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What is a durable home?
Some homes in the United States have been standing for centuries, others for only a few days. Regardless of the home, PATH wants to ensure that the housing products Americans live in and use will last as long as possible, and be available for a price that's as low as practicable. Whether one is building a new home or doing a small remodeling job, the more durable the materials, the less one will have to pay in maintenance costs and the more value one will get out of the home. PATH's vision includes the goal of improving durability and reducing maintenance costs by 50%in the future. While durability refers to materials (how long something will last in a home), quality refers to construction (how well something was installed or built).
PATH Tools
Assessing Housing Durability: A Pilot Study November 2001
In response to the lack of information, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development commissioned a pilot study of the durability performance of a representative sample of homes in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. This report presents the findings of facts from this pilot study and provides useful criticisms of the study methodology.
A Builder's Guide to Marketable, Affordable, and Durable Entry-Level Homes (MADE) To Last March 1999
Illustrates how developers can construct high-quality, energy-efficient, durable, and affordable housing.
*New*
Building Moisture and Durability October 2004
This document provides recommendations for future research on moisture problems in housing that will help to prevent such problems or resolve them once they have occurred. Recommended research topics are organized under three overarching goals: building improved knowledge about the nature, extent and implications of moisture problems, pursuing a variety of methods for preventing and detecting moisture problems, and taking greater advantage of the potential offered by moisture modeling tools.
Demonstration Sites
Builder sites where PATH assesses and evaluates technologies being used in housing, typically involving more units and technologies than do the evaluation sites
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Durability By Design: A Guide for Residential Builders and Designers May 2002
This manual is intended to raise the awareness and understanding of building durability as a design consideration in housing. The Guide covers basic concepts of durability, and presents recommended practices - including numerous construction details and design data - for matters such as moisture management, ultraviolet (UV) protection, insects, decay, corrosion, and natural hazards.
Field Evaluations
Builder sites where PATH assesses and evaluates technologies being used in housing.
Improving Durability in Housing Background Paper March 1999
This paper was prepared for the National Forum on Durability Research to stimulate the thinking of the forum participants about the current state of durability of housing materials and components and about various approaches to improving durability.
Life Cycle Assessment Tools to Measure Environmental Impacts December 2001
Given the potential importance of these tools for America's homebuilders, HUD commissioned the NAHB Research Center to convene a meeting of experts to critique LCAs and offer suggestions on making the tools more useful.
NEST: National Economic Service-life Tools
NEST is a set of tools and resources designed to help homeowners choose the right amount of durability for their homes. By examining factors such as the structure, location, materials, and age of a house, NEST can find the durable materials that will help to maintain a home at the lowest cost.
Technology Inventory
The Technology Inventory lists over 150 new technologies that demonstrate great potential for improving housing performance, but that have not been widely used or accepted.
ToolBase
ToolBase is the housing industry's resource for technical information on building products, materials, new technologies, business management, and housing systems.
Water Intrusion Evaluation for Caulkless Siding, Window, And Door Systems January 2002
The purpose of this research is to design, evaluate, install, and monitor wall siding systems that do not require caulk, either initially or during routine maintenance.
Content updated on 12/16/2004