The Hoboken Cafe 

I’ve been noticing a growing trend in condo construction around town – the substitution of aluminum stud where wood or concrete was the usual material.

I understand that aluminum stud is cheaper and maybe easier to work with. But until recently, the only place I’ve seen it is in commercial tenant improvement work. The words I associate here are “low expense” and “temporary.”

But is it any good for residential construction – especially a residence that one would buy with a 30-year mortgage? Again, it’s cheaper but my guess is that the cost savings won’t be passed on to the buyer. I’m also thinking that aluminum will conduct noise much better than wood making the place much noisier. In short, I’m seeing much more downside than upside.

What comes to mind are those TV exposé’s about people who buy houses and find cracked slabs and roofs that separate from the walls in 30 mph winds.

Of course I could be completely wrong. But I am curious. Any, um, resident authorities on this out there?

I thought maybe at first this was a good post that should have been under Luv N Stuff.... LOL!

You may be on to something. If my suspicions turn out to be correct, certain new home owners may feel that they've been on the receiving end of some good hard "lovin'."