Floor systems have long been the bread and butter of building material dealers offering pre-cut structural frame components. Wood product manufacturers have offered dealers tools and support for precision end trim (PET) floor framing for several years, and now are expanding their offerings to encompass other parts of the structure. For example, advances in design and fabrication software are enabling dealers and other fabricators to more efficiently produce PET roof components.
PET benefits to builders and dealers
Similar to roof trusses and other pre-fabricated components, PET framing saves builders time since they don’t need to cut multiple members to size on the job site or cut holes for plumbing and HVAC. PET components also improve structural frame quality since all of the pieces are precision cut for quick and easy installation in specific parts of the frame according to detailed framing plans. There’s less chance for framing errors, which helps reduce callbacks. Additionally, fewer cut-offs reduce jobsite construction waste and help lower disposal fees.
For building material dealers, these benefits equal a competitive advantage in keeping and growing business. Some framing fabrication software packages also help dealers improve their inventory management and make better use of drops, which can support yard profitability.
A roof test case
Last year one of our builder customers, Signature Homes in Birmingham, expressed interest in using PET framing for the roof of a home since they had seen so many efficiencies with pre-cut floors. Although we’ve been providing pre-cut floor packages for several years, the roof was new for us so we worked with our framing products supplier on a real-world test of their software for producing PET roof components.
The 2,700 square foot test home was one of Signature Homes’ most popular floor plans, with an average to complex roof that had four pitch changes and several dormer windows – all of which they had been stick framing. We modeled the entire roof in 3D and pre-cut all of the roof rafters. This included rafter plumb cuts (high and low end), low-end seat cuts and soffit cuts. Additionally, there were a couple of valleys that had compound angle and bevel cuts, which are tricky to do correctly on the jobsite.
One of the key learnings on this project was to understand in detail how the framing crews typically assembled this particular home model’s roof. In planning meetings with the framer we learned they used several different ways to build the same roof. Some of those ways were shown on the architectural drawings, but others weren’t. In some cases the framers made on-site modifications that required them to cut members into multiple lengths. That practice generated a lot of scrap and required the builder to order extra materials.
However, with the PET roof framing, the builder noticed a reduction in jobsite waste because crews didn’t need to cut materials on site. Normally, the dumpster is full after the roof goes up, but on this project crews barely had a wheelbarrow full.
Efficiencies with software
Several framing product manufacturers offer design and fabrication software. We’ve been using Weyerhaeuser’s NextPhase® Site Solutions for several years as the company provides a range of powerful software – including Javelin® design software and Stellar® fabrication software – along with a variety of technical expertise on more efficient yard operations.
These tools help us deliver the most efficient framing package to our builders, while enhancing communication with customers and improving our workflow.
One of the things Javelin software enables us to do is sit down with the builder and review all aspects of their framing job before they cut a single board. With the Signature Homes roof test case, we were able to walk the framers through 3D roof drawings and explain how the pieces fit together, which helped speed construction tremendously.
Back in our yard, Stellar fabrication software converted the final design plans into instructions for our computer-controlled saw. The software enables us to create an efficient operational process for cutting materials by batching jobs and optimizing stocked lengths. That helps us manage our inventory. And, for those projects in which we provide turnkey framing, it’s a way to manage our own crews better.
After we completed the PET roof test case, I wondered if our experience was unique, or if other dealers had seen similar benefits. In speaking with Bill Parsons, Customer Technology Manager with Weyerhaeuser, he told me some dealers have been reluctant to invest in framing technologies with the depressed housing market, while others have been eager to move into PET. “Those dealers see it as a way to help their builders re-grow their construction business, and cement those customer relationships for years to come. We’ve had national dealers, as well as regional and local dealers across the country implement our NextPhase program. Being able to do roofs as well as floors is a big selling point for showing value to builders. After all, that’s where the complex cuts are.”
Building profits
Pre-cut and labeled framing is the future of wood-framed construction – from single-family homes to apartments to light commercial construction – since it provides both builders and dealers with so many benefits that can help boost profitability.
While there are many advantages to offering PET framing components, dealers should also be upfront with builders about the challenges. Chief among these is the need to hold the various trades to plan specifications, as an error in one part of the building can reduce the benefits of pre-cut components. For example, it’s important to have a square foundation so the PET components fit as intended. It’s also important to let builders know that it may take a couple of projects for their crews to get comfortable with a new way of framing, at which point they typically become much faster than with traditional framing.