All in a Day’s Work BY LINDA HURST Home building has come a long way since I built a house in the ‘90s. Builders are evolving with the times, becoming more efficient and cost-conscious on behalf of their clients. We asked a local builder if we could follow along on a typical home build — Larry Oaks, owner of Wausau Homes, Brainerd agreed. We tagged along at one of his recent set days giving us a first-hand look at their unique process.
7:26 a.m I was told to swing over around 7 a.m. I honestly thought the crew would be milling around formulating a plan, but this site was already hopping. I made my way around trucks and past the crane to meet with Oaks who was happy to show me around the job site.
I learned the basement was completed about two weeks prior. This particular day was dedicated to putting up the main structure. So as the homeowners’ trusty dog plopped down next to me, we settled in to watch the walls go up.
8:05 a.m. A set crew of six, clearly experienced with this process, moved swiftly around the project, each assigned a job. The boom lowered a floor joist and they guided it into place, finishing up just as the next one appeared. Over on the trucks, the crew hooked up the next pieces to place. Oaks told me this part of the process moves so smoothly because when the trucks leave the factory in Wausau, Wis., they are loaded in reverse order to aid in the unloading at the job site.
44 MINNESOTA HOME | 2018