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March 12, 2005 Foundation Bid & Corrections
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Permits
We picked up our correction sheet from the building inspector on the 8th. Most of the required corrections will merely require a notation on the plans. Anyway, we already talked with the county building inspector about each line item and forwarded the information to the engineers and Irontown Homes. I hope we'll have corrected blueprints by the end of next week.
Here's our correction sheet and our response that we sent to Irontown.
When I picked up the corrections from the Building & Safety office, I asked the plan checker if she could please review the agency referral list to make sure we (meaning she) didn't miss anything. We were a little more than upset that the plan checker didn't tell us about the Fuel Modification Department when we submitted our plans. Sure enough, she forgot to check the library department. We quickly submitted paperwork to the libary department and we received our clearance from them the very next day. So that was no big deal.
We're still waiting for approval from:
- Sanitation Dept.
- Building & Safety
- Fire Department
- Forestry Division
- California State Aprrovals (for the modular structure)
Foundation
We've been waiting for our first bid for the foundation for some time and it finally came in. We budgeted only $15,000 for the foundation and the bid came back with a $27,930 price tag. On the cover sheet of the fax was a remark that if we reduced our footing depth we could save substantially. Hmm, I don't think it was understood that we are required to have those footing size. It is 6' below grade and 1'6" above grade , by the way.
I'm trying not to get upset about this. Here's what we're planning to do about the quote:
- We're getting more bids, of course. I submitted our project to The Contractors Blue Book and invited more bids. In addition, our project is at Santa Clarita Builders Exchange, which is a local plan room.
- Part of the bid included a $3440 item for grading & recompaction of the soil. Our contractor, David's generous employer, volunteered to do this for us free of charge just in case the bid came back too high. All we would have to do is rent the equipment. Our contractor is doing this job for us free of charge already.
- We're going to reappraise the house to see if we can get a higher loan amount.
I've realized that building on our site is actually very difficult. We've had to deal with several nearby faults, flood zone requirements, strict sanitation guidelines for our septic system and excessive fire/forestry department requirements in order to build. On top of this, we have to deal with the strict codes from LA County and the state. This is one reason it's so expensive to build in so cal.
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Fasttrack
Mark,
I should have elaborated earlier why we didn't go with Fasttrack Anchorpanel. I really liked it but there were a number of factors that lead us down a different road.
First of all, the engineer of the product, Michael Butler, discouraged us from using his product. He thought that we could find a less costly solution for our situation. He said that Anchorpanel is really designed for HUD homes but when I told him about our scour depths he thought that it would be worth a try to investigate the cost. We called a few companies who are authorized to install Anchorpanel and they gave us a quote somewhere around our budgeted amount... Somewhere along the way we assumed that a poured concrete foundation would be less expensive.
Secondly, when we started the engineering process, we were told by Irontown that the engineers' job was to find the least expensive option for our foundation. We really didn't know exactly what type of foundation we would end up with. So, we let the engineers decide and we ended up with a poured concrete foundation.
The other problem with using Fasttrack was that we are required to have 12" thick footings (although David's trying to get it down to 8") and we would have to prove that the Fasttrack was as strong as 12" of concrete. Since we were trying to get through engineering and plan check asap, we chose the traditional route. Also, our contractor is familiar with concrete and Fasttrack is a new technology.
I hope that answers your question. We'll never know if Fasttrack would have been cheaper or better since we're pursuing a concrete type.
Sara
Another problem with Anchorpanel...
was that we would have had to trench out the footings and set the modules in place before the footings were poured. Since we have very sandy soil, it's was highly probable that the trenches would collapse. We were certain that doing things in this order would be very risky. This was actually the main reason we didn't go with Anchorpanel.
hmmm
Where the rubber hits the road in construction is where things really start getting interesting. This sort of hashing out of things as bids come in is always enlightening. I understand the sandy soil concerns, but I know it is possible (from the fastack website) to install the foundation panels prior to delivery and setting of the modules. It entailed something along the line of "hanging" the panels from some temporary 2x construction, then back filling with concrete, then when the concrete had set the modules could be installed as they would be on a concrete foundation. As far as the engineer designing the least expensive foundation system, I'm sure that is solely based on systems the engineer knows well, ie, concrete, CMU, etc. I'm almost certain that process wouldn't entail fairly "new" technologies, which isn't to say they wouldn't be able to put them in the running if they were shown the new systems and could adequately weigh in on their costs.
Thanks for the updates. Keep 'em coming.
Mark
hud units, different process
I think Mark is right. I recall both methods shown on the web site. I think for the manufactured homes it made sense for the trailer to be rolled in, then the foundation walls hung from the perimeter and the footings poured into the trench. It is a different setting sequence than modular.
I think you did the right thing in terms of permitting. Educating the plan examiner about a new system could become a delay.
Fasttrack
Mark, you are absolutely right about engineers and their "repertoire" of technology.
I also recall that the Anchorpanels can be assembled before the modules are set. However, there is a dearth of contractors in our area that are experienced enough with the technology to do it this way. As it was, we only had referrals from Fasttrack for two different contractors.
We also looked into do a precast foundation. But since we've already engineered the house for a traditional reinforced poured concrete type, it's too late to reconsider our options. It's a pity since I think if we had more time, we could have found a less expensive and better solution. Everything we've engineered in the house will have to stay.
Greg, you're probably right that pursuing a more traditional foundation is easier. I appreciate the input from both parties. I'm second guessing everything we've done so far (especially as regards the foundation) and it's good to get some feedback.
Sara
foundation
Sara,
What ever came of those really nifty foundations panels that you were looking into last fall?
http://www.fasttrackfoundations.com/
I thought that seemed an ideal application for your project, but maybe there were simply too many demands placed on the engineeringg fo the foundation based on your souls, the scour depth, and the LA county permitting demands.
Mark