THE RESILIENT FRAMING SYSTEMS PROCESS
With over 30 years of Pacific Northwest experience in building and design, Resilient Framing Systems has dedicated our experience and expertise to helping you get the most out of your budget.
1-3d framing model
It all starts when we receive the approved drawing package from the designer or architect.
We create a virtual duplicate of your plans in our 3D framing system, which includes all the structural elements and considers plumbing, electrcial and mechanical penetrations.
Every stud, blocking, header, sheathing and batten is assigned a specific parts numbers that our build crews use to assemble your project perfectly! Millimeter Accuracy Every Time!
As we transition from the design to the production phase, we create shop drawings for each wall that optimizes the cut list to minimize offcuts. Typical for onsite build wastes is anywhere between 10-20%, our process is generally around 5%! A MASSIVE material savings in cost and efficiency!
This is part of what helps us produce a quality product while remaining competitive in the framing market.
2-drawings
Once the model is complete we create a series of drawings that show every panel we will build as well as the exact location of panels on the floorplans and a set of elevations. In addition we send out an easy to navagate 3-D model so clients can see all the relationships of the panels to each other.
If everything looks good, then the client signs off on the drawing set and we consider this a DESIGN STOP!
If changes or additions still need to be made we are happy to make them and then send out a new revision for approval before starting Production.
“Since your project is built off-site, sitework and concrete can be done while we build! ”
4-ASSEMBLE!
Typically, we continue on with the build in our shop and the team pulls a unit of lumber at a time from the sorting trees and builds your panels on our assembly table.
We designed our Assembly Table to be the most efficient for the greatest amount of flexibility in assembly types. Our steel rail system we invented allows us to place square anywere on the panel so there is no loss of access to nailling or moving the panels if needed. If we invested in robots or other nailer or router technology, we woudl be limited with the types of assemblies we can build without a massive programming expense for each project. We feel we have found that “SWEET SPOT” of technoogy and human craftsmanship!
The guided Laser we installed sends out a literal laser accurate version of the panels exactly where the studs need to be installed, adding extra verification to the accuracy of the build.
Once nailed togehter, flattened and checked for square, we insualte any areas that may get covered by the sheathing, then take a picture from a speicialized camera system that documents the process at key points in the production. This documentation is great for clients and inspectors of course, but also acts as a great learning tool for our new team members when onboarding.
5-SEal it up!
The last step in the production process is to seal the panels with one of the world’s best Weather Resistive Barriers (WRB). This is NOT your typical woven poly weather paper.
We use only 4-ply vapor open, tear-resistant membranes with a reinforced mesh suitable for dense-packing insulation without the need of an exterior sheathing. We generally prefer to use more off-the-shelf prodcuts to keep costs low but not when it comes to this all important layer. At 35 perms this material allows for easy drying to the outside rainscreen if it ever needed to, but being air and water tight, it is not likely going to have to happen. Bigtime “Belt-& Suspenders” quality built into this material!
Speaking of drying though, on top of the WRB we always use a full 3/4” deep rainscreen batten to hold the siding off the face of the building. We were doing this long before it became a code level practice and everyone else realized the durability you gain by not letting your building get wet and stay wet!
Such a simple and inexpensive way to ensure decades more use of your siding and it’s paint job!
7-Loading & shipping!
Becasue we install glazing the panels can never be set flat again, and this creates a specifc way that the panels must be delivered to your site.
We have talked with just about everyone in the US and several folks in Europe about how they ship their panels…it was surprisingly a large subject matter!
We use custom built steel palettes that we welded in-house and a specialized mechanical tug that helps us roll the panels around our warehouse safely. We build any panel just over 11 feet in any direction and thrity-five feet in the other (though most our panels are within 11’x20’ since this is the size they make lumber) to maximize the transportation requirements of the DOT. Our system integrates all the information the trucking and crane operators need along with a built-in site stabilization system that speeds up de-crating and reduces crane time on site.
Safety is of course the #1 mission when moving loads in excess of 6,000 pounds, and keeping your glazed panels safe is part of that mission!
6-windows & doors!
One of our biggest time savings we offer clients is the ability to install the windows and doors into the framing before we ship and install them. Here we leverage our climate controled facility and some great tech to install these glazed units perfectly in place!
The windows and doors we typically include in our packages are like nothing you have seen in the US market. We have a special relationship with a European window maker and get these custom built for our projects and shipped directly to our warehouse. These triple-glazed units will cost you about the same as a medium quality double-pane unit made nationally. We would love to have these availabe more locally but the quality and cost is uncomparable. We are always on the lookout for local opportunites though.
Glazed units this stout can weigh up to 900lbs! Luckily we have a specialized lifting machine to take the backache out of this work and let us install the units exactly where they neeed to be. Water and air sealed into place, then double checked for functionality on site, this is the only way to install these beauties!
9-insulation!
Although we insulate as much as we can in the shop, on site insulation is usually required, too. Once your trades have passed their inspections, and inspectors give the “ok to cover”, we come back and net & blow the interior cavities.
Generally we prefer to use deep packed cellulose becaue it has the best environmental record, lowest carbon footprint available and the best sound reducing performance.
Deep packing a wall is a bit more work than just code level insulation, but our HD insualtion blower makes light work of it! We then add sound batting around sensitive areas and you are ready for Drywall!
8-installation!
This is the REALLY fun part!
Using cranes specifically called out for the site and load weights and sizes, we pull the palettes off the trucks and then set each wall, one at a time in the exact spot on your foundation.
All panels are attached to themselves and the foundation/floor system according to how the engineers specified them. All walls are verified plumb, corners square, and floors level before we move to the final drying in of the project and secure everything premanently.
For the roof most projects use a truss system that is already pre-engineered and so we install these on site in a traditional way and sheath the roof with half inch plywood as is typical. We finish this by installing a self adhearing underlayment onthe sheathing that creates a dried-in condition. Some projects ask for roof panels instead and these are installed much the same way the walls are and get the home to dried-in and weather tight even faster!
We double chek the window and door openings for operability and to be sure they are properly sealed. We install any roof baffles and interior air barriers called for and then the project is checked for airtightness with a computerized blower door. If leaks are found they are sealed until the project is at 1.0ACH50 or better! (0.6ACH50 for certified PH projects)
3-CUT!
As soon as the work is approved, production can start cutting the lumber on our computer controlled upcut saw. The saw alsoo marks specific information for every piece that thells the team exactly how to assemble the panels.
Our program “nests” all your pieces based on effceincy, and the team sorts them by unit on our sorting “trees”. The trees are divided into units and every stud, plate, blocking and batten is sorted so the assembly team can grab a bundle without searching for what they need!
(At this phase, we could be done…Some of our clients prefer to take the lumber from here, and build the project themselves with their own crews, or maybe have us build it for them on site due to location access or timing issues. All depends on the project and the clinets’ wishes….)