| 1. What are the engineering
qualifications of the design team they need to understand
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 | First and foremost a team designing prefab homes need
sufficient experience in this particular field, in average 15 years is
considered the minimum standard. |
| Prefab homes cannot be built using conventional methods
with stud walls nailed together. |
| Wooden post and pier
construction requires in-depth knowledge of the structural
behavior of such a construction. |
| Timber prefab houses need
specific and special connections between the parts which need to
be analyzed on its capability to absorb flexional forces.
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| Horizontal stability of a wooden
prefab structure (thus also prefab houses) is a main issue. Due to
the fact that timber inter-connections do not fit exactly (like
steel connections do), the structure is extremely sensitive for
horizontal movements. It is very easy to move a wooden framework by
hand, unless proper bracings are provided. |
| Where local structural
building requirements are in force Bali Wood Houses' prefab wooden houses
will be designed in accordance with the latest Internationally
accepted Codes and Standards, such as the IBC 2009.
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| Last but not least: Bali
Wood Houses is proud to announce to have its mentor and advisor
Ir. Robert Sutarka, Msc. on board with 40 years of world-wide
experience and a track record in designing complicated and
state-of-the-art constructions in wood, steel and concrete, either
2-dimensional, 3-Dimensional and/or using simple straightforward
calculation techniques or the more sophisticated finite element
technique.
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| 2. How to deal with hurricanes
and/or earthquakes for a wooden house |
| While earthquakes are of minor concern for a wooden house due
to flexibility of the wooden structure, the same flexibility is of
major concern when a hurricane or a cyclone strikes. The
inter-connecting timber parts shall not only be strong enough to
absorb the immensely high wind loads, the stability of the house
is most important. The high wind pressure loads can easily be absorbed by the
tropical hardwoods that we use,
however the strength of a wood species does not contribute at all
to overall stability. To accomplish this, additional and sometimes
far-reaching measures need to be taken (which unfortunately has a
negative impact on the price of the house). The second area of
concern are the roof structures. Most people believe that it is
the wind pressure which may disintegrate a roof. This is a
misconception. It is the wind suction which causes the major damage.
Our engineers know very well how to deal with these problems.
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page> <prefab houses page>
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| 3. Which woods will be used in your
home |
| Bangkirai is the most suitable Indonesian hardwood for the
structural parts of a prefab house due to its natural
chemistry and high density. |
| Bali Wood Houses in principle uses premium woods and provides all customer certification that no other lesser
species like the often used inferior Camphor wood will be used in your home. |
| Bali Wood Houses will use less expensive and less durable wood
for the Basic and Traditional building options, based on your
budget and material selection based on our slogan: "One
cannot buy a Mercedes for the price of a Volkswagen"
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page> <prefab houses page>
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| 4. How will your
hardwood home structure be assembled? |
| Nails are not appropriate fasteners for ANY hardwood
structure. They cause splitting and permanent damage to hardwoods. In
conclusion: we do NOT use them. |
| Screws and lag bolts are appropriate for some connections
while others must be bolted to maximum strength. |
| The main connections are fixed by means of cut-to-length
treads form either stainless steel or galvanized steel and secured
by washers and nuts. Any standard carbon steel bolt is NOT an
option for us. |
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| 5. Will the
fasteners used in your home corrode and lose their strength? |
| Many environments, especially those near the ocean are
extremely corrosive and will cause plain carbon steel and even hot dipped
galvanized fasteners to corrode with dangerous consequences. |
| Bali Wood Houses only uses stainless steel screws and bolts
(grade 304) and in some cases brass for the DeLuxe option. Client
may opt for the same for the Basic standard and the Traditional
standard option, as we use galvanized steel for these options to
keep the price low. |
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| 6. Will large welded
brackets be used in lieu of more elegant connection methods? |
| This is a tricky area. When having understood what has been
explained in item 1 and 2 above one will ponder over the
effectiveness of an ugly integrated steel bracket system versus
the more elegant bolted connection, bearing in mind that a bolted
connection is highly prone to flexional deformations. This is the
area where Bali Wood Houses is highly specialized. Over the years we
have developed a system where beautiful bolted inter-connections
are used with a similar strength and inertia compared to a steel
bracketed connection. In addition it should be understood that
many off-the-shelf brackets need to be nailed with a significant
amount of closely spaced nails. This is a proper method for soft
wood but certainly NOT for hardwood. Refer to item 4.
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Nailed truss brackets |
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Our system |
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| 7. What happens when
2, 3 or more people jump up and down on the floor of your new
home? |
| Some of the less expensive (but no less beautiful) kit homes
use inferior wood and unsound engineering practices. |
| If a floor of any model or mock-up home
(or your delivered home) feels less solid than concrete and
deflects dangerously walk away......... |
| Heavily deflected floor Click
the image for a larger version |
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