DIY-Prefab

So why would it make sense for you to consider prefabrication techniques for building your own backyard shed, tiny house or larger project? After all it would not be feasible to spend the kind of money that commercial prefabrication operations spend for their equipment just on your one project. And what about the space that is required to prefabricate things? Doesn’t it take a lot of square footage to set up a prefabrication operation?

One major focus of this blog is to show you that you do not need to spend the big bucks that commercial ventures spend and you do not need all that much floor space to take advantage of at least some prefabrication techniques for your DIY project. Also you can strike a balance between what you prefabricate yourself and what you might buy from companies that do prefabrication. You are already thinking about that when you think about buying prefabricated windows. You could instead decide to fabricate your own windows.

Prefabrication is not for everyone. Of course DIY construction is also not something that everyone is qualified to tackle. I am going to be assuming that if you are reading this blog that you are at least giving serious consideration to building something yourself. If you are I think that some of the techniques that I will address over time will be worth your consideration.

Some of the key reasons that I think it makes sense to consider prefabrication techniques for your DIY project are the following:

1.)    The more detailed level of planning that is required prior to doing prefabrication may very well help you to avoid some construction mistakes. This of course can save you both time and money.

2.)    Adopting prefabrication techniques typically results in dividing a project into discrete parts each of which have specific clear objectives and measurable results. From the point of view of good project planning this is a good thing. From the perspective of maintaining focus and motivation this is also a very good thing.

3.)    Dividing a project up into discrete bite size projects also has an advantage for projects that you cannot spend your full time working on. It makes it somewhat easier to plan how you will spend your time when it is available. It is also easier to make sure in advance that you have the necessary materials on hand when you do have the time.

4.)    One other advantage of dividing a project into carefully planned achievable smaller steps is that the overall scope of the project will not seem so overwhelming. You can feel good about accomplishing each bite size piece of the project.

5.)    You will probably find that you can save money on materials by better planning. I have often been able to save money on lumber for my projects by thinking about how I am going to cut up the pieces that I buy. For example if your project needs some 5’ and some 11’ 2×4 pieces you could buy 6’ and 12’ pieces and end up with a lot of 1’ scrapes. Planning ahead you might notice that you could get a 5’ and an 11’ foot piece out of one 16’ piece with no waste.

6.)    There are some obvious advantages to prefabrication if you are building something that will be installed in a location that is remote to where you live. Prefabrication allows you to take advantage of the small snippets of time that you have available to keep your project moving forward. The final assembly can often be done very quickly. It could also be a fun thing to schedule a final assembly party where you call on friends and relatives to have a sort of barn raising kind of event.

It is my opinion that prefabrication techniques are widely applied and largely taken for granted in virtually every industry except the residential construction sector. Most people would not even think twice about having a car built for them from scratch in their own driveway. It is just way too expensive for the common man. So why is it that we so readily accept the notion that our houses should be built from scratch on our lot? In actuality there is a lot of prefabrication going on in the construction trades for most parts of residential construction except for the shell of the house itself.

Not all that long ago in American history a carpenter might be expected to build doors, windows and cabinets at the construction site. Now we buy prefabricated windows, pre-hung doors and prebuilt cabinets. Even very high-end cabinets are usually made off-site and custom fitted at the job. It is true that some masonry work is still built at the job site but it is possible to buy such things as prefabricated fireplaces that can result in much lower costs for such features in a new house. It is even possible to buy prefabricated foundation systems in some parts of the country that can be very quickly assembled on site. Our hard wood flooring is typically not only pre-shaped but prefinished these days. Even drywall is an example of a type of product that involves factory built steps that result in more efficient job site assembly.

On the West Coast of the United States the term prefabrication relative to housing tends to evoke a negative image. Many people are reminded of the so-called “ticky-tack” housing that was so widely constructed during the post WWII building boom. Others think about modular homes (formerly called mobile homes) and see a mental picture of cheap trailer parks. There are many housing communities whose construction covenants and restrictions prohibit prefabricated structures in their development and insist that all new houses be “stick built”. Unfortunately there have been abuses of prefabrication techniques in years past. Part of the intent of this blog, however, is to help set the record straight regarding prefabrication.

There is nothing about “stick built” on-site construction that inherently guarantees any particular level of quality. Furthermore there is nothing about using prefabrication techniques that automatically guarantees that the result will be low quality. Good construction quality in the final analysis is the result of a number of factors including quality of design, selection of materials and quality of execution. Prefabrication in general is nothing more that a method or a tool that can be applied well or poorly depending on the project objectives and the people involved. When well-applied prefabrication can actually have some significant advantages over traditional stick built techniques.

Prefabrication techniques offer many advantages including the following:

1.) Part of the construction process can take place in a factory setting where the impact of weather on the construction process is minimized. In fact the use of prefabrication techniques can make construction in parts of the world possible. In Sweden for example the part of the year where outdoor construction is possible is limited to a few months. During the rest of the year complete houses are construction in modular form in factories. The modules can be prefabricated to a high level of completion including paint, cabinets, floor covering and appliances. The finished product can be delivered and set up sometimes in as little as one day. At the end of the day the homeowner is presented with the keys to their new house, which is ready to live in immediately.

2.) Materials can be more efficiently handled in a factory setting. Job sight theft of materials can be largely a thing of the past. Materials can be protected from the weather. Making it easier to use smaller pieces of material that might otherwise get thrown out at the job sight can also minimize material waste.

3.) Product accuracy can be improved in a factory setting by the use of special equipment and/or jigs and fixtures.

4.) Labor costs can be reduced using prefabrication techniques. On-site stick building typically requires skilled carpenters while factory assembly techniques can employ less skillful factory workers without sacrificing overall accuracy.

For some interesting historical perspective about prefabricated houses check out the following link: How Prefab Houses Work