Making the choice to integrate the Harvest Homes panelized building system into your project management means more than just changing suppliers. Panelization brings much more to the process and in so doing absorbs some of the actions that you performed. Many of these actions were necessary and accepted, but they have time and expense associated with them. Let’s explore how Harvest Homes can help your business.
It’s a process. The process begins with putting on paper the customer’s idea of their new home. The budget drives the plans and specifications. Whether our design services, an outside design professional, or your staff, Harvest Homes begins with the creation of an estimate based on those plans and specifications.
Material Management
Our estimators use a system that quantifies components and assemblies rather than pieces and parts. We don’t have a materials list per se, and that is the first indication of how building with panels is different.
Value engineering is used to optimize framing in the floor and wall panels and roof trusses. These assemblies are delivered complete. As opposed to a lumber list that involves a waste factor, there will not be leftover materials that are returned, carried to the next job, or dropped in a dumpster or burn pile.
And then there is the potential impact of roof trusses. There are many types of roof trusses that serve different functions. Most residential applications can be accommodated with trusses that are supported only on the two exterior walls. This benefits design by simplifying interior support for roof structure (bearing points, beams or collar ties).
Direct Labor Savings
In the past, framing crews were managed by experienced master carpenters who could frame a house quickly. The Harvest Homes team provides similar benefits of quality and speed, ensuring that the structure meets or exceeds the building code. Panels also remove the need for on-going site supervision to achieve the same goals. How fast?
- Install floor decks at a rate of up to 1000 square feet per hour.
- Install exterior walls at a rate of up to 100 lineal feet per hour; interior partitions at a rate of up to 100 lineal feet per hour.
- Windows arrive tacked in their opening.
- Roof trusses save time vs. ridge and rafters.
Overhead & Admin Savings
Panel and truss assemblies and the Harvest Homes delivery service generate savings that may or may not be accounted for in project expenses.
Hard costs generate paperwork and bookkeeping time. Dumpster and landfill permit costs can be cut by 15%-65%i No need to pay for wet cardboard in the trash! Savings can also be realized on lull or other material handling equipment during delivery — Floor and wall panels are delivered on flat-bed trailers ready for lifting by our crane and delivering to the respective installation point.
Soft costs are realized in travel time, mileage and fuel. These hidden expenses can save up to $15ki. All of the lumber isSoft costs to manage materials range from loss due to damage, methods used to protect materials from the elements, labor to sort through bundles, etc. Variance expense due to changes can also be reduced because the design process comes first, saving on extra materials, time and trips.
Margin Building
Broader savings are gained in your company operations. Our team is an extension of yours, providing guaranteed estimates, a 10-year structural warranty through Residential Warranty Corp. (RWC), and a single supplier for lumber, windows, doors, roofing… one purchase to process. The Harvest Homes’ production and design staff catch structural issues before they show up on site. The issues that a project superintendent must remedy on the site are resolved before the panels arrive reducing hidden overhead for rework prior to closing.
In addition to all these benefits of building with Harvest Homes is the fact that you may be able to build two or more new homes per year with the same crew! This fact is supported by studies completed by the Structural Building Components Association (SBCA).
Join the Harvest Homes family and realize your new margins!
i Figures from “On-Site vs. Off-Site A Total Cost Analysis”, by Scott Sedam, Contributing Editor, Professional Builder, published May 2019