The weakened supply and erratic price of lumber is forcing designers, builders, and developers to explore alternative materials for residential construction. This article reviews basic information about several innovative materials and technologies that may offer advantages in construction as well as practical long-term benefits to the homeowner. From high-tech to timber frame, today's houses are being built with more than wood and brick. These are some of the new materials available to you today.

Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs)

What They Are: These are hollow foam forms that crews stack into the shape of the exterior walls of a home. The foam acts as insulation, as they build the walls, reinforcing steel bars are snapped in place. They then pour concrete inside, creating a foam-concrete sandwich.

Advantages: The method builds durable houses, and the forms are easier to handle than concrete blocks. The steel bars offer extra stability. The result is a house that is exceptionally strong, energy efficient, quiet, comfortable, and durable that can be built in any style. A helpful resource to reference while evaluating the framing of your dream home is The Essential Guide to Framing, which offers easy-to-follow steps for framing a room and a trouble-shooting section to help avoid common mistakes.

Disadvantages: It can be more expensive than traditional stick building, and it's crucial to hire a builder who has experience working with ICFs.

Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs)

What They Are: Fiberglass panels are made from insulating foam sandwiched between two layers of structural material.

Advantages: Walls can be erected quickly, usually within hours, compared with about two weeks for traditional stick (lumber) framing. The panels are lightweight and are already filled with insulation when they arrive on the site. Since the insulation is installed in a controlled environment and is measured to fit precisely, the house is likely to be more airtight than a conventionally built home-- an energy-efficiency plus.

Disadvantages: This method can also be more expensive than stick building. And a builder needs to be well versed in the process to make sure the panels fit together precisely.

Modular Construction

What It Is: Homes are built in-factory, then collapsed and taken to the home site and erected with cranes. Though mobile homes are most often associated with this type of construction, the market has grown to include homes that very closely resemble conventionally built structures.

Advantages: Once the homes are transported to the site, cranes can erect the walls within hours. Today's modular homes can also be custom-designed to include such features as tray ceilings, coffered beams, and spiral staircases. Like SIPs, modular homes are built to precise specifications in a controlled environment so they are more likely to be airtight than a stick-built house.

Steel Framing

What It Is: Houses are framed with light-gauge steel studs instead of lumber.

Advantages: The method supports heavier loads and provides longer-lasting frame construction. Steel framing is dimensionally stable and eliminates most drywall cracking. As is the case with other nontraditional exterior materials, houses framed with steel can be finished with any exterior material.

Disadvantages: Some builders mistakenly assume that if they're able to build stick houses, they can build steel homes. Although steel framing is similar to traditional or stick framing in the construction process, the construction materials are vastly different, and builders need training to use them correctly.

Timber Framing

What It Is: Timber framing combines handcrafted timbers with time-honored building techniques. The timbers are cut, shaped, and finished, then sent to the building site, where specially trained crews erect the house frame.

Advantages: Timber framing is time-tested; it has been used for more than 600 years and was widely used in Northern Europe before being brought to America. The oldest timber-frame structure in the United States was built in 1637 and remains in use. Timber-frame homes are usually sheathed with stress skin panels, insulated exterior sheathing that carries exceptional insulation value as well as the benefit of quickly enclosing a timber frame from the elements.

Disadvantages: Since few people build with this method, it could be difficult to find someone who's suited to tackle your project.

Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Blocks (AAC)

What They Are: These insulating and lightweight blocks are made from concrete mixed with chemicals that cause it to rise like dough in an oven. The mixture is pressure-cooked until its mass is about 80 percent air.

Advantages: It's virtually as strong as concrete, but lightweight and easy to handle during building. It's time-tested in Europe, where it's been a popular construction method for decades.

Disadvantages: It's expensive-- about 20 percent more than traditional building methods.

Engineered Wood

What It Is: Thin layers of wood are glued together, and then microcured to form large, solid planks and beams.

Advantages: The method offers more dimensional stability than conventional lumber.

Disadvantages: It can cost more than stick building. Early engineered-wood products raised health concerns because of out gassing problems, however, microwave curing has essentially eliminated those.