A few CMs have already heard the “buzz” about floor cassettes from the annual International Builders Show (IBS). A good portion of January’s Show dealt with offsite construction, and prebuilt floor sections are of major interest. At one of the Show’s seminars, we emphasized the value of “Building it Twice”; first to build a robust computer model, and second to build it onsite. In our IBS Booth, we showed how to build floor cassettes in our software and how a floor deck looks, full sized.
By including HVAC ducts, we highlighted the unmatched capability of floor trusses to accommodate penetrations, and also the need for coordination with mechanical trades. HVAC shops have to do layouts in advance, and do load calculations for submittal, just as we do with truss calculations (sealed drawings). Unfortunately, duct information isn’t as useful as it could be. Fortunately, help is on the way.
Together with another MiTek company, Wrightsoft, we are developing the ability to import mechanicals into the Sapphire model. Since hundreds of contractors use Wrightsoft to produce submittal calculations, this interaction will enable us to build a better model.
2020 is a year of experimentation for floor cassettes. Multiple home builders and component plants are planning pilot projects. So far, in-plant fabrication methods are mostly manual. However, with Builders FirstSource buying a practitioner, Raney in Florida, and Pulte purchasing ICG two hours away, we’ll know a lot more by the 2021 IBS in Orlando.