Assembly instructions
This is how our factory-built house will come together. There will be 15 wall panels, three floor panels (one framed on-site) and three roof panels. Easy peasy — alan key not required.
Ikea would be proud...
3 tools to help us stay organized
Binder (above) and OmniPlan timeline (below)
In order for us to successfully GC our house build we’ve got to be mega organized. We’re getting there. We have assembled three key tools:
- The binder — our physical catch-all for anything and everything house related. Quotes, invoices, business cards, drawings — you name it.
- The project plan — we’re using OmniPlan for the project scheduling — to help us visualize tasks and timelines with its fancy dance Gantt charts
- The master budget spreadsheet — we’re not just using any old spreadsheet here — our spreadsheet is on steroids. Mark has created a user-friendly and powerful Filemaker database. It keeps track of all quotes and costs, compares numbers against our budgeted numbers and will act as our main digital repository.
There may not be a hole in the ground yet, but we’re getting the ducks lined up so that we can *hopefully* hit the ground running once we get a green light.
GC’ing our own home
It's not a Meghan and Mark blog unless awkward photos are involved
You may have noticed that our site has been rather silent over the past month. That’s because we have been contemplating and figuring out how exactly we are going to build it, and equally importantly, how we are going to pay for it. After much deliberation, we have decided that we are going to take on the general contractor (GC) role of our build. It’s not something we were that keen to take on, seeing how are lives are more than busy as-is, but we see it as our only choice. It is the one thing that will dramatically cut costs for us (by at least 25%—if we don't screw it up). While we appreciate the service and value that a real General Contractors can bring to a job, it’s just not in the cards for us. Besides, we like to get our hands dirty.
It will be an invaluable learning experience for Mark, as the architect. Speaking of acquiring new skills as an architect, he has also taken it upon himself to draw up the structural panels that determine how our house will come together using a panelized pre-fabricated system. This is the step that has been stalling us and is what the city has been waiting for. Our house is deceivingly complicated and was causing some trouble for our builder. Rather than wait, Mark ploughed ahead. It was a worthy exercise to undertake by the sounds of things. Understanding the structure and where each and every truss is, he can see that moving a window half an inch to the left means that the house becomes significantly easier to build. He can then adjust the design accordingly. Neat stuff. Hopefully he’ll write about this.
So there you have it. We are the builders. Our blog will become ever the more fascinating. Now that the structural is near-complete, we should have everything the city requires for permit by the end of the week. We’re starting to get excited again.
In for permit
Whoot!
Model house
What started out as a fun little project for our daughter has into something...more elaborate. Mark has had nothing to do with this one. I think it's a result of "I just want to get started already" frustration and the fact that, right now at least, the build is completely out of my control. A cardboard house is something I have control over (with my daughter's supervision, of course).
The house factory: an adventure in pre-fab
We took the kids to check out the "house factory" yesterday, aka Green Giant Design Build's assembly shop, which is just outside of Picton. The owner, Adam, is just putting the final touches on it. It will be up and running this spring and our house will be one of the first off the line.
The basic shell of our house will be made in Adam’s factory, loaded on to a truck, and assembled on-site in a matter of days (vs. weeks using traditional construction techniques). There are some major benefits to be had by going this route, not the least of which is cost.
All the building stuff is very cool, but I’ll let Mark or Adam discuss it in more detail as construction approaches.
Meanwhile, I’ll tell you a bit about the factory building itself. Adam’s shop is tucked inside an old airplane hangar that was once part of a WWII Army Barracks. The whole scene is surreal. Row upon row of identical, weathered, old, shingle-clad buildings – all of which are now commercially rented out, though you would never know to look at them. It looks like a ghost town. Inside the airplane hangar was a treasure trove of random objects like: the Niagara Falls fire truck, pair of Airstream trailers and heating ducts from a cement factory. So very bizarre and fascinating. Take a look at the pics.
