For generations, outdoor living projects have been handled with an on-site, make it happen, strategy. A set of plans and a team of skilled builders made it all come together. However, times have changed and the number of skilled craftspeople available for any particular project has dwindled to a point of near extinction.
According to an NAHB survey, approximately 85% of builders and remodelers state they cannot find enough skilled carpenters to keep projects on track, driving up the costs of construction and making more projects unprofitable.
Enter Off-Site Manufacturing (OSM). A construction technique where building products are manufactured in a controlled factory environment and then installed on-site in order to reduce the number of skilled workers needed to complete the project. The benefits of off-site manufacturing for outdoor living projects are wide and varied.
Architects and designers can specify a product and know the product they choose will deliver quality to their client and look just as they designed. For builders and contractors, OSM can shorten build time, offer a higher quality finished product, reduce build costs, increase job site safety, and reduce waste.
Despite the growing need and the fact that “kit homes” were being sold by Sears, Roebuck & Co. starting in 1908, off-site manufacturing has mostly remained a niche building approach. Until recently.
With a shortage of skilled workers on the rise, companies in the outdoor living industry are turning to off-site manufacturing to cover the skilled labor gap and provide products that exceed those being built on-site.
Three outdoor living manufactures leading the way are Structureworks, makers of pergolas and shade structures, Danver, manufacturer of stainless steel outdoor kitchens and Eldorado Stone, an architectural stone manufacturer of modular fireplaces.
So why do these companies believe in the value of off-site manufacturing?