easy Residential building schedule - Work Items

The building schedule is the heart of a housing business. The success of the home and finally the business that builds the home is dependent on planning and implementing the schedule. Financing, billing, building draws, closing, move in, warranty and even capability all flow from a flourishing schedule. In a series of articles we will try and take you from start to close on designing a repeatable process of scheduling a home. We will assume that the reader knows little about the building process so those of you who have some level of expertise may jump around.

In these articles we will be concerned with the bodily onsite building of a 2,500 to 3000 sf semi-custom home. In this particular record we will discuss development a list of work items to be included in the schedule. In latter articles we will add preplanning and the end process.

Carpentry Framing

The first step in preparing a building schedule is determining the work items to be included. Start with your list of trades (subcontractors.) Make sure you consist of any items you do with your own employees to the list. The following is the list we used in our estimates and invoices, Your may vary depending on your area and how you ageement your work.

501 Excavation

502 Concrete

502A sidewalk

503 Asphalt

504 Masonry

505 Steel

506 Stairs

507 Carpentry Labor

507 Trim Carp

510 Millwork and doors

511 Windows

512 Siding

514 Insulation

515 Roofing

516 Gutters

517 Drywall

518 Hardware

520 Flooring

521 Paint

522 Mirror

522 Shelving

523 garage door

524 Cabinets

525 Kitchen top

525 Marble top

526 Appliance

527 Heating

528 Plumbing

529 Electric

530 Lights

532 Sewer Water

533 Other

534 Landscaping

Next look at each trade and divide the trade into trips to the project. For example; in our case our Excavation contractor would clear the site and dig the basement foundation in one trip. He would make a second to backfill the foundation and rough grade the site and a third to final grad the site for landscaping. Try and keep the divisions of work to no less than a day and no more than a week. For example, if you let all the carpentry as on ageement and you only break it down into rough and close the rough may take more than a week. You can breakdown the rough carpentry into frame first floor and walls, second floor and wall and roof framing and sheeting. Breaking down the longer items helps you best manage the task and understand where you are on any given date.

You should also look at how your trade contractors accomplish their work. We used several distinct concrete contractors. One would install the footings, the stone for the basement and draintile with one crew and then the walls with a second. Other concrete contractor installed the footing and foundation walls with one crew then come back with a conveyor he owned to install the stone and draintile. The total time was the same but the sequence was different.

Now that you have identified the work items you need to recognize activities that also require time that are not actual work items. Make a list of required inspections. These will vary from municipality to municipality. Typical in our area was footing inspection after form but before pour, backfill inspection, completed foundation survey, rough framing, rough plumbing, rough electrical, occupancy and final grading, final plumbing and final electrical. The final inspection often required a final search for from a licensed surveyor certifying the location of the house was as planned and that the drainage was properly completed. Each of these items should be treated as a work item.

You now have a complete list of work items which is the first step in creating a easy schedule. In the next record Creating a Flow Chart we will discuss using the work items list into a flow chart to plan your work.

easy Residential building schedule - Work Items

The building schedule is the heart of a housing business. The success of the home and finally the business that builds the home is dependent on planning and implementing the schedule. Financing, billing, building draws, closing, move in, warranty and even capability all flow from a flourishing schedule. In a series of articles we will try and take you from start to close on designing a repeatable process of scheduling a home. We will assume that the reader knows little about the building process so those of you who have some level of expertise may jump around.

In these articles we will be concerned with the bodily onsite building of a 2,500 to 3000 sf semi-custom home. In this particular record we will discuss development a list of work items to be included in the schedule. In latter articles we will add preplanning and the end process.

Carpentry Framing

The first step in preparing a building schedule is determining the work items to be included. Start with your list of trades (subcontractors.) Make sure you consist of any items you do with your own employees to the list. The following is the list we used in our estimates and invoices, Your may vary depending on your area and how you ageement your work.

501 Excavation

502 Concrete

502A sidewalk

503 Asphalt

504 Masonry

505 Steel

506 Stairs

507 Carpentry Labor

507 Trim Carp

510 Millwork and doors

511 Windows

512 Siding

514 Insulation

515 Roofing

516 Gutters

517 Drywall

518 Hardware

520 Flooring

521 Paint

522 Mirror

522 Shelving

523 garage door

524 Cabinets

525 Kitchen top

525 Marble top

526 Appliance

527 Heating

528 Plumbing

529 Electric

530 Lights

532 Sewer Water

533 Other

534 Landscaping

Next look at each trade and divide the trade into trips to the project. For example; in our case our Excavation contractor would clear the site and dig the basement foundation in one trip. He would make a second to backfill the foundation and rough grade the site and a third to final grad the site for landscaping. Try and keep the divisions of work to no less than a day and no more than a week. For example, if you let all the carpentry as on ageement and you only break it down into rough and close the rough may take more than a week. You can breakdown the rough carpentry into frame first floor and walls, second floor and wall and roof framing and sheeting. Breaking down the longer items helps you best manage the task and understand where you are on any given date.

You should also look at how your trade contractors accomplish their work. We used several distinct concrete contractors. One would install the footings, the stone for the basement and draintile with one crew and then the walls with a second. Other concrete contractor installed the footing and foundation walls with one crew then come back with a conveyor he owned to install the stone and draintile. The total time was the same but the sequence was different.

Now that you have identified the work items you need to recognize activities that also require time that are not actual work items. Make a list of required inspections. These will vary from municipality to municipality. Typical in our area was footing inspection after form but before pour, backfill inspection, completed foundation survey, rough framing, rough plumbing, rough electrical, occupancy and final grading, final plumbing and final electrical. The final inspection often required a final search for from a licensed surveyor certifying the location of the house was as planned and that the drainage was properly completed. Each of these items should be treated as a work item.

You now have a complete list of work items which is the first step in creating a easy schedule. In the next record Creating a Flow Chart we will discuss using the work items list into a flow chart to plan your work.

easy Residential building schedule - Work Items