How Does Your New Panelized Home Stand Up?

What this episode covers

Show Notes: How does my new home stand up?  Discussions on foundations, basements, crawlspace, pier or slab foundations.   Poured vs cement block foundations.  WUI, Wildland Urban Interface and how is protects from wildfires.  Do I need fire sprinklers?  Engineer stamped plans are reviewed by Landmark Home and Land.  What are Engineered lumber materials?  Can I repurpose items for my new home?   Transcript: Interviewer: Hello everyone and welcome to episode 26 of the Panelized Prefab Kit Home Building Show. I’m here with the president and founder of Landmark Home and Land Company, a company which has been helping people build their new homes where they want exactly as they want across the nation and worldwide for, well, 25 years now since 1993, Steve Tuma. Steve, how are things going? Steve Landmark: Excellent. Staying busy as always working with people to develop some very cool homes. A lot of our customers are working in areas that are very interesting whether geographically, weather-wise, building restriction-wise, historic areas, whatever it is. So it’s always a fun day taking care of each customer individually. Interviewer: Yeah. It seems like a – over at Landmark, you like to be challenged and I think that’s part of the fun. So today I would like to utilize my time with Steve going over some aspects of panelized home building that we haven’t had all that much time in the past to go over and some things that I’m sure will pique his interest, some of the questions and inquiries that potential Landmark customers have brought to us. So if you’re ready Steve, let me throw some questions out there I think our audience might be keen on hearing you tackle. Steve Landmark: Yeah, let’s do it. Interviewer: Let’s start with the foundations. How do I know as a new home builder, how do I know what type of foundation is best for my home and building site? I mean do I need the basement type of foundation, crawlspace, what – their slabs, piers. It could get very daunting I think with all the choices. Steve Landmark: Right. Well, there are different situations as to why you would choose one or the other. Sometimes you’ve got restrictions geographically. Sometimes there are situations of what people are used to building in an area, therefor they do it. Other times, you’ve got the flexibility of doing any one of those types of foundations. So how does it work? So let’s just – we’re basically going to review – I think you said basements, crawlspaces. Interviewer: Slabs. Steve Landmark: Slabs and then a pier system. Interviewer: Right, yeah Steve Landmark: So basements are – as everyone knows, it’s like an area underground. It can be a walkout if you’re on the side of a hill where that basement, instead of just being in enclosed areas, an open area. So if you’re like on a lakefront or on the side of a hill, you can have a drive-under garage or workshop, additional rooms, family room. Interviewer: That would be kind of cool to have your garage underground. Steve Landmark: Oh, people have done it and boats, you know – you know, sometimes it’s just recreational toys if you’re by a lake. That’s where you bring the canoe in and picnic tables, whatever it would be. Interviewer: Right. Steve Landmark: So basements can pretty much go anywhere where the ground conditions allow for it. You’ve got to check water tables, make sure the soils are right, make sure the terrain is right for that. Some people will say, “Well, you never put a basement in California.” Interviewer: Yeah. Steve Landmark: Because … Interviewer: You don’t see many. Steve Landmark: Well, it depends on where you’re at because if you’re in the areas with mountains, you might have a house that steps out of the side of a hill and in a sense the basement is a walkout basement. Someone might say, “Oh, that’s a three-level home.” Well,