As I mentioned in a recent post, the Ford House goes into production this week. You may be thinking, wait a minute! That’s Step 6. What happened to Steps 2-5? You’re absolutely right. Here’s a summary of what has transpired since Site Orientation:
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:
- Identifying the location of the house on the lot with corner stakes.
- 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).
- 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…
