I am going to build a house on concrete pilings in the Florida Panhandle. A builder friend of mine here in Atlanta suggested that I get a bid from a modular home building company.
I have a design and engineering drawings. I am looking for a company to bid on the house.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
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Replies
Greetings Mako,
This post, in response to your question, will bump the thread through the 'recent discussion' listing again.
Perhaps it will catch someone's attention that can help you with advice.
Cheers
A bird does not sing because it has an answer. A bird sings because it has a song.
Let's try this again.
bump
The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.
I am hoping to get higher quality that I can with stick built construction...the quality of builders and subs here in the SE is nothing short of abismal
I set Nationwide Custom Homes (modular) in Maryland and have been very happy with their product. You can find them on th eweb at Nationwide custom homes.
THey have a plant in VA and one in GA been around for 30 years or so.
Good luck!
Mike
may I ask why you are building on piling.
Sure...the site is on a barrier island and the only way to get a building permit, not to mention insurance, is if the structure is I think at least 9' above grade level.
Edited 9/18/2006 9:17 pm ET by Mako
the reason I ask is, any type of construction that require an elevation would be gone in a hurricane. So the type that would hold would be concrete grade beams on piling with concrete walls. So this would be another factor because it would be quite expensive.
No, elevated construction in a coastal region works very well in a hurricane if done correctly. The water causes much more damage than the wind unless the wind is strong enough to wipe out everything in its path -- high or low.
My brother's house is built up high one lot from the lake near New Orleans and Katrina put more than 8 feet of water under his house. It held up fine in the wind but it would have been a goner if it were built on grade. It's a good thing that none of the 40 pine trees that blew down on his property made a direct hit on his house though...
Billy
That's pretty much what happened on St. George Island FL, when Dennis came ooin June of last year.
Dennis doens't get much pub because he wiped out an area that is off the public radar screen.
The town of Eastpoint FL, which is on the north side of Apalchicola Bay and shielded by St. George Island was for the most part totally destroyed by water and waves. Generally the houses on St. George which took the direct blast from Dennis were OK. They are mostly up on pilings. The ones not on pilings were mostly destroyed too.
Biggest problem on St. George was flooding which caused septic tanks and aerobic systems to float up out of the ground.
just to add my two cents, i was amazed to see some of the damage from katrina, one structure in particular in Biloxi ( or just outside and to the west) was concrete pilings with grade beams and condos on top. It looked like a structure that would stand, the foundation seemed solid enough to BE IN the water but the structure was removed from it (clearly not attached well enough) and some of the pilings were pretty bad, grade beams were gone in spots.
there is no question you could build to withstand these storms. question is which way is most cost effective.
i like wood pilings, wood structure, lots of metal (simpson strong ties), 5/8 ply (as reccomended in coastal contractor) and spray foam insulation.
i would use spray foam everywhere as a means of gluing as well as insulating in combination with a system of spreading the attachment of structure to piling as much as possible. think about the opposite of a point load, a spread load, and apply that thinking to connection to prevent uplift. and i just think the wood will flex more in concert with the spray foam and not break.
the cool thing about my plan is it doesn't reinvent the wheel, just a little extra cost with foam and thick ply and attention to detail with connection.
The 2 modular homes companies near us build more solid houses than many stick built houses - 1-1/4 flooring, 2x6 walls, plywood not osb etc. I have seriously thought about selling and finishing them.
I would check your codes though - we were at a beach house in the Outer Banks - a 110 mph wind load design area iirc, and from what I could tell the pilings continued through the structure - I'm not sure how the modular companies would deal with that if your area has similar codes.
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