Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum Re: prefab wall frame installation questions 21Jul 07, 2014 1:34 pm Buildwest. There are quite a few caveats though. If you want a speedy build, buy trusses and frames. If there are lots of wall niches and non-standard features like false walls etc then an onsite build is probably preferable. You can also adjust the wall frames on the fly once you start more easily. There is more room in a trad. roof than if you use trusses so if you are looking at an attic storage or want to run big air-con ducts etc up there a trad. roof may be the way to go. I don't have any prices offhand but was told and what I have read is that an onsite build for frames will be roughly 20% cheaper but a trad roof vs trusses would be about the same for most standard builds ( considering both labour and material for supply and installation for both ). Most of the builders that have done major extensions for clients of mine prefer onsite builds especially for the roof where they have to match existing pitches , eaves overhangs etc. New builds are different again Stewie Re: prefab wall frame installation questions 22Jul 07, 2014 10:13 pm Hi SaveH20, I was concerned about it and I have taken pictures from day 1 when I saw that. When I did my frame stage building inspection, it was there and my building inspector did not see that as a problem unless he missed it. Do you know whether it's mentioned in BCA as a defect? I thought it would be ok but again I'm not a building expert. Re: prefab wall frame installation questions 23Jul 07, 2014 11:02 pm Subzero_Aus Do you know whether it's mentioned in BCA as a defect? It is a breach of AS2870. There is a thread titled "has anybody rectified slab heave successfully" in General Discussion and the applicable BCA regulations and Standards are discussed at length. It is well worth reading the entire thread as several issues are discussed and there are some valuable photos. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=64836 Prolonged pooling can be a real problem if you are on reactive soil (and for other reasons) but any obvious regulatory breach is also an indication of slackness that invariably follows on to other areas. The pooling next to the slab looks reasonably deep in areas and your building inspector should have noted it. It is worth taking heaps of random photos, even if you don't know what you are looking at. You might be surprised at what you see further down the track with some new found wisdom. I know of a few recent examples where this has happened to forum members after they have moved in and everything had been passed as ok. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: prefab wall frame installation questions 24Jul 22, 2014 6:27 pm I have raised this water pooling issue and also taken lots of pictures and emailed to the office to get their urgent attention (Also I have a record and evidence that I have noticed and raised this at frame stage). After speaking to them, they said we have a raft slab which is better than waffle pods and no need to worry about that as long as it's not pooling for months. I told them, BCA doesn't mention what kind of slab and I need this water pooling stopped asap. He agreed to cover that area with some crushed rock. Hopefully that stops water pooling. I'm not sure to what extent it has damaged the slab but it's been like that for the last 3 months. I know they tell you rubbish but I have proof if anything goes wrong due to water pooling. Re: prefab wall frame installation questions 25Jul 22, 2014 8:14 pm Quote: But surely when the frames are made up, creep should be taken into account by making each frame section a few mm undersixe in width to counteract? 5 ml overhang ok, 10mm not ok.( thats just me). I know this is an old thread but just to help understand the prefab production processes. Most of the wall/truss plants 3d model the entire house before anything is built these days and some are importing direct from the builders cad files. From there once the individual panels are detailed the panels are broken up into their individual components and sent electronically to the saw. The components are optimized into stock timber lengths to minimize waste (most modern saws) and plant from there the sawyer gets a "shopping list" of materials to load into the saw (even that is automatic on some saws) and from there each piece is cut to size direct from the list generated from the detailing office. The problem with that process is that all the plates are mm perfect (assuming the saw is correctly calibrated) and shortening walls by 5mm is not easily done. At my plant we would set the first and last stud in a few mm (if possible) but thats the extent of what can be done (some alto nailers won't even let you do that). If we adjusted the walls all to be 5mm short manually the detailer opens themselves up to no end of potential for error (which is exactly the opposite of what we want) and the associated can of worms opened on site gets bigger and bigger. Really it just comes down to everybody doing their jobs properly and then the system works well. Of course that's easier said than done. It's important to keep in mind that some jobs are not suited to prefab walls and just shouldn't be attempted but these are usually custom builds. Most project home stuff should be able to be prefabbed very easily. Buildwest hi to all Is any one can provide with basic price comparison prefab frame VS on site build & prefab trusses Vs on site build. With basic description of the project. You will get opinions firmly in both directions on this one. Some jobs are slightly cheaper whilst others are slightly more expensive and other jobs vary even more. For the most part the great advantage is speed. Assuming the slab can be poured to plan, you can be installing walls at the earliest opportunity after the slab is ready. Re: prefab wall frame installation questions 26Jul 23, 2014 1:50 pm RedHotMike Really it just comes down to everybody doing their jobs properly Ah yes, that old chestnut. Last time I made a comment to that effect, I was shot down as Mr Perfect who lives in his own world of zero errors. Et tu Brutus? Re: prefab wall frame installation questions 27Jul 23, 2014 8:24 pm qebtel RedHotMike Really it just comes down to everybody doing their jobs properly Ah yes, that old chestnut. Last time I made a comment to that effect, I was shot down as Mr Perfect who lives in his own world of zero errors. Et tu Brutus? Well it's also a matter of being realistic about what is to be done as well. As I mentioned, some jobs lend themselves to prefab more than others. If it's a particularly complicated slab or lots of steel (particularly posts) then often stick build on site with a site measure before the roof trusses are made is the go. When it comes to most project homes and the designs I see on this forum, there is no real excuse for slabs to be more than 10mm out IMO Re: prefab wall frame installation questions 28Jul 23, 2014 11:44 pm Quote: Also pre-made frames tend to creep a bit in size even when made to the exact mm. Across a house where four or five butt up against each other it is not unusual for the total measurement to creep 5 - 10mm. Quote: When it comes to most project homes and the designs I see on this forum, there is no real excuse for slabs to be more than 10mm out IMO I agree. Slabs, frames, level and square shouldn't be much more than 10mm off the total correct dimensions on the plans. Stewie This is 100% true. You can not hang anything on steel frames. very frustrating 8 9148 Not sure what council area you are in. Some LGA's allow zero lot retaining walls. This usually occurs in greenfield developments but not often in established areas. You… 1 8501 4 11342 |