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Modular factory
- Thread starter cda
- Start date
Keystone
SAWHORSE
This is big business already, companies such as DeluxeModular with numerous projects primarily completed in the NE states to larger companies like KATERRA are changing the site built world for buildings. Many countries around the world currently build this way. On the other end of the spectrum I’m hearing of a fair amount of small homes such as B & B Micro being factory built built by pop up companies in attempts to meet IRC or marketed as cabin/get away homes depending on state regulations.
Several companies such as Toll Bros use panelized construction which is beneficial in reducing time. Frankly IMO the only limiting factor of resistance to full factory builds by some national residential builders to go full tilt factory is the stigma behind it. The consumers lack of understanding controlled environment but more to the point living in a 500K - 1.5M trailer home.
Our jobs will also evolve with this market as well, factory building inspectors for code compliance. A factory inspector will have the ability to handle a greater volume of inspections per day. Add to this type of factory inspection is in my opinion the perfect way to incorporate remote/virtual inspections!
Several companies such as Toll Bros use panelized construction which is beneficial in reducing time. Frankly IMO the only limiting factor of resistance to full factory builds by some national residential builders to go full tilt factory is the stigma behind it. The consumers lack of understanding controlled environment but more to the point living in a 500K - 1.5M trailer home.
Our jobs will also evolve with this market as well, factory building inspectors for code compliance. A factory inspector will have the ability to handle a greater volume of inspections per day. Add to this type of factory inspection is in my opinion the perfect way to incorporate remote/virtual inspections!
The town that I grew up in had a modular factory. It is ninety miles from Chicago and apartment buildings flowed to the windy city. There are advantages to being indoors with a controlled environment. Work could go on 24/7. The disruption to the community that surrounds the ultimate destination for the building is dramatically reduced. Material shrinkage is near zero and the waste is 100% recycled.
When I was still working in construction one of the headaches was the workforce. Every next job was new subcontractors and new carpenters. I would be sent to a town and have to hire a crew. I hated that. The subs were always the low bidder chosen by the home office and the applicants for the crew might be competent....or maybe not but what you got was....what you got.
There's still plenty that can't be done in a factory... and I couldn't work in a factory but given a factory that can pump out houses, apartment buildings, shopping centers .... many labor problems evaporate.
Here in California the State inspects habitable factory built structures. The two halves of a building show up with a plaque attesting to the fact that the thing passed inspection. I haven't been involved with many but I can tell you that contractors whine when given a correction for the smallest of things. A recent example did not have an electrical jumper between the cold and hot water pipes at the water heater. It rained emails about that stating that I can't make them change anything that was approved at the factory. A foot of wire and two clamps at a tank-less water heater was a sticking point for some CEO at a factory. The guy CCd a President, Vice President, CAO, a production manager, my immediate supervisor and his. I replied with four words, one being “please”. I received a one word reply.
Years ago I had dozens of modular buildings being used as dormitories at a university. There was a four story dormitory under construction and not ready for occupancy; yet the school year was upon us. The electrical was a mess. They argued ....sort of....They told me that the State sticker trumps me. I offered to summon the State in for a chat and a look see. After I caused them to replace many sub-panels I realized that the State approval was completely void. Well they were safer than when they got here and would be safer where they were going .....so I did my thing and didn't give it another thought.
A word to the wise, it can't hurt to take a look....you will be putting your name on the permit and that gives you the authority to inspect and write corrections. When they tell you that they will not remove a panel board dead-front, explain how the Edison Co. works. ..... what with you having the key to that account and all.
When I was still working in construction one of the headaches was the workforce. Every next job was new subcontractors and new carpenters. I would be sent to a town and have to hire a crew. I hated that. The subs were always the low bidder chosen by the home office and the applicants for the crew might be competent....or maybe not but what you got was....what you got.
There's still plenty that can't be done in a factory... and I couldn't work in a factory but given a factory that can pump out houses, apartment buildings, shopping centers .... many labor problems evaporate.
