There are a number of variables that can effect your daily life. What time of day you get up on the weekend can make the difference in how much you get done. Having an appointment that interrupts your day, or even the weather can cancel your well-laid plans for a day out with family or friends.
There are a number of variables in custom home construction, too, including the weather. There may be ways around some of it, like prefabricated pieces built off-site in a weather-controlled environment, but the weather can still play a pivotal role in the completion of your project.
Table of Contents
- Region
- Rain
- Snow and Cold
- Sleet
- Hail
- Sun/Heat
- Wind
- Tornadoes
- Hurricanes
- Earthquakes
Regions
There are five major regions in the US: West, Southwest, Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast. There are even further divisions like New England, Middle Atlantic, Mountain, Pacific, and others. Each of these regions has a culture – and a climate. That climate effects not just daily living, but also schedules and timetables for activities like home construction.
Rain
No matter where you are in the country, rain often brings outdoor activities, including construction, to a halt. Crews hastily cover raw materials with tarps and abandon outdoor tasks to avoid a muddy mess. Progress stops until conditions improve. If your home is already closed in, crews can turn their attention inside. Indoor work can move along to an extent, but without subcontractors to handle the nitty gritty of the interior systems, work will undoubtedly be abandoned..
Snow and Cold
Not every region gets snowy and cold. Those in much of the southwest and southeast are spared from the inconvenience. If your home is already closed in, activities inside can continue, but any outdoor work will need to be saved until the weather changes. Blowing snow, blizzards, ice, and the other hazards that come with it stop construction. Since crews may not be able to make it safely to the job site, even indoor work may be halted for months.
Installing landscaping, outdoor recreation spaces like patios and decks, and features including pools and firepits will definitely be delayed until the weather clears.
Sleet
“Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds.” The unofficial slogan of the U.S. Postal Service has long assured Americans they will get their mail in a timely fashion. In this day and age, however, the weather often delays mail and other services, as well as the construction of your new home. The snow and cold that pauses your construction comes with another inconvenience that may modify your construction plans. As snow falls from the clouds, it may encounter a warm patch. The snow melts just a bit, but when encountering the cold again, refreezes and falls as sleet rather than snow. Along with the cold, it’s a mix that can bring work on your site to a halt.
Hail
Warmer weather climates and warm weather in the summertime can stop your project. We could write another full article about how hail is formed. It’s mostly an inconvenience for your project in the summer months, when wind can push rain back up into clouds and cause freezing before the precipitation falls to earth. Both tiny pellets and large chunks can form, and no matter the size, the hail creates conditions that aren’t conducive to completing work.
In addition, the size as well as the speed that a hailstone falls can cause damage and materials no longer considered structurally sound may need to be replaced. Reordering those materials causes a delay, and a domino effect. The additional orders mean waiting even longer for installation, and the needed inspections for the work to proceed.
Sun and Heat
You may think a warm, sunny day is the perfect environment to move construction along, but it has its own drawbacks. In the southwest, the sun and heat can be intense – especially in the summer. It often means construction projects are only worked on in the early morning to early afternoon hours, with workers escaping the elements before the sun and heat hit their peak mid-afternoon. Even with consistent hydration and proper sun protection like sunblock and appropriate clothing, sun exposure can lead to sicknesses like heat stroke that can prevent a worker from completing tasks.
In the Midwest, southeast, northeast, and other areas that experience the heat of summer, they may have to deal with the humidity of summer, too. Excess moisture in the air causes a hot, stuffy environment where it can be hard to breathe. Humidity is high after storms and weather events that add moisture to the air. Workers exert extra energy, breathe harder, and lose body moisture through sweat. Like in the southwest, consistent hydration still may not be able to keep up with how much a worker sweats. When you think construction could go on all day long, crews know it’s healthiest to work in the early morning to early afternoon hours to avoid the most intense heat and humidity of the day.
Wind
Every area of the country can experience high winds. These winds come with other dangers, like blowing snow, dust storms, and with the right conditions – tornadoes. These weather conditions not only stop work on-site, they may keep it from happening at all. People are warned not to travel, due to health and safety risks that also include visibility concerns. If you can’t see where you’re going, you risk running into other vehicles, and even buildings, risking your own life and those of others.
Tornadoes
There is a region of the U.S. known as Tornado Alley, or Tornado Valley. States included in the ominous term are Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, North Dakota, Montana, Ohio, and eastern portions of Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. Weather shifts indicate a move from the Great Plains eastward toward the Canadian Prairies, Ohio, Michigan, and Southern Ontario.
Living and building in these states and regions does not mean your house will be picked up and taken to Oz. It does mean that you, your architect or designer, and builder need to plan for the worst. The tornado itself will stop work. Tornado damage can be great, and a house under construction is more vulnerable than existing structures. Tornado strength winds may even lift your building materials off the ground and set them down several blocks away, or decimate them completely.
There’s also the expense of building in these regions. Because of the risk, heavy duty materials, extra reinforcement, and other steps take time and money in order to ensure safety and long-term durability.
Hurricanes
We’re in the midst of hurricane season in the US. Tropical cyclones form over tropical or subtropical waters and become tropical storms or hurricanes. Hurricanes are characterized by rotating low-pressure systems which have organized thunderstorms and sustained winds of at least 74 miles per hour. Hurricanes have been known to devastate the areas where they make landfall. The damaged cause can range from millions to billions of dollars.
Many Americans remember the devastation left behind by Katrina, Ian, Andrew, and others. Homes and other structures in these areas require stronger building materials, shatter proof glass, hurricane shutters, and other special building materials to help weather these storms. Still, hurricanes often prompt a call for evacuation, and news stations share footage of flooded and destroyed homes, debris everywhere, and other devastation.
Earthquakes
There is no particular weather pattern associated with earthquakes. Although there is no “earthquake weather” it is a natural disaster that needs to be accounted for in construction. Earthquakes can range in intensity – like any other weather – from those so weak they cannot be felt above ground to those capable of propelling objects and even people into the air. Earthquakes can cause critical damage to infrastructure including roads and bridges, utilities, commercial systems and more. An earthquake can even trigger landslides, fires, floods, tsunamis, and other natural disasters.
The most earthquake-prone states are Alaska, Oklahoma, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Hawaii, Kansas, Idaho, Montana, and Texas. There are a number of fault lines running through these states that see a large amount of seismic activity.
Like homes built in hurricane-prone areas, homes built in the areas most prone to earthquakes are built with stronger building materials that can withstand seismic activity better. Extra steps are taken to ensure structural integrity to make your home as safe as possible.
Final Thoughts
We at Acipe Design know there’s a dream house for every client. We design your dream and bring it to fruition with thoughtful design that puts the needs and preferences of the client first. We know the biggest effects of weather on your construction project boils down to time and money. We’ll create a construction timeline that gets you into your dream home, while also taking into account the delays Mother Nature may throw our way.
Contact us today!