DODLA 2016 AGS Panel #4

Transcription:
Facilitator: So when you make the decision either as a design build for [0:06:14] [Inaudible] as an architect that you want to have custom stainless railings, you have basically two options. You can have a local fabricator build it for you or you can have a company like AGS prefabricate all the railings and ship them out ready to be installed.

So I would like to ask you both – you both worked with local fabricators in the past. Can you talk about maybe the difference that you found from the local fabricator experience and then going with a prefabricated system? Let’s start with Ryan.  


Ryan Hanson of Sustainable 9 Design + Build: Sure. Yeah. We used a couple of different subcontractors to do that in the past and they’re all – they’ve done good work. But yet in our local markets, I don’t know if any of you know but the Vikings [Indiscernible] was building a new stadium and they have basically taken all of the welders and pushed them out – the year to a year and a half.

A lot of times – in these houses, it’s turnaround times two and we were looking for something that’s like hey, we need something that has a predictable turnaround time and that’s kind of what led us to you guys and also we have a referral from another builder that we know.

I think those prefabricators, again sometimes it has got – these are guys that are welding this in their garage and it’s the guy with the pickup truck and he’s bringing it to the site and you’re installing it and the same thing with – you know, even invoicing sometimes is hard with these guys.

So it’s like to deal with a company that I know it’s going to be a quality product and I know I’m going to get a reasonable time. That’s really kind of what led us to you guys and it has worked out very well.  


Facilitator: Excellent. Brian, you’ve worked with local fabricators in the past as well, right?  


Brian Abramson of Method Homes: I have. I will echo Ryan’s sentiments. We have a local fabricator named Bob. He has got a garage in the – he does great work. He’s a good guy and we tend to use him when we do not stainless, so powder-coated steel railings or painted which in the northwest sometimes don’t hold up as well as stainless. But we are able to get them in a slightly lower price point. But when we do use stainless railings, we found that using a pre-engineered system is – costs superior to having custom stainless steel because that’s really the specialty for fabricators.

Like our guy Bob is a stainless specialist. He’s good with kind of raw steel and then we get it powder-coated elsewhere. But yeah, that process, we have to take it from him to the powder coater and it’s very – it can be time-consuming. We are able to do them in a slightly lower price point. So that’s a benefit. But then long term durability, if we have to go back and deal with weather later, long term, maybe savings upfront but then not later.

So there are usually benefits and drawbacks. But the pre-design engineered installation times are significantly faster and our carpenter has been good. Ryan and I, we were talking about that before the presentation and really a medium-skilled carpenter can solve these no problem in a pretty short timeline.

So it’s the ease of installation particularly in farther areas. We shipped some railings to New York on a project that we did in New York and from Seattle and a local contractor dealt with them. But you’re able to sell it as part of our home package. So it was beneficial for us in that regard as well.  


Facilitator: Excellent. I appreciate those thoughts.