If you are an independent builder, custom homes and spec homes, this home design is for you. There has never been a faster or better way to build a single-family residential home. Factory-built prefab homes are fine, panelized system are ok, 3D printed homes are not quite there yet and not accepted in high seismic risk zones. Each of these homes comes with a fair amount of overhead to design, build, transport and assemble on-site. The Ironwood Home has some design limitations but none of the overhead the others bring. This home is just as easily built in a suburban neighborhood as it is on a hard to reach remote hilltop. No large trucks or cranes are needed to build this home.
Reducing design and construction times is critical, especially to spec home builders. Combine faster builds with lower costs and higher quality and spec home building becomes highly profitable once again. You can build more of an Ironwood Home with your own labor and less subcontracted work.
The Ironwood structural and architectural plans are detailed, more detailed than most home construction plans I've seen and these plans are reusable in every home design you create.
The Base Plan Set is simply the set of construction documents to build the structural components and how to assemble each structural frame. This set provides requirements and details for setting adjacent frames and stacking frames, roof trusses, overhangs and special frame arrangements. The architectural plans provide design details common to every home.
The Base Plan Set provides details for foundations and anchorage. Although foundations are dependent upon the site's topography and soils there are many elements which stay the same. These elements don't need to be re-designed for each home, reducing the design time and costs..
The Base Plan Set can be customized to your building needs and style, making your homes stand out from all others.
Every home has it's own set of construction plans. These are the Architectural, MEP and Civil drawings. With the structural system fully designed, these drawings become easier and more efficient to draw. There are no additional interior structural walls to work around simplifying the interior design.
A simple design sequence, unique to these plans makes the overall design tasks even easier. Your clients will better understand the process of design and be able to provide the input you really need to build them a home they love and can afford.
Because of the standardized Structural Frame, foundations become more standardized as well. The load path is always through the shear panels at each corner of the frame. Whether using slab on grade with grade beams, footings and stem walls, or building a basement, these loads are always in the same locations and more easily designed to. Forming and rebar becomes more standardized making it practical for reusable forms and prefabricated rebar sections.
The structural frames are easy to set, square up, level and plumb. Every frame requires plywood sheeting on the horizontal surface of at least 3/4" T&G. This is part of the structural system for a frame. The plywood is laid down after each floor level is complete and overlaps adjacent frames to tie them together. This includes the top level, roof trusses are installed over the plywood sheeting. Horizontal plywood sheeting is used around the entire exterior. This plywood serves several purposes, primarily used for a thermal break between the siding and the wall studs, it also reduces external noise levels and adds strength to the home.
Exterior wall panels are generally non-structural since they fit between the shear panels but can assume some structural loads when used in the Bay additions. Each wall panel has a fixed dimension of 12' wide by 8', 9' or 10' tall. The configuration of the panel is whatever you want. Large windows, sliding doors, glass block walls are all designed into these wall panels with no structural changes required to the home.
Bay extensions is a simple way to extend the square footage and create architectural features at the interior and exterior. The extensions can be used to create multi-level roof lines or small roof-top decks at the upstairs bedrooms. Bay extensions can be designed for stairs, water heater and electrical rooms, exterior storage rooms, or any use you can think of.
Variations in roof design has never been easier. Roof trusses are set on top of the structural frames, after the horizontal plywood. Their loads are transferred directly to each structural frame, not just the exterior walls. Their designs can be lighter and more variable than traditional construction. Anything from a flat roof to steep pitch is installed on the structural frame the same way.
My recommendation is to always use light-gauge steel framing for roof trusses for weight, strength and most importantly, fire resistance. Trusses install with a built-in thermal break to prevent heat transfer through them to the interior of the home. Whether the rest of the home is built from steel or wood, use LGS for the roof structure.
Patio covers and large overhangs are essential to a comfortable home. They create shade, making outdoor spaces more inviting and keep the house cooler, they shelter the deck from the rain and when design right help create and keep the 5-foot fire barrier around the home.
Using light-gauge steel or other non-combustible materials for the overhangs and concrete or stone for the patio, we provide the fire-safe zone and direct water away from the foundations. Patio covers make a great location for solar panels which can be installed without touching the main roof membrane.
The exterior layer is the most important for high fire resistance. Always build with non-combustible and durable materials. There are many choices and price ranges available. When trying to build as affordable as possible, this is not a feature to reduce costs on. This applies to siding, trim, decks, overhangs and roofing materials.
The more fire resistant the home is the more likely you can get a construction loan and the homeowner can get affordable insurance.
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