Here in California the State inspects habitable factory built structures. The two halves of a building show up with a plaque attesting to the fact that the thing passed inspection. I haven't been involved with many but I can tell you that contractors whine when given a correction for the smallest of things. A recent example did not have an electrical jumper between the cold and hot water pipes at the water heater. It rained emails about that stating that I can't make them change anything that was approved at the factory. A foot of wire and two clamps at a tank-less water heater was a sticking point for some CEO at a factory. The guy CCd a President, Vice President, CAO, a production manager, my immediate supervisor and his. I replied with four words, one being “please”. I received a one word reply.
Years ago I had dozens of modular buildings being used as dormitories at a university. There was a four story dormitory under construction and not ready for occupancy; yet the school year was upon us. The electrical was a mess. They argued ....sort of....They told me that the State sticker trumps me. I offered to summon the State in for a chat and a look see. After I caused them to replace many sub-panels I realized that the State approval was completely void. Well they were safer than when they got here and would be safer where they were going .....so I did my thing and didn't give it another thought.
A word to the wise, it can't hurt to take a look....you will be putting your name on the permit and that gives you the authority to inspect and write corrections. When they tell you that they will not remove a panel board dead-front, explain how the Edison Co. works. ..... what with you having the key to that account and all.
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Msradell
SAWHORSE
Actually, this technology has been around for quite a while. When I was growing up just outside of fracture do you work they built a 360 room Marriott Hotel from modules that they trucked in. The modules are made about 25 miles away in a factory. At th8t time the factory was quite busy making modules for multiple projects. They were located on a railroad track so they brought in most of the run materials by train to save shipping costs.
The room modules came in completely wired and plumbed and even had the furnishings in the rooms.
Not sure what happened to that place of the long term because I moved out of the area. I do know that the hotel is still there and still looks great!
The room modules came in completely wired and plumbed and even had the furnishings in the rooms.
Not sure what happened to that place of the long term because I moved out of the area. I do know that the hotel is still there and still looks great!
Mr. Inspector
SAWHORSE
Did a development of modular apartment buildings. I noticed the A and B accessible apartments did not comply to accessibility codes. This was suppose to be inspected at the factory. Things like pocket doors where blocking for grab bars are suppose to be, thermostats too high, round door nobs, egress door maneuvering space problems, etc. I am not suppose to inspect what was done at the factory but I did report it to PA L&I and I herd the factory inspector lost his certification and was fired but they could not be made to fix the problems..
they could not be made to fix the problems.
Did anyone try to make them fix the problems? It seems to me that had the State inspector caught the violations at the factory, the work would have been complete at that time. The inspector wouldn't know about a round door knob until there was a round door knob installed. An egress maneuvering space problem should have been caught at plan check and the same with the pocket doors but there would have been a fix at that time that could be implemented after the fact.
I hear excuses for things like this that include the cost and they try to shift the blame to the inspector. I can't help but think, "You were the engineer when the train wrecked." "It's your train to fix."
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had the furnishings in the rooms.
And the TV remote control was screwed to a night stand.
Mr. Inspector
SAWHORSE
Everything I mentioned was done at the factory including the door nobs. I can not inspect something that already passed at the factory. There is a different certification for inspectors in a factory that I don't have. Local governments are required to enforce the PA codes. I don't think the state has the power to make them change something that was already approved by a certified inspector. I never passed the final inspections because of the things they did on site. They built steps to all the buildings instead of ramps. No hand rails. The stairways to the second floor apartments only had 36" high guards instead of 42" high (that were built on site but supplied by the factory). The rear patio's for the B units where 3 steps down from the floor. Plans did not show that the first floor floors where higher than grade. It was about 10 years ago so don't remember everything that was wrong. I did not do the plan review. People were already moving in without a C. O. Thank god I moved on to a different area with a different inspection company before this mess was straitened out and never knew the outcome.
Paul Sweet
SAWHORSE
The most interesting modular building I have seen is the Palacio del Rio Hilton hotel in San Antonio. It was built in 7 months or so to be ready for Hemisfair in 1968. The rooms were precast concrete, cast offsite, plumbed, wired, furnished, then trucked to the site and lifted into place. They used a helicopter tail rotor to keep the rooms from rotation while they were being lifted.
https://www.sanantoniouncovered.com/2014/01/the-building-of-hilton-palacio-del-rio.html
https://www.sanantoniouncovered.com/2014/01/the-building-of-hilton-palacio-del-rio.html