Panelization brings improved Quality to Building

While quality has long been critical for upscale custom home builders, both for them and for production builders the pursuit of building the best quality home has never been more important for an increasing number of reasons.

More Competition, More Choices – With the new buyer’s market, potential home purchasers have more choice of products, greater negotiating power when pursuing their chosen home.

Resale Value – As homebuyers are staying put less and moving much more, the average home stay is less than 7 years, resale value is a key concern to a potential home buyer.

Legal Liability - The dramatic increase in entrepreneurial plaintiff attorneys, actively pursuing direct mail and other methods to generate quality based lawsuits have dramatically increased rework, call backs and schedule delays.

J.D. Power and Branding – Most major production builders now compete actively for the “Quality Brand” and for the top J.D. Power Rating.

How Panelization Dramatically Improves Quality – Through the use of Panelization in construction of homes and multi-family units, builders can greatly increase the quality actually delivered in the final product.

CAD - All quality Panelized product requires CAD be performed prior to production of the panel packages. The Panel producer should then produce a 3d model of the structure for review allowing:

• The identification of design errors/conflicts prior to any site construction activity, rather than on the fly during the course of construction. This assumes the errors would even have been identified during the course of traditional construction; this is often not the case.
  
• Both Architectural and Structural details are implemented in detail, down to individual nail placement, and should include HVAC and plumbing subcontractors. Their chases and installations can be better accommodated through forward planning using the 3d model.
  

Kiln Dried and Engineered Lumber – The best producers utilized KD lumber for all panels, integrating as much engineered lumber as possible including I Joists for floor panels.

These produces are produced in exact dimension and do not dry in the wall or floor. Green lumber changes shape as it dries, ensuring nail popping, walls that warp an other problems that dramatically reduce the quality of the finished home. KD and engineered lumber have none of these problems and provide an exact dimension and a straight wall. Though both KD and Engineered lumber are a bit more expensive, efficient panel producers buy in such quantity and produce much less waste (3-6% rather than 18-22% on the jobsite), the actual delivered cost of better quality material for use in production is actually less costly.

Controlled Environment and Precise Production/CAM – By producing panels in a controlled environment to precise tolerances, the panels delivered are exactly as specified. The best results are achieved when the panels are produced using CAM (computer aided manufacture). Maximizing the use of automation ensures that the panes are produced exactly to the CAD designs approved by the project team, down to exact nail positioning, nail penetration and window opening. Optimally machines (rather than carpenters) should cut the lumber packs, do the actual framing, place and nail the sheathing, cut the window and door opening, and install the windows in the panels. Sheathing or Sheetrock should be installed on all panels (wall or floor) to ad value and (more importantly) ensure there is no racking of the panel during shipment or installation. If this approach is specified, it is possible to produce a 30’ long panel with sheathing and windows to a tolerance of a millimeter or two down it’s length.

Quality Promised, Quality Delivered - Panels produced following these guidelines provide product that provide;

• Reduced inconsistency of on-site skilled and unskilled labor
• Precise nailing and structural integrity
• Window and door openings exact with no shimming required, installed in a controlled environment and flashed with consistency.
• Each panel is coded for proper order in loading to install per plan layout
• Records are kept to any future investigation of plan compliance
• Speed of setting panels onsite reduces exposure to the elements
• Panel consistency reduces errors by other trade contractors
• Finish work of other trade contractors can be predictably consistent
• Respected brand products are used in the factory production process, with the manufacture’s warranty passed on to the buyer where possible

Quality in Homebuilding will determine the successful builders in the future…!

Green Building and Panelization - For Builder Architect Magazine
Responsible Value Delivered

As Green Building is becoming more mainstream and even recognized as an amenity by home buyers, it is becoming easier for builders to go Green. As a result of their processes, Panel producers are in a position to provide a Green product at little or no increased cost to the Builder.

Panel producers are Going Green in the factory, through two main areas; products integrated into the final panels and their own factory processes. In selecting the raw materials to be used in panel construction, Panel producers can easily select Green suppliers for most of their requirements;

• Framing Lumber – at no significant increase in cost, lumber can be sourced from mills that are certified by either Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). This ensures that the mill and it’s suppliers “integrate the perpetual growing and harvesting of trees with the protection of wildlife, plants, soil, water and air quality”.
• Engineered Lumber - Through increase use of Engineered Lumber, not only can panelized firms deliver increased quality (see my last months column on Kiln Dried and Engineered Lumber for details), Engineered Lumber uses smaller diameter and recycled material that in past times may have gone into a landfill. Engineered Lumber also reduces the need for large diameter trees to yield 4x or 6x headers and beams (replaced by Glulams or Timberstrand/LSLs), as well as for 2x12 floor joists (replaces by I Joists).
• Oriented Strand Board (OSB) Sheathing – Through the use of OSB in wall and roof sheathing, a increase in the use of small diameter trees and recycled material is realized without a decrease in performance. PS2 rated OSB is an accepted substitute for APA rated Plywood for walls and roofs and delivers the Green solution.
• Caulk, Sealants and Sub-floor adhesives – Low and no VOC products are available from many suppliers such as Henkel/OSI and others, in these areas. Though sold at a small premium, there is no degradation in performance and a significant improvement in “in factory” VOCs.
• Zinc-Borate LSL Sill Plate – Through the sue of Engineered LSL – Zinc Borate Treated Sill Plate in wood to concrete applications, the need for use of Hot Dipped Galvanized anchor bolts, all thread rod, nails and seismic hardware is reduced or eliminated. This removes the need for a components of the building system that requires a significant environmental impact in the manufacturing process – hot dip galvanizing. This reduces emissions and increased workplace safety.

In their internal processes, Panel producers can deliver Green in many ways, including:

• Zero Waste – Through optimization software used with framing lumber, to innovative use of sheathing material excess, Floor and Wall Panel producers can reduce the waste generated in producing a structure to less than 3%, which (the 3% waste) is then sold for uses such as horse paddock flooring and other manufacturing processes that use chipped or similar material. This is a dramatic improvement over the 15% to 22% waste we see on the jobsite, that all ultimately goes into landfills and creates a jobsite hazard in the mean time.
• Kiln Dried Lumber and Engineered – Through the use of these plum, square and level produces, gaps are reduced and eliminated, providing a much superior building envelope with significantly lower air flow through the structure perimeter.
• Sill and Panel Join Sealer – Through the use of a sealing strip between the walls and either the raised floor or foundation, as well as between panels as they are placed, the building envelope seal is greatly increased. In combination of the use of KD Lumber and Engineered (see above) the Panel producers in Europe have been able to achieve a standard of Zero Air Penetration at a 50 mile and hour wind.
• Sawdust Capture and Recycle – Sawdust generated in the production process can be captured and recycled as well, eliminating landfill space as well as air borne particulates.
• Packaging – The wood used to protect the panel packages in transit can be fully used during the backing and in fill frame portion of the construction process, eliminating the need to send packaging waste to landfills.
  
  Working with a responsible panel producer allows the builder to represent to the city or county that they are committed to the community ands the environment, without increasing costs. The smart builder will also integrate the Green approach into their marketing material as presented to the ultimate home buyer. Form more information see www.formahomes.com and click on the Green Building link.