Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum 1 Jul 06, 2009 9:44 pm We are in the process of deciding which path to venture down. The stick method is cheaper material wise but is more time consuming and labour intensive, and has more waste. The Pre fab method is more expensive but is less time consuming if they are all constructed correctly. What do the other O/Bs think?? This is relating to timber only not steel. If you have any experiences or have chosen a particular method please share, the more knowledge the better, if there are any recommendations for companies that do a good job for pre fab that would be good as well. At this stage we are just trying to weigh up the cost v beneift. Thanks!!! Re: Stick Built Wall Frames Vs Pre Fab Wall Frames 2Jul 07, 2009 2:31 am HI Hunts IMO its simply time verses small money saving. do the stick work urself & u save SOME of the labour content. buy a frame & its done !!!! note i say SOME labour cost cos u can never do it as efficiently as factory cos of their jigs & gang nail presses ect. & u won't buy material as economically as framers cos of their volume, but there will be some saving. is that saving worth the time u spend - ie if ur renting while ur building possibly not? this is really a matter of getting a few quotes on framing & comparing ur cost for materials and a few weeks extra - thats what i find i'm doing on every stage - where can i put in some of my labour & is it worth it ??? hope that gives u something to ponder...cheers tony. Re: Stick Built Wall Frames Vs Pre Fab Wall Frames 3Jul 07, 2009 1:01 pm Accounting for your own labor you wont be able to make the walls cheaper unless you have a few people that have done it before. If most your walls are raking it is probably cheaper to make them yourself however these are more difficult. The other thing is building inspectors can really make your life a pain if you build your own frame, they are more inclined to ask for beam computations and bracing computations etc If you do your own frame ask the truss manufacturer for there final truss layout so you can work out beam sizes and critical stud locations. Re: Stick Built Wall Frames Vs Pre Fab Wall Frames 4Jul 07, 2009 1:21 pm From my experiences not being a carpenter there would only be two ways to go about this. 1. Do stick build and hirer a carpenter 2. Get pre fab and put it up yourself. There is not point IMHO of getting pre fab then hiring a carpenter there is also no point in Doing a stick build yourself. In saying that a stick build would usually end up with a better job for custom and one off designs. This is because a stick build is much easier to compensate for slightly smaller or larger slab etc and you can easily change window locations if need be etc. Re: Stick Built Wall Frames Vs Pre Fab Wall Frames 5Jul 07, 2009 5:56 pm Stick build all the way. Partner does it for a living so may as well. What I liked was during construction was add additional studs here and there, good quality timber that wasn't bowed, scope to add an aditional powder room, change all openings to just under 2500. Re: Stick Built Wall Frames Vs Pre Fab Wall Frames 6Jul 10, 2009 8:22 pm Thanks everyone for the replies, Still weighing up which way to go. At least with Pre fab if there is a problem I can get them to fix it, and I would make sure I got a site measure to make sure it fits. Stick framing does seem the best way to go if price or time wasn't an option! Re: Stick Built Wall Frames Vs Pre Fab Wall Frames 7Jul 10, 2009 8:45 pm Before I start let me say that I am a qualified Carpenter. I'm not sure if your asking which is the better option for you putting the frame up yourself but I will tell you from experience that your best option is to use a carpenter. Having done a lot of pre fab homes throughout my career I can tell you that you would be lucky to get a perfect frame out of a pre fab company(generally they will use 1 qualified person generally as the foreman and have a lot of labourers putting frames together. There is more to putting a frame together than what you may realize. (opposing studs, keeping the bows all the same way, window widths, head heights, sill heights. Generally heads will be specified a certain size so you won't need to show "computing" data to inspectors. Stick frame is by far and away the best way of framing as you have a lot more quality control especially if you have a chippie that takes pride in his work. Its generally a stronger frame and looks the business. While you "save" money on labour with pre fab you can and will most likely run into issues. The only pre fab company I have ever come across is Redland Bay Frames and Trusses. Bunnings = ****. Good Luck. Do the stick and you won't regret it. Re: Stick Built Wall Frames Vs Pre Fab Wall Frames 8Jul 10, 2009 9:37 pm we got our frame premade but it was so easy to put up we were out 2.5 mm each end so really nothing at all. we did however redo the laundry wall and we moved the kitchen wall back 600 mm into the laundry as it seemed a good idea. price wise i have no idea of the savings as to do it ourselves would have been a pain you have to know all the australian standards lintels jacks nogins ect ect wasnt worth it.we only paid 8900 for all walls and roof trusses and bearers and joists so really really cheap in the scheme of things took 2 days to put it up and we passed inspection without a problem stay safe happy building I am building a custom style house with modulars and some walls need to be framed just wondering can I buy all the parts and build the walls myself as an owner builder or… 0 15242 Thanks for your reply! All valid points and I agree with you on many of them. 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