How New Technology Is Changing Home Building

The stakes of every industry have been rising in the past few decades as new technologies debut on the market. And while new residential construction has moved at a turtle pace compared to other trades, that doesn't mean it hasn't seen its fair share of gadgets and techniques. Homeowners in Canada who follow these advancements will not only have a better idea of how home buying is being affected today, but they may also be able to predict the market better both now and in the future.

Shorter Scouting Sessions

Land may have once been plentiful in this country. The wide-open spaces and lack of regulation made it easy for developers to choose and build upon sites. Today, developers have to devote weeks to find the right place to build homes. Some have started using drones to get a better idea of the potential of the site before having to do a lengthier in-person assessment.

A drone can't show a developer every last detail of the land, but it can help all involved in the project gauge the scale of the obstacles that may stand in the way of building. If there are stockpiles or other impediments on the land, a 3D scanner can be used to measure each object to a stunning degree of accuracy.

Safer Worker Conditions

Construction has always been a dangerous field to enter, but the rates of death in certain areas across the country have been increasing. Nova Scotia saw the number of fatalities nearly double between 2017 and 2018. Saskatchewan reported a 78% rise in fatalities between 2017 and 2018.

Some construction companies are using virtual or augmented reality to show their workers what it really means to work on the most dangerous features of a home. Workers have a chance to familiarize themselves with the unique features of the project—site, architectural style, tools—before they have to leave the safety of the VR space.

Shorter Project Deadlines

Many industries are experimenting with how robotics can change their expectations and plug in gaps that may have been standing in the way of higher efficiency. Brick-laying robots are being built as a stand-in for a trade that is no longer seeing a steady supply of workers. This technology can work at a rate of about 5 times faster than a human worker.

Plus, the sophistication has been improving over the past few years. Just a few years ago, a robot worker may have been stopped in its tracks by practically any inconsistency of the land. Today, it's better able to work around these obstructions so there's less human intervention needed. This can help developers vastly reduce their timelines and investors recoup their costs faster than ever before. It can translate to lower prices for home buyers down the line too.

New and Improved

As if robot bricklayers weren't enough to impress the average home buyer in Canada, there are a few more technologies that are turning people's heads:

• Shape-memory polymers: Imagine an accident where a car sustains a small dent. Immediately, after the dent is formed, the car instantly morphs back to its original shape. This is the concept behind self-healing concrete, and it can be potentially used for the foundations in homes to protect it from structural damage.
• 3D-printed homes: This concept was created by the tech-driven engineers in San Francisco. These very large 3D printers can actually make a fully inhabitable home in a few hours for just a few-thousand dollars. This technology is real, but it may take some time before we see it brought to market.

Like most technology, residential Canals home building gadgets aim to reduce homeowner maintenance, increase project efficiency, and save money overall. How exactly the technology will evolve over the next few decades remains to be seen, but it seems clear that Canadian builders will likely continue to adapt advancements to better fit their needs.