Technology

At 20/20 Plumbing & Heating, Inc., we know that innovation is the key to longevity in any business. As a result, we are always ready to adapt with the next generation of building technology. With innovation top of mind, we are excited to be a partner with Woodside Homes of Nevada on the Shawood by Sekisui project in Summerlin, Las Vegas. This extraordinary project highlights the builder’s newest technology and provides a glimpse of the housing of the future.

Woodside Homes is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan-based Sekisui House, one of the world’s largest homebuilders and developers since 1960. Sekisui House brings “love of humanity” to its home designs for the purpose of providing occupants with a sense of comfort, security and peace of mind. Sekisui House designs also demonstrate a commitment to the environment. 

The Shawood concept home — called Chōwa, or “balance” in Japanese — was built in The Ridges, Summerlin It was featured at the International Builders’ Show (IBS), the largest trade fair for housing in the U.S. It is built on Sekisui’s technology called Shawood — a post-and-beam system that uses sustainable lumber to build a system that is earthquake resistant. 

Using computers and automation, the Shawood pieces are precision engineered, cut and drilled in a factory near Tokyo and shipped to the U.S. The pieces are then put together in the field, so that the “rough structure” of the home is prefab, including the framing, foundation and floor systems.

With an exact foundation and a majority of engineered pieces, houses built on this model are easier to assemble and of higher quality. This type of building also helps to offset current skilled labor shortages, since framers do not need extensive experience to assemble the parts. Building with prefab technology is also cost-efficient. Although materials cost about the same, faster construction, less rework and lower warranty costs make these projects economical.

This has been a learning experience for 20/20, and we have adapted our prefab systems for waste, water and gas to Shawood’s prefabbed wood framing. While it is definitely a challenge, it is one we can handle with our teams in engineering and field management.

Woodside Homes builds approximately 2,200 homes per year across the Western United States, including Utah, Nevada, Arizona and California. Sekisui and Woodside see Chōwa as proof positive that construction of high-quality homes that are sustainable, energy-efficient and healthy can also excel in design and performance. 

In Japan, the Shawood system is being used for homes ranging from 1,200 to 5,000 square feet and up. While in the long term, it won’t make sense to ship frames all the way from Japan, the concept of precisely engineered pre-designed houses is a breakthrough that definitely has a place in the U.S. market. Sekisui and Woodside are currently evaluating opportunities for making this technology widely available in new U.S. home communities.

A premier new construction plumbing and HVAC contractor in California and Nevada since 2015, 20/20 Plumbing & Heating, Inc. delivers reliable service across single-family, multi-family, commercial and hospitality projects. We use the most technologically advanced systems for designing, manufacturing and prefabricating materials in-house to provide accurate bids and state-of-the-art performance. Learn more at https://2020ph.com/.