- final adjustments to the mods — leveling and securing to foundation
- rough grade around house
- electric service hookup
- plumbing service hookup
- hvac finish out
- cabinets and countertops installed
- standing seam metal roof installed
- fence company to begin install
- walk job w landscaper

If you were to drive by today, you’d see the Brazilian hardwood siding and stucco going up. Please contact me if you’d like the address or if I can answer any questions!

Writes Bryan, “Sometimes we can grow our own businesses success by learning about the ways other companies are succeeding.  This month we learn how local Austin company ma modular has developed a niche market in the housing industry by applying the fundamentals of business to succeed.”

To read the entire article, click here or past the link below in to your browser address bar:

http://bryanonbusiness.com/2010/08/04/a-most-important-housing-start-ma-modular-modern-prefab-homes/

Ways to contact Bryan:

Bryan Kreitz | Main 512.537.9509 | Mobile 303.570.6076 | Mail: bryan@kreitzltd.com  | Web: bryanonbusiness.com

On Friday, the Ford house left the Palm-Harbor Discovery Plant on two flat-bed trucks and arrived at its home on Ford St in SW Austin. According to ma modular’s general contractor, Jerry Fryer, “It was a game of inches.” To clear the power lines, the crane was backed in to the neighbor’s driveway and the mods were driven up onto the front yard of the Ford house lot. Then the crane lifted each mod one by one onto the foundation, clearing the power lines by an inch and a half! Jerry’s team worked cautiously but confidently during the seven hour “set.” Next step: utility hookup and site-work finish.

1. Crane Setup

2. Tight Squeeze

3. Rigging the 60′ Mod

4. Bedroom Module and Connector

5. Starting to Set the Last Module

6. Close to Touchdown

7. Ford House Set!

Take advantage of the opportunity to walk through one or more of KRDB’s home plans during the below “Screening in the Park” event.

SOL Austin, Screening in the Park – Sept 2

Join SOL Austin and ma modular for a screening of SOL on a new DIY Network TV show called “This New House” (from the producers of This Old House).

Time:  Sept 2 (Thursday) at 7:30pm.   Location: Central Park at SOL.   RSVP @ amy@mamodular.com.

We’ll watch the episode together on an outdoor movie screen in the park. Refreshments will be provided and one or more of the SOL houses will be open for touring. Please RSVP @ amy@mamodular.com.

“Absolutely amazing to see someone’s home being built in that fashion.  So much more effective/efficient.  Not only for the clients, and the sake of the home, but for the construction crew, as well.  Seemed they were able to work in a more narrowly focused effort to achieve one common goal.” – Austin Aaron, Red Home Realty | The Good Life

The photos below show the progression of the home down the assembly line. Here are a few notable differences between site built homes and factory built homes:

• With site built homes, the shell is built first and then all the interior work is done in order to protect the inside of the home from the elements. Because the ma modular homes are built inside, they can be built in a more streamlined and cost effective fashion – from the inside out! For example, once the floor is built, plumbing is run and all the showers, tubs and stools are set in place. Then the bathroom is built around them.

• In the factory, wood frame walls are built horizontally in one long section on top of a large table. The slabs of wood are set equal distances apart and nailed in place, creating a straighter, stronger wall. A crane then picks up the whole wall section and sets it in place. On site, the builder holds up and each 2×4 or 2×6 separately and nails it into place.

• Factory built homes produce much less waste. Homes in factories produce, on average, 1 dumpster of trash/scrap for every 3 houses versus on-site construction which can produce several dumpsters of trash for 1 house. Also, shorter build times equal less resource usage and expense.

This Tuesday, one week after going into production, the Ford House will be ready for delivery.

Step 2 – Site Reconnaissance.
Three surveys are required at the beginning of any new construction project:

• Boundary Survey - identifies boundary setbacks and easements (utility, private, joint-use easements, etc).
• Tree and Topography Survey - shows tree placement and property slope. Tree: It’s important to consider how you might affect the trees on a lot and how they might affect the house design. Important considerations are root structure, canopy and species. Certain species of trees are protected within the City of Austin, and permits/approval is required prior to removal, if necessary. Topo: Property slope can be deceptive — there’s usually more fall or drop to a “flat” lot than you think. It’s important to take grade into consideration when designing a house. The difference between the grade and the finished floor can equal more materials which can equal a higher cost.
• Geotechnical Survey -  to determine what kind of soil the property has and how far it is to bedrock. Rock is the best, most stable surface on which to build and clay is one of the least stable. The geotech engineer will dig two or three holes to a certain depth or until he hits rock, whichever comes first. If he hits rock, typically no other testing is required. But if he doesn’t hit rock, then a soil sample is taken and analyzed in a lab to determine its makeup. The results of the geotech survey are critical to knowing what kind of foundation to design to support the house.

