Editing House (section)

== Construction ==
{{See also|Home construction}}
In many parts of the world, houses are constructed using scavenged materials. In [[Manila]]'s [[Payatas]] neighborhood, slum houses are often made of material sourced from a nearby garbage dump.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unicef.org/philippines/reallives_12171.html |title=Below the poverty line: living on a garbage dump |work=Real Lives |publisher=UNICEF |last=Brown |first=Andy |year=2009 |access-date=July 12, 2013 |quote=Slum houses, often made of materials scavenged from the dump site... |archive-date=January 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107232521/https://www.unicef.org/philippines/reallives_12171.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In [[Dakar]], it is common to see houses made of recycled materials standing atop a mixture of garbage and sand which serves as a foundation.  The garbage-sand mixture is also used to protect the house from flooding.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/world/africa/03garbage.html | work=The New York Times | first=Adam | last=Nossiter | title=In Senegal, Building on Perilous Layers of Trash | date=May 2, 2009}}</ref>

[[File:HouseStructure.JPG|left|thumb|Some houses are constructed from bricks and wood and are later covered by insulating panels. The roof construction is also seen.]]
[[File:Houseoltreilcolle.JPG|thumb|right|Two ''baracche''(slum in Italian) near [[Oltre il Colle]], Italy. <br/> These homes are often illegally built and without electricity, proper sanitation and taps for drinking water. ]]
In the United States, modern house construction techniques include [[Framing (construction)|light-frame construction]] (in areas with access to supplies of wood) and [[adobe]] or sometimes [[Rammed earth|rammed-earth construction]] (in arid regions with scarce wood-resources). Some areas use brick almost exclusively, and quarried stone has long provided foundations and walls. To some extent, aluminum and steel have displaced some traditional [[building material]]s. Increasingly popular alternative construction materials include [[insulating concrete form]]s (foam forms filled with concrete), structural insulated panels (foam panels faced with [[oriented strand board]] or fiber cement), [[Cold-formed steel|light-gauge steel]], and [[Steel frame|steel framing]]. More generally, people often build houses out of the nearest available material, and often tradition or culture govern construction-materials, so whole towns, areas, counties or even states/countries may be built out of one main type of material. For example, a large portion of American houses use wood, while most British and many European houses use stone, brick, or mud.

[[File:Construction maison bambou.jpg|thumb|Construction of a house using [[bamboo]]. Bamboo-made houses are popular in [[China]], [[Japan]] and other [[Asia]]n countries, because of their resistance to [[earthquakes]] and [[hurricanes]].]] 
In the early 20th century, some house designers started using [[prefabrication]]. [[Sears, Roebuck & Co.]] first marketed their [[Sears Catalog Home]]s to the general public in 1908. Prefab techniques became popular after [[World War II]]. First small inside rooms framing, then later, whole walls were prefabricated and carried to the [[Construction|construction site]]. The original impetus was to use the [[labor force]] inside a shelter during inclement weather. More recently, builders have begun to collaborate with [[structural engineer]]s who use [[finite element analysis]] to design prefabricated steel-framed homes with known resistance to high [[Wind engineering|wind loads]] and [[Earthquake engineering|seismic forces]]. These newer products provide labor savings, more consistent quality, and possibly accelerated construction processes.

Lesser-used construction methods have gained (or regained) popularity in recent years. Though not in wide use, these methods frequently appeal to homeowners who may become actively involved in the construction process. They include:
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* [[Hempcrete|Hempcrete construction]]
* [[Cordwood construction]]
* [[Geodesic dome]]s
* [[Straw-bale construction]]
* [[Wattle and daub]]
* {{vanchor|[[Timber framing]]}}
* [[Framing (construction)]]
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[[File:Passivhaus thermogram gedaemmt ungedaemmt.png|thumb|Thermographic comparison of traditional (left) and "[[passivhaus]]" (right) buildings]]
In the developed world, [[energy conservation|energy-conservation]] has grown in importance in house design. Housing produces a major proportion of [[carbon emissions]] (studies have shown that it is [[Energy efficiency in British housing|30% of the total in the United Kingdom]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/BuyingAndSellingYourHome/Energyperformancecertificates/DG_177026 |title=Energy Performance Certificates – what they are : Directgov – Home and community |publisher=Direct.gov.uk |access-date=January 4, 2012}}</ref>

Development of a number of [[:Category:low-energy building|low-energy building]] types and techniques continues. They include the [[zero-energy house]], the [[passive solar house]], the [[autonomous buildings]], the [[Superinsulation|super insulated houses]]  and houses built to the ''[[Passive house|Passivhaus]]'' standard.