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Organizing Residential Utilities

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The utility systems in homes - overlapping networks of
pipes, ducts, and wires - frequently thread haphazardly
through the structure, with little planning and even less
dedicated space. Because this tangle of utility systems
is embedded in the building and hidden behind drywall, it
may threaten the structural integrity of the building,
and is difficult to change once a new home is completed.
And yet, changes typically do become necessary at some
point, requiring access to utilities for repair or
remodeling purposes.

"Organizing Residential Utilities: A New Approach to
Housing Quality" is a new report sponsored by the
Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH); a
public-private initiative coordinated by HUD's Office of
Policy Development and Research. The report reviews the
history of 'entanglement' and efforts to sort out utility
systems in keeping with the current state of building and
utility components used in stick-built homes, panelized
construction, modular homes, and manufactured housing.

An in-depth technical analysis of entanglement in housing
investigates how utilities are delivered to the user, how
the home is built, how utilities are installed, and how
people interact with utility systems. The perspectives of
those who are affected by utility design and installation
- both during construction and later in occupancy - are
taken into account. Finally, the report examines barriers
to disentanglement that exist in the marketplace, the
housing industry, and in the individual firm. Recommended
strategies for disentangling utilities that can reduce
cost and increase functionality are outlined and
described.

"Organizing Residential Utilities" is available as a free
download at
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/destech/orgresutil.html

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