It’s not every day that someone devotes their life to bringing a new product to fruition and then producing it in quantities large enough to satisfy an entire industry.
Brian Iverson is one of those people and when I received a sample of his product I knew someday it would find its way into the modular housing industry.
Here is my exclusive one-on-one interview with the man that is devoted to the new 2×4 stud for the construction industry.
Gary Fleisher, the Modcoach: Tstud™ is a unique product. Have you met much resistance from the modular construction industry?
Brian Iverson, the Tstud™ Guy: I don’t think resistance is the correct word here Gary…until now we have never been able to make enough product to supply a mod builder. Covid has not been our friend when we talk about getting our next round of equipment built. I am SOOOO tired of excuses on why there are so many delays. Our next apparatus arrives in 2 weeks, followed by another machine 2 months from now.
If a mod builder uses automated equipment to produce their wall panels, the existing panel lines can not accept a 2.5” wood member nor can it flip one of the wood members around in order to nail a king stud to a jack stud. With most mod builders being sold out for the next 6 months, no one has had the time to even want to deal with us, even if they know we are the best product to solve for the thermal break through the wall and making the energy codes.
Building a more energy-efficient home or commercial project is more important today than ever before.
US Engineered Wood is going to horizontally integrate into several companies that will manufacture wall panels, roof panels, and floor panels. We are in our final round of testing right now. And I might as well let this cat out of the bag now…we are in our final round of testing to eliminate the need for OSB as exterior sheathing on structures up to……”can’t finish the sentence just yet.”
We are starting with www.centuryhomekits.com to use the floor, wall, and roof panels to produce a “kit” that is so energy efficient, that we have eliminated metal ductwork in all of the structures and replaced it with inexpensive plastic piping. You see, we have figured out how to have downstream advantages in the building process by increasing the overall R value of the floor, the wall, and the roof, that we reduced the size of the HVAC equipment so we can then provide upstream advantages for the owner of the structure in reduced operational carbon aka lower heating and cooling bills.
The wall panels we are starting with will deliver the ultimate solution. A deliverable. Preinsulated with an R35 with closed cell spray foam (the foam will replace the racking strength of OSB), we will predrill holes for the electrician, install a WRB on the exterior, install bulk water furring strips, and all the panels will weigh less than 200# each eliminating the need for a crane…once the electrician is done wiring, the builder will then backfill the cavity with an additional R11 fiberglass batt to bring the wall assembly up to an R45. The floor panels and roof panels will be made to order and will be sold packed with an R45 closed cell spray foam. Air changes per hour (ACH) is expected to be under .25 for all projects. KITs is open for business as of now and just designed its first KIT. A 12’x36’ one bedroom plus a loft for under $30,000. The owner will be able to erect the shell in under 2 days and have the roof dried in as fast as the panels can go up. Our goal Gary is to deliver an affordable home so everyone making $16/hour can own a home. We have partners that will supply the exterior and we are looking to partner with the RV industry to supply some of the interiors including the furniture. A 75% reduction in BTU’s for HVAC is also our target so that these structures can be off-grid 80% of the time.
Modcoach: How does it create its Thermal Break?
Brian: The thermal break has been an art to develop into a science. The BareNaked Tstud™ is super strong. No one ever thought we could be a roof, let alone a floor panel. But here we come. All of the KITs will have a 99.2% complete thermal, and sound, break through the floor, the wall, and the roof. We have people all the time say they cant hear the kids screaming outside or the neighbor mowing the lawn. All those dowels and the adhesive cost more than one wood member, but that is what gives up the strength, the thermal break, and the sound transmission break.
Modcoach: Availability and price seem to be the catchwords in today’s construction world. Can you talk to us about both of those?
Brian: I just priced out a 6000 square foot home and the people wanted an apples to apples comparison to buying R5 rigid insulation. We saved them $15,000 and will deliver the same solution meeting the energy codes. Rigid insulation attached to OSB is crazy expensive, so probably not a real fair comparison, but even when it is half the money, we still are over a $5000 savings. So in essence, the BareNaked Tstud™ is 3 times the cost of a 2×6 today but you need 30% less studs, so that just about pays for us. So just for comparison, on the bottom floor of a 5 story building, the 5-1/2” BareNaked Tstud™ is still at 24” on center spacing, and that in itself pays for us.
Modcoach: You manufacture your studs in 2×6 and 2×8 sizes that practically eliminate twisted conventionally milled studs. Is that something builders are looking for today?
Brian: What builder wants to grab twisted boards? I will never say we are always perfectly straight. But we are sexy. Sometimes when we drill through what we call the spline, its like cutting the tendons in your leg. You lose control of the fiber…and the board sometimes twists out of control. We have been buying premium lumber of late so we have certainly upped our value proposition.
Modcoach: Do you have any new products on the drawing board?
Brian: Our equipment for the HeavyTimber Tstud™ is almost completed so we can finish our testing. The HeavyTimber Tstud™ will go after the steel column and post industries most coveted jobs as we are half the price of steel. And out MiniTstud™ is coming along nicely….
To sum up the interview. US Engineered Wood knows how to make all structures known to man be so energy efficient that they use 75% less btu’s than code built structures. We have our first tilt up wall panel commercial job coming up, a 12,000 square foot building, and it is so energy efficient, that we are able to cut the hvac system in half. So we solve for operational carbon reduction and we are putting on a CLT skin on it, so the owner gets to check the carbon sequester box as well.
Modcoach: Brian, I want to thank you for talking about the advantages of Tstud™ and the new products you are introducing. It would be great if our industry begins using engineered lumber for building our homes and commercial buildings.
If anyone would like to talk with Brian directly, CLICK HERE.
Gary Fleisher, recognized internationally as the “MODCOACH”, is the Editor-in-Chief of all publications of iMedia Group, LLC featuring Modular Home Source, the soon-to-be-released Offsite Builder website and Offsite Builder magazines.
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