes changes to the design of the home. And the construction-timetable tends to be an un-unenforceable promise.

George