Step 3 – Foundation and Plan Set Finalized
The Ford House will be a 3 bed/2 bath 1500 sq ft H-shaped plan, like the Luna House in East Austin. A 36′ mod and a 60′ mod will be joined together by a Connector. The lot is long and narrow so that our clients will enjoy an ample front yard and a large private backyard. Usually, by this point, we’d have both the house and the foundation plan finalized; however, we ran into a snag that’s is rare in general, but apparently fairly common in parts of SW Austin — the Geotechnical Survey came back inconclusive. In some places, the excavator hit rock at 24″ but in other places he didn’t hit it at all. This could mean that the rock under the property has holes in it. So more extensive excavation needs to be done to determine what kind of foundation will work best. When we start digging the foundation (this afternoon!), the Geotech Engineer will be on site to provide consultation.

Step 4 – Building Permit
One of the most common questions we receive is whether the permitting process for modular homes is different than site built homes. It isn’t. In this case, the process has taken a bit longer than the typical two weeks because of an anomaly. At one time the Ford lot had a house on it. When the house was torn down by the previous owner, he/she forgot to close out the demolition permit. The new owner (our client) had to reapply for a new demo permit and then close it out. Good thing we applied for the building permit early!

Step 5 – Site Work Phase 1
While the home is being built at Palm Harbor-Discovery, ma modular will be working with our partner general contractor, Jerry Fryer, to kick off the first phase of site work, which includes:

1. Identifying the location of the house on the lot with corner stakes.
2. Contacting One Call Board of Texas to identify and mark all the utilities with spray paint and/or flags (http://www.onecalltexas.com/purpose.html).
3. Start digging!

Looking forward to the manufacturing plant visit next week. Thanks to all who responded – we’ll be in touch soon!

Photo: Staked and ready to go…

• Ford (a single-family home in SW Austin) – Construction begins next week at our partner manufacturing plant, Palm Harbor-Discovery, here in Austin.
• Ruth (a secondary home on a single lot in NW Austin) – Design Phase 1 of 2 is complete. The owners chose a “dog trot” configuration, where the Kitchen/Living/Dining module is separated from the Bedroom module by a screened in porch, which opens up the home to pleasant North/South breezes.
• Bluebonnet (a single-family home in SW Austin) – Design Phase 1 of 2 is complete. The owners chose a 2 story L-shaped plan. The second story “L” is cantilevered and the end rests on a 2-stall garage. The space underneath provides ample space for storage and a screened-in gathering area.
• Flite Acres (a getaway home on the Blanco River in Wimberley) – Design Phase 1 kicked off this week! The owners just finished closing on the river-front property that will serve as their vacation home. Looking forward to the next scouting trip

Photo updates will be coming soon!

http://tribeza.com/component/content/article/213.html

An excerpt from the article: “KRDB’s primary mission is to make design more accessible, both financially and intellectually. Most people have a limited amount they can allocate to their monthly housing costs. First, find a neighborhood/community that puts you within arm’s length of as many of the components of your life as possible. This may require a premium, but most often can be offset by savings in areas such as time and transit. Then, when it comes to the house, think quality, not quantity. The average American house has doubled in size in the last fifty years—totally unnecessary. A well-designed 1,500 square foot house will live twice its size. When it comes to what goes into the house, first invest in the items that will make your home perform more efficiently, for a longer period of time (good windows, high efficiency HVAC, etc.) then if there is money left, put it in the ‘bling’.”

Chris’ primary businesses, KRDB Architects and Ma Modular, are both set up to help clients achieve the above goal. Clients can opt to design a custom home with KRDB or start with the Ma Modular “building blocks” to design a high quality modern home for approximately 1/2 the cost of designing a home from scratch. KRDB’s custom homes are typically site built, whereas the Ma Modular homes are built using a cutting edge modular home building system centered on efficiency, sustainability and affordability. Consultants at KRDB are available to talk through the advantages and practicalities of both methods to help you decide which route is best for you.