Panels/kit versus modular

We are considering building a home (first time) in an urban infill area of metro-Washington,DC.  I have some questions that I hope someone like Greg can answer, as well as anyone who have have gone through a similar process or considered the same options.

I like and appreciate the design of the EcoContempo plans, and the benefits of the steel construction.  However, in looking at other solutions (Hive Modular, Wieler, MKD) that are fully finished homes delivered to the site, that approach (prefab modular) seems in many ways to be a lower-risk and more optimal solution, because:
a. Less time is spent on site work, so more work is done in the factory, which should be more efficient/higher-quality.
b. The home (and site work in the case of Hive and Wieler) is delivered as a fixed cost, so the risk of overruns and the number of unkowns seems greatly reduced.
c. The potential for concurrent work on the site and in the factory seems greater.
d. There seems to be a lower requirement for oversight by the homeowner and/or a general contractor.

For a first-time home builder, there is great appeal to the "turnkey" approach, from a risk/security perspective.

Some questions for Greg (and others):

Is there any approach working with an EcoContempo design, that could emulate the fixed-cost fully-finished solutions?

Is there a straightforward way of calculating the finishing costs that would be required, to bring an EcoContempo plan using steel construction (for example the Cube House) to the same level of finish as the other solutions mentioned above?  For example, for a 1800-2000SF 3BR/2BA house.  And the site work?

Has the Cube plan (steel construction) been built on a site yet?

What would be involved in modifying the Cube plan, to eliminate the 3rd level, and potentially integrate a sloped roof?

Thanks in advance,
Don

Hi Don, Thanks for your interest. Everything you have listed regarding a comparison to modular products is true. And for now there is no plan to offer a turn-key solution. This is just the nature of the product - it is assembled on site, and so there is really no other option but to do the finish work on site. A modular product will allow you to do the bulk of the finish work in a factory, but you must choose from the selection of finish options the manufacturer offers. That is not a bad thing, but realize that there has been a lot of feedback that the choices have been too expensive. With EcoSteel the customer makes the choices for the final finishes, and so gets to determine what the total cost will be. You can spend a lot fitting them out, or you can have a fairly raw and industrial interior. But its your choice and you have control. We can't give you a precise way to calculate the total cost because it will depend on the products and materials you choose. But if you contact Chris Graham at Northern he will have more info for you. cgraham@nsteel.com The hope here is that this will appeal more to developers who can tailor the final house to what they see working in the local market. This also allows them to work with the local sub contractors that they have always used - and maintain their business model. Modular is much more disruptive to adopt. So yes, there is more going on onsite but the prefabrication still has clear benefits. The house is assembled on the foundation to completed shell in about 4 weeks. This can easily mean 2-3 months cut off a conventional site built process in order to reach the same point. If you are financing your construction period that can translate into savings in interest. Also when you work with me all of the design cost in the process is rolled into the price of the product, which means you get to finance my services rather than front design charges. As far as the Cube House - no, we have not built one yet. We are working on the first EcoSteel house based on one of my stock plan designs right now, and that is going to be a Plat House. We are always open to modifying one of our stock designs to meet your needs. Greg

Hi Greg,

We are now very close to purchasing land.

A plan like the Cube may be a good fit for the compact lot.

I'm interested in getting some additional detail about the EcoSteel (EcoContempo) building system.  I imagine you would probably know this, but if not, let me know if Chris from NSteel who you previously referred me to would know better.

My questions have to do with the nature of the panel and steel-frame construction.  It looks as though the insulated panels end up also being the interior finish walls, by default.  It also looks like the steel sandwich panels connect directly to the steel framing, with the reverse side of both the panels and steel frame exposed to the interior of the home.  With this design, it seems like there would be a very high potential for transfer of heat both directly through the steel panels (which have a continuous wrap-around layer of steel) and secondarily through the steel frame, which has a direct connection to the steel siding panels.

Do you have any information or insight on whether this is true, or how this issue is handled in the design?  In my layperson's observation, it seems possible that in hot temperatures, the insulation may have little effect, since the steel completely and continuously wraps the insulation, potentially allowing direct heat transfer.

Also, do you have any insight on whether homes built with this system are likely to have interior walls finished (as opposed to the exposed outer panels), and what provision there is for this in the system, and what average cost this might add?

Also, on your plans site, the Cube is described as a timber-frame (which I know others have asked you about).  My question with this is, does the footprint of this plan eliminate the possibility of potentially having a wood-framed version of this plan pre-fabbed, from a manufacturer like IronTown?  It seems that the pre-fabrication constrains the module size, and I've not seen a plan where the modules are put together into a square plan (although, I do believe MKD was working on such a plan).

Thanks again for all of your information.

Best regards,

Don

Hi Don, The steel skins on the inside and outside of the panels are not contiguous. The foam insulation core interrupts the steel at the panel edges which thermally isolates the inside and outside. You can leave the inside of the steel panels exposed on the inside of the house along with the supporting steel framing, or you can cover all this with drywall in a very conventional manner. On my site I describe the Cube House as being wood framed, not timber-frame. The framing of the house is fairly conventional, however the many large windows require a large number of posts and beams. As far as building the Cube House as a modular, it was not designed with modular in mind. That does not mean it can't be done, but I am not sure what the best approach would be. Greg

Hello Don,

Someone told me recently, about these two programs, especially the first one, which cost nothing to join.

http://powerhouseconstructiongroup.com/join/jwc  (way more profit on

reffering compare to just 1k per refferal- with shopright)

or

membership in: Shopright:

http://www.prooptions.homestead.com/   (a refferal business also and

guaranteed instant equity of 20% or more, which is great also especially if you are building a home for yourself and you want to wait and get profits

in the long run.)

It's free to sign up for the first company and maybe in the future for the second program , and you can earn referrals even on your own building of your home or business, they both build any bldg and plus to me it is like taking a cruise and getting the all inclusive package except it is building a home at a wholesale price.  I heard someone said you get about 8-10 grand or more for a 200k new home or when in the process of being built. Even before the completion date. Not a bad tip fee on your house or someone else's and

considering it will be a year or so before prices sustain back to normal,

IN the next 12-20 months, the market is in a downturn, I believe. You can

still make a great profit though and I have some great ideas on selling it fast and relatively cheap and still make a very good profit.

Sincerly,

J.W.

New Columist on the Web.

317-451-5218

The reason I mentioned these companies is because they work with or are experts at  pre-fabrication and the modulur type of construction as well as,

eco friendly type of construction so hopefully you can also try getting answers from them and with their consultants and I understand that both have very good financing terms to get the exact home and layout with 20k floor plans of your choice in the planning process of you new home.

Hi Don...

Did you ever get anywhere with your desire to build your new modular home in DC?

I've been working on a few new prototypes for high-design affordable & sustainable homes and it amazes me that most of the modular and pre-fab homes out there are so expensive ($200-400/SF).  My designs are shooting for $75-100/SF (building only).  What sort of cost/SF have you encountered?  Have you started building yet?  I'm in DC as well...    It would be great to catch up. 

Cheers...

Bill

bill@objetdesign.com

 

Is EcoSteel going to be at the MetalCon show in Vegas in October?

Not this year (EcoSteel was just at Dwell on design), but this would be a good show for EcoSteel.

Marshall

Previously Steven wrote:

Is EcoSteel going to be at the MetalCon show in Vegas in October?