Modular Buildings – The World’s Fastest Construction
Modular commercial buildings are testing the limits of construction speed. In 2015, a Chinese construction firm completed a 57-story skyscraper in 19 days. Company engineer Chen Xiangqian from Broad Sustainable Building explained the time advantage inherent to modular structures, “with the traditional method they have to build a skyscraper brick by brick, but with our method, we just need to assemble the blocks. The blocks were constructed off-site and then transported to the site and stacked together.” This saved them 15,000 truck journeys – which is a significant measure of the time and effort saved and fuel pollution averted.
In order to build your structure quickly, it’s best to have all your permits ready and inspections scheduled. Do your research, and plan ahead of time. Although each state and county will have qualifications for permits and inspections, here’s a quick guide to modular building permits and inspections which can help you get started on your research.
1. Geotech Survey – Before you get a building permit you need a geotechnical soil analysis. This analysis is carried out by a civil engineer specialist or firm. The purpose of this survey is to identify the type of soil present at your site and determine the design requirements of the building’s foundation.
2. Third Party Licensing – Plans for each custom modular building are reviewed by a third party to ensure they comply with state and local building codes. Factory visits will follow to inspect that the individual modules are constructed to plan and
3. Building Permit – With the information from the geotech survey, you can create a structural foundation plan. To apply for a building permit, you will submit the structural foundation plan, construction drawings, and geotech survey results to the local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). Once the issuing AHJ is satisfied that all the plans and paperwork are in accordance with the rules and regulations, you will receive a building permit and permission to begin construction.
4. Utility Permit – A utility permit is essentially the permission needed to connect a new building to the required utilities (electricity and plumbing connections being the most common) to the nearest utility connection. Getting the utility permit is a fairly straight-forward process.
5. Final Use and Occupancy Permit – This last permit is required when your building is complete and ready to be occupied. An inspection is carried out by the issuing AHJ upon completion of construction. As long as the inspector is satisfied that all rules and regulations have been followed, they will provide a Final Use and Occupancy permit.
If you are planning to use modular construction, prepare in advance. This will let you take full advantage of the faster construction methods that prefab buildings supply.
If you are looking for modular buildings for sale or modular building rental options, request a quote from Mobile Modular today!