Now that you’ve made the decision to build a new custom home, you’re probably wondering what the next steps look like if you choose to go the route of panelized home construction.
Or maybe you’re deciding between a couple different methods, and haven’t settled on the perfect one for you. The panelized building process is unique to other methods, specifically when looking at it compared to the traditional stick building process.
We put together this guide so you could take a look at what each phase of the process looks like, from the first step you take to the day you move into your new home.
6 Steps in the Panelized Home Building Process
An optimized home building method, the panelized construction process comprises six steps:
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Design & Planning
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Engineering
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Manufacturing
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Shipping
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On-Site Building
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Your Final Home!
Let’s take a look at what’s involved in each of these steps:
1. Design & Planning
The longest and most daunting part of the process, and the real advantage of working with a Barden Independent Dealer as a single point of contact.
Working with your independent dealer, you’ll design every detail of your floor plan and home design to fit your needs and make adjustments to fit your budget. Through our in-house design department, you can adjust and revise your custom plans as many times as necessary until you’re satisfied.
Using prices quoted by your Independent Dealer, you can seek financing for your home. Whether you work with our financing partner or a lender of your choosing, this is the time to get pre-approved for your project.
Resource: Learn more about the available custom home financing options:
Meanwhile, you’ll work with your dealer to select a lot suitable for building and prepare it for construction by having it completed with necessary utilities and excavation.
When you’re ready to build, Barden will supply more detailed plans that can be used to obtain building permits. At this stage, you’ll also work with your dealer to select all of the products, materials, and colors to make your home truly yours.
Although we carry thousands of national name brand products, we allow our customers to source their own if they can’t find what they’re looking for from our selections.
What is accomplished during the design phase:
- Meeting your independent dealer
- Working with your dealer to find suitable land (if they don’t own land)
- After land is purchased, it has to be connected to utilities and approved by the local municipality to be suitable for building. Dealers assist and advise for all of this.
- Designing their home through the dealer and our drafting department
- Initial phases with simple plans until layout is correct.
- More complex drawings next
- Final stage is selecting materials/products/colors
- Design phase goes along with budgeting and securing financing. Plans can be modified to fit a budget. Customer can use pricing estimates to start looking for financing if needed. Financing finalized right before construction.
- There isn’t a particular order to any of this, every situation is different.
2. Engineering
After the design phase is complete, the home plan drafts are passed along to our in-house design department.
Our expert staff carefully ensures that all the selected materials are perfectly suited to handle their intended purpose for the home. Many factors are taken into account, such as:
- Building codes
- Safety regulations
- Energy efficiency standards
When applicable, our design team accounts for regional concerns -- such as load-bearing for average area snowfall amount, or windows that offer greater resistance to high winds and drafts.
After the final engineered home plan featuring our Fast Track Framing System is complete, it is digitally rendered utilizing our Mitek E-frame engineering program. The software accounts for a variety of considerations, including load-bearing points and lumber/truss plate requirements during manufacturing. It essentially offers a 3D puzzle model for the manufacturing team to work off of while on the floor.
What is accomplished during the engineering phase:
- A precision-engineered model for the manufacturing team to work from
3. Manufacturing
Once the plans are finalizedflo, work begins by our manufacturing division, North American Truss, to produce the components of the home.
Everyone on the floor follows the digital design plan for the home, which ensures precision during every step of the manufacturing process.
A variety of machines and technology are used are during manufacturing, including:
- Tiger Stop Computerized Measuring Saw
- Intelligent Building Software (IBS), Tables, and Stapling Bridge
- Virtek Lasers
- MiTek RoofTracker
Combined with North American Truss’ highly skilled workforce, the tools and technology used to manufacture panelized home components greatly reduce the chance of human error.
Additionally, due to the materials being stored and assembled in a factory, the integrity and quality of building materials are maintained without the risk of weather degradation.
Further Reading: For a full look at our manufacturing process, check out our Behind the Scenes of Panelized Construction article.
What is accomplished during the manufacturing phase:
- Wall panels are built
- Roof trusses are built
- All components are wrapped, labeled, and stacked in order for shipping
4. Shipping
Your new home’s components are carefully loaded onto our trucks and shipped directly to your job site in several loads. The loads are delivered precisely when they are needed to limit the lumber’s exposure to the elements.
What is accomplished during the shipping phase:
- Materials arrive to the build site intact and ready for speedy assembly
5. On-Site Building
Each truck driver is equipped with a set of the building plans that corresponds with the components they are transporting. Once they arrive, they are passed to the foreman of the building crew, who can unload and begin assembly.
Since each component is labeled in accordance with the floor plan, builders can quickly assemble the pieces together accurately. Again, this step is similar to building a giant 3D puzzle.
The first load of manufactured components is delivered as soon as the foundation is completed on-site. Using our Fast Track Framing System, crews first construct the shell of the home and interior walls. This step is followed by roofing, doors, and windows to make the house is weathertight to ensure the incomplete home isn’t damaged by the elements while construction is completed. All of this takes around a week, never more than two weeks.
After that is completed, it is finished just like a standard stick build house -- with various crews coming in to complete their part of the job.
What is accomplished during the on-site building phase:
- The home is assembled in accordance with the plan agreed upon by the team during the design phase.
6. Your Final Home!
Once the on-site building is complete, you’re ready to move into your new Barden home!
The precision-engineered panel building process reduces the chance of costly repairs down the line, such as drafty windows or drywall cracking from high snow loads on the roof.
You can truly relax and enjoy your new home knowing that every detail was taken care of.
Contact Us So We Can Get Started
Before you can jump into Step 1 and begin building your panel built home, get the ball rolling by reaching out.
Even if you’re not sure if panel building is the right solution for your custom home, our experts will help talk you through the process in further detail and guide you into what the best solution is for your dream home needs.
We’re just a phone call or email away!
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