The Alley House uses a system of framing known as advance framing. This is a building technique used to optimize material usage by using 2×6 at 24” on center, compared to traditional framing of 2x4s at 16” on center. This makes better use of typical sheathing sizes resulting in less waste and labor. This larger spacing also allows for larger insulation cavities and less opportunities for thermal bridging though the studs.

The Alley House also uses another framing system for the floor system known as truss joist I-joist (TGIs). This is an engineered truss which consists of a top and bottom flange connected by an OSB web resembling a common steel beam. This type of floor joist uses 50% less wood than a traditional floor joist. TGIs are also pre-manufactured resulting in better quality control.

The roof truss of the Alley House takes advantage of a system called a raised heel truss. This system is like most trusses with one major difference. At the end of the slop of most trusses the top and bottom chord are connected. A raised heal truss is where a piece of blocking (the heel) is inserted between the top and bottom chord to allow more insulation to be placed where it could not be before.