method homes » Partners & Sustainable Products

Custom Prefab Shop vs. Custom Prefab Site

Mark — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:04:42 +0000

Comparison pics.

Solar Decathlon on the Mall in DC

Mark — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:30:12 +0000

I was recently in DC and had a chance to check out the Solar Decathlon being set up. Unfortunately I was unable to see the homes completed and in competition. Very cool stuff going on at colleges all across the country who compete in this annual competition. Check out solardecathlon.org for more information. For now check out all of the cranes on the Mall. So cool! The students have chosen to build most of the homes prefab or modular. At one point I thought I was witnessing a presidential escort and realized it was a big modular delivery truck being escorted into the city presidential style. The delivery company had a big official looking SUV traveling at high speed from traffic light to traffic light making sure the modules were brought in to the city with no disruption to the flow of the everyday DC life. Plus I think the local law enforcement needs the streets clear of over sized loads.

Cabinets being installed in Method Factory

Mark — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:15:30 +0000

The Smith Vallee crew has been on site the last couple days installing custom cabinetry in the Lake Whatcom Cabin. All of our cabinetry is made from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) plywood and finished using No VOC finishes. Plus its all custom made right up the Mt. Baker Highway very near our shop. You can visit the Smith Vallee website at http://www.smithandvallee.com/

Sheetrock hung in Method Factory

Mark — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:35:02 +0000

The sheetrock crew is able to get the entire cabin hung in a day. By next Monday we will be painting and ready for the home stretch of finishes, including tile, cabinetry, trim etc. The sheetrock is comprised of recycled content and it is nice to be able to incorporate it into our homes. The good thing is all you have to do is request it, it is typically the same cost. The ceiling in these pics shows an R-38, formaldehyde free high density bat. This ceiling will have a rough-sawn plywood paneling installed as the finish. Hence the lack of sheetrock.

Blown in Cellulose

Mark — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:02:33 +0000

Sheetrock was literally on the coat tails of the insulation crew so barely had time to snap one picture of the cellulose. Cellulose is a material used as loose-fill insulation, it’s made from recycled wood fiber, mostly newsprint. The wood fiber is shredded and pulverized into small, fibrous particles that pack tightly into the stud cavities of the exterior walls, inhibiting airflow for enhanced insulation values. After rough in of electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems, the framed walls have a netting stapled to the studs, and afterwards the cellulose is blown in. It can’t escape and fills these cavities very tightly. This combined with the sprayed in Polyurethane is a very efficient system.

Skylab Architecture and Urban Series update

Mark — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:54:07 +0000

As you may know, Method teamed up with Skylab Architecture out of Portland OR to develop the long awaited Urban Series. After months of R & D, we have come to the conclusion that what Skylab has created is far more than just an “urban series” and the project has taken on a life of its own. As of today, we are finalizing a few items prior to launch. This project has been almost a year in the making and we can’t wait to share it. Please stay tuned.

Please visit Skylab at www.skylabarchitecture.com

Almost Done, New Pictures by Brian

admin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:19:51 +0000

Well, we made it through the push for our open house weekend. The cabin is almost 100% complete, less than three months from the start of construction. I spent the weekend up there and it was great to stay in the Method Cabin and see our vision realized.

Thank you to everyone who attended and made the weekend a success. I am available to give private tours if anyone else would like to see the home. Also it is going to be a vacation rental soon so if anyone would like to demo the Method Cabin contact me at brian at methodhomes dot net to reserve your dates.

It was truly a team effort to get it ready in time and a big thanks goes out to everyone involved in making that happen. Based on what it looked like Thursday morning it is amazing we were ready in time as can be seen by the first photos.

Now that we’re complete I’m going to try to update the blog more regularly. Hopefully the next photos will be the final finished photos.

A special thanks go out to Digs furniture store of Bellingham which can be found at http://digsshowroom.com for helping us with the furniture by Gus* and all the home decor. Too bad for us we want to keep half the stuff.

Week 4 – Foundation In Forest/Slag

admin — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:06:58 +0000

The foundation is sitting in the woods, awaiting a home. I can’t wait to see it. The warehouse has sheet rock hung and by the end of the week a level 5 smooth wall. The home is scheduled to leave May 21st. See you soon!

Brian chiming in here. This is probably a good time to go over the concrete slag that made up 50% of our concrete. We will be earning LEED points from slag and based on all the benefits of using it with no drawbacks I think it should be used in all projects. From the slag cement association slagcement.org

“Slag cement is a byproduct of an iron blast furnace, part of an integrated steel mill. When molten slag is separated from iron in a blast furnace, it can be rapidly quenched with water (“granulated”), dried and ground to a fine powder. At this point it becomes slag cement (or ground granulated blast furnace slag)

Slag cement is one of the most sustainable construction materials available because it:

Recovers anindustrial byproduct through beneficial use when incorporated into concrete or other construction applications.
Avoids disposal of blast furnace slag, when beneficially utilized.
Reduces portland cement in concrete, resulting in:
Reduces the urban heat island effect by increasing the reflectivity of concrete.
Increases structure life by improving the durability of concrete to various types of degradation such as corrosion of reinforcing steel, external and internal chemical attack, and cracking due to thermal stress.”

Week 3 – In Factory – Insulation

admin — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:48:23 +0000

Yesterday the foam crew from Burnham Insulation was up to the facility applying 2 inches of spray polyurethane foam. This is going to give the home a tight building envelope allowing no air penetrations and thus increasing energy efficiency.

Coupled with the blown in cellulose that was applied today the home is going to achieve a R value of 25.

I am amazed that we are only 3 weeks into the building process and will be hanging sheet rock tomorrow. We have completed rough electrical, rough plumbing, insulation and all framing and the foundation was just poured this past Monday. On top of that everything is bone dry inside the home and we’re on schedule. Actually witnessing construction take place has made me even more a believer in factory built homes than I was already and that is saying a lot. We are on schedule to build the home in 7 weeks which is incredible to me since I am now finishing a site built home that was started in August.

In business news I’ve been working hard forming strategic partnerships with product suppliers and am happy that we are working with Yolo Colorhouse for paint, KlipTech EcoTop for counters, TimberPro Coatings for low VOC exterior stains and several other companies that I’ll list later.

We also sent out our first press release and hopefully there will be some new people reading this after we receive some coverage. Launching a startup is equally exhilarating and exhausting but I love and believe in what we’re doing so it is gratifying as well.

Week 2 – Day 8 – Factory Prefabrication – Framing

admin — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:46:34 +0000

The Method Cabin is coming to life. All ext. walls are up and ready for shear inspection. Tomorrow, our mechanical sub will be on site to install the Pex tubing in our Warmboard. When he is finished we can move on to the interior walls. Looks like a few more days of framing on the interior walls and warm roof…all in all I think we are ahead of schedule.