frame high-end custom
homes in California's
suburbs, and I
pride myself on turning
out "clean" work. But I
wouldn't be in business around
here very long if I weren't fast.
With my three-man crew, I'm
expected to frame and sheathe
a 3,000-square-foot custom
home with lots of high rake
walls and a complex roof in
about one month.
That kind of speed comes
from using production techniques.
I learned them in the
"tracts" — the West Coast's
large, suburban developments
that have been the breeding
ground for these innovative
techniques for more than 40
years. Contractors unfamiliar
with these methods tend to
think of them as inherently
sloppy and out of control. On
the contrary, each move is
orchestrated to achieve efficiency.
The key is to learn