The Delay
We were supposed to start the house assembly Oct 23, then Nov 4, and finally Nov 27, 2017. Unfortunately, we won't be toasting to the new house on Christmas Day.
The assembly date then slipped to Dec 4. Why does Bensonwood seem eager to keep slipping the date? Bensonwood has to start building our panels several weeks ahead of the assembly date. Are there scheduling problems in their shop? Something's amiss that we can't quite identify.
Bensonwood finally told us on Nov 16 that they had not received their Maryland Modular Builder Certification. Many states are starting to require some sort of building certification of pre-built panels since the framing inspection can't happen onsite after the panels are built. We knew of this certification requirement Sept 1. However, BWC hadn't kept us up to date and we had been assured that it wouldn't affect the project. We expected to have the status updated at these weekly calls if it was a problem.
Projects are managed to achieve desired outcomes and the weekly calls are the venue to identify problems early, when it is easier to correct them. This didn't happen.
Not communicating the status was a major failing by Bensonwood. When they didn't have certification by Nov 16, all they could do is assign another customer's project to the time slot in which our panels were supposed to be built. If we had been informed of the progress regularly, even as late as three weeks earlier, then we could have applied pressure to the State of Maryland to get the certification.
The result is that our project will be delayed until Jan 2 - nearly 30 days after the prior date. One of the reasons for doing a panel house was that it could be assembled quickly. There is a cost premium for this time savings, most of which is now lost due to poor project management by BWC. To say that we're disappointed and angry (yes, angry) is an understatement. The BWC executives tell us about delivering "a quality home," but omit any mention of the quality of their services. Not disclosing the lack of certification was a violation of the trust we placed in them.
There is also the issue of weather. Building weather in late November and early December is typically not too bad. No high winds, temperature is typically above freezing, no snow or ice. However, January is not so friendly for building. Weather systems pass over the area on a weekly basis, with all of the above characteristics.
Now what? Is there anything we can do during the delay? We wanted to have the house in place and build the garage connected to the house. We would avoid any problems with matching the two together. However, with the delay, we have decided that BWC will have to mate the house with the garage. We measured the garage stud heights twice so that the roof line of the entry porch will match the roof line of the garage. There is also some framing that can be done: window well framing, basement partition walls, and framing the three decks: entry porch, dining room screened porch, and master bedroom deck.
Bensonwood received their certification on Dec 14, almost 4 weeks from the date when they told us of the delay.
The assembly date then slipped to Dec 4. Why does Bensonwood seem eager to keep slipping the date? Bensonwood has to start building our panels several weeks ahead of the assembly date. Are there scheduling problems in their shop? Something's amiss that we can't quite identify.
Bensonwood finally told us on Nov 16 that they had not received their Maryland Modular Builder Certification. Many states are starting to require some sort of building certification of pre-built panels since the framing inspection can't happen onsite after the panels are built. We knew of this certification requirement Sept 1. However, BWC hadn't kept us up to date and we had been assured that it wouldn't affect the project. We expected to have the status updated at these weekly calls if it was a problem.
Projects are managed to achieve desired outcomes and the weekly calls are the venue to identify problems early, when it is easier to correct them. This didn't happen.
Not communicating the status was a major failing by Bensonwood. When they didn't have certification by Nov 16, all they could do is assign another customer's project to the time slot in which our panels were supposed to be built. If we had been informed of the progress regularly, even as late as three weeks earlier, then we could have applied pressure to the State of Maryland to get the certification.
The result is that our project will be delayed until Jan 2 - nearly 30 days after the prior date. One of the reasons for doing a panel house was that it could be assembled quickly. There is a cost premium for this time savings, most of which is now lost due to poor project management by BWC. To say that we're disappointed and angry (yes, angry) is an understatement. The BWC executives tell us about delivering "a quality home," but omit any mention of the quality of their services. Not disclosing the lack of certification was a violation of the trust we placed in them.
There is also the issue of weather. Building weather in late November and early December is typically not too bad. No high winds, temperature is typically above freezing, no snow or ice. However, January is not so friendly for building. Weather systems pass over the area on a weekly basis, with all of the above characteristics.
Now what? Is there anything we can do during the delay? We wanted to have the house in place and build the garage connected to the house. We would avoid any problems with matching the two together. However, with the delay, we have decided that BWC will have to mate the house with the garage. We measured the garage stud heights twice so that the roof line of the entry porch will match the roof line of the garage. There is also some framing that can be done: window well framing, basement partition walls, and framing the three decks: entry porch, dining room screened porch, and master bedroom deck.
Bensonwood received their certification on Dec 14, almost 4 weeks from the date when they told us of the delay.
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