It's a builder's worst nightmare.
Imagine a construction project – say, a custom home. After months of planning, working with the client, and getting the site ready, it's time to build.
As actual construction is about to start, your delivery of wooden roof trusses arrives right on schedule. There's just one problem, the order's wrong and it's because of a miscommunication with the truss manufacturer.
Now what?
The simple answer – tell the future homeowner about the issue – and a likely delay – and begin working with the manufacturer to correct the situation.
While there's no way to completely insulate a project from the occasional mishap or hopefully rarer major issue, there are safeguards you can take to avoid one altogether.
In the case of prefab building materials, such as manufactured roof trusses, floor truss systems, or prefabricated external wall panels, the #1 way to prevent any issues with your order is with very specific communication to your manufacturer.
What order details do your prefab building components supplier need to know? We've created this checklist to help you make sure you don't miss anything.
5 Order Details Your Building Components and Truss Manufacturer Needs to Know
Nothing disrupts a construction project of any kind's workflow quite like having materials arrive on site that simply aren't right or don't meet expectations.
To make sure that doesn't happen with your prefab building materials, here are the must-know details you should always provide to your truss or prefabricated building materials supplier:
- Project plans
- Type of project
- Location
- Special details
- Deadline
1. Project Plans
Next to budget, a building components manufacturer needs detailed project plans to work from. This includes architectural and structural drawings.
Quite literally blueprints, project plans provide the manufacturer with all the information they need to create components that meet your exact specifications. Things like wall and ceiling heights, floor joists specs, truss span measurements, and more should be included.
Your plans should also include where each component is going in a building. Not only does this help prevent any confusion about what goes where, but it also helps with coordinating delivery and install – two elements that can push a project's timeline and costs to their max.
2. Type of Project
Along the same lines of providing project plans, your building materials manufacture needs to understand the type of project they're providing components for.
Are you building a custom home? A commercial building or an apartment complex? Or maybe an industrial building?
The type of construction project you're working on affects the kinds of materials and component design your truss manufacturer will be able to provide.
But not all projects are new builds.
A roof replacement is a prime example. With any type of replacement project, the details become more critical. You'll likely need to provide additional information, such as field measurements and verified specs. You'll also need to provide information on local codes to make sure the manufactured building materials are compliant.
3. Location
While it's unlikely you'll work with a building material supplier that's in a different timezone, your project’s location at a regional level does have some impacts on decisions your truss manufacturer needs to make.
Consider Western New York – our home. While the region is synonymous with snow – especially Buffalo – not every community within it sees the same amounts. There are areas of the region within a snowbelt, while other communities are relatively unscathed during even the worst blizzards.
Understanding location impacts some design elements of prefab building materials. For the sake of our example, areas that see a lot of snow need to have roof trusses designed to handle a heavy snow load.
4. Special Details
When it comes to any building project, every single one is different. However, some are more unique than others.
For instance, your project may call for trusses that are designed to be as eye-catching as they are functional (think the inside of a barn that's rented out for special events).
Whether it's an atypically-shaped room or an oddly-placed window or door frame, your manufacturer needs the information in order to properly design your components. They may even be able to suggest some ideas of their own, based on what they've seen before.
5. Deadline
Another one of the most basic pieces of information about any project – regardless of complexity – is its timeline and anticipated date of completion.
Quite simply, your building components and truss manufacturer needs to know when you need your prefab building materials delivered. While most companies have some wiggle room to adjust delivery times, they do require information on a project's timeline in order to plan their operations and supply chain properly.
In addition, other than the specific date you need your trusses delivered, it's also important to communicate when each phase of the project needs to be completed. This will help ensure that no steps are missed and that there won't be any delays due to last-minute changes.
Resource: Integrating a Truss Manufacturer Into Your Supply Chain
Keeping Projects On Schedule and Within Budget
When working with a truss manufacturer and building components supplier, there's only one thing more important than communication – sharing the right project details.
The more accurately you provide the truss manufacturer with the specifics of your project, the better they can serve you with a product that's right for your needs.
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