Preparing for a Modular Delivery and Set

The GC’s Responsibilities for Preparing for Delivery and Set

The GC is responsible for preparing your site for the delivery and set of the modules. More specifically, he is responsible for preparing both the access leading to the lot and foundation, and the area where the crane and modules must be located during the set. If the area is flat, with good soil conditions and relatively wide, straight roads, this responsibility may be without challenges. On the other hand, problems can arise on what appears to be an easy site. Bad weather, poor soil, loose fill, a utility pole in an inconvenient place, a septic system located where the crane needs to go, a customer’s refusal to cut a favored tree or remove an old stone wall; these are the kinds of things that can turn a site into a logistical challenge, or even a logistical nightmare.
When the manufacturer’s delivery time from its factory to the site is more than a couple of hours, it will deliver the modules at least one day before the scheduled set. In such a situation, the GC should try to create sufficient space on the site to store all of the carriers overnight. Since the most efficient way to set a home on the foundation is to place the crane in front of the house with one carrier on each side of the crane, the preferred storage plan is to create a space wide enough for the carriers to be delivered directly to these positions. Unfortunately, the combination of lot size and configuration, topography, soil conditions, foundation size, and the number and size of the modules can sometimes make it impossible to place all of the modules in the right place while preserving room for the crane to set up.

Need for Staging Areas

When the modules cannot be properly placed, one or more of the carriers have to be delivered to a temporary storage location, which may be at another location on your site or at a nearby parking lot or open field. The carriers will then be moved to their proper positions next to the foundation on set day. Although the GC is responsible for preparing the site to facilitate these efforts, he is not responsible for things beyond his control, such as a heavy rainstorm that washes out the driveway. Nor should you expect him to pay for the required repair.

Risk of Delivery and Set Delays

If the GC does not prepare the site in a satisfactory manner, and this causes the delivery and set operations to be delayed, you and the GC will be liable for the additional costs incurred. The drivers and escorts that deliver the carriers will budget enough time to drive directly to the site or wherever you designate. They will expect to maneuver the carriers into place with reasonable effort, and then leave. They will not expect to spend hours waiting for trees to be cut, fill to be delivered, or a bulldozer to arrive. If any of these are required, the delivery company will charge the modular dealer, who will in turn bill you, for the additional time. The crane company will charge the dealer by the hour, with a minimum fee. The longer the set takes, the more the meter runs. The crew that completes the various set activities will also charge the dealer for any lost time caused by the delays, and the dealer will pass this additional expense on to you. If the delays were caused by the GC’s poor site preparation, it fair for you to submit the invoices from the delivery, crane, and set companies to the GC for reimbursement.
Many sets take a full day, and some take two or more days. One of the most important responsibilities of the set crew is to protect the home from weather damage as quickly as possible. If the site is not prepared, and the set is subsequently delayed by several hours, the set crew may not be able to complete enough of the set to give your home the protection it will need should it rain over night. If the delay happens before the first module is set, the set crew and modular dealer can cancel the set and reschedule it for the next available day. But if some of the modules are already set on the foundation, with the protective coverings removed, the set cannot easily be stopped and the crew may not be able to take the required steps to protect the home until the cause of the delay is removed. If this delay takes a few hours, the home will be exposed to the elements longer than it needed to be.

Create a Written Delivery and Set Plan

General contractors, excavators, and customers consistently underestimate the difficulties involved in preparing a site. Their misjudgments come at great expense and aggravation to the dealer and, ultimately, the customer. The best way to avoid a disagreement between your dealer and the GC, if they are not the same company, is to have them meet on your site before any work begins to jointly develop a plan. The dealer should put the plan in writing so that both parties have written documentation. The plan should indicate what the excavator needs to do to properly prepare the site as well as where the dealer intends to place the carriers and crane. If a problem develops on the delivery or set because the plan was poorly conceived, although executed correctly by the GC, the dealer will be responsible for any additional costs. When the excavator is about halfway done with his preset work, the dealer should again meet with the GC to review and, if necessary, update the plan; the best thought-out excavation plans do not always work as well on land as they do on paper. If the dealer has any lingering concerns, he should return for a third visit just before the excavator is ready to leave the site. Either way, the dealer should visit the site for a final pre-set inspection after the GC reports it is prepared.
For more information about the delivery and set of a modular home, see Finding and Preparing a Building Lot for a Modular Home, Selecting a Modular Home Dealer, and The General Contractor’s Responsibilities for Building a Modular Home in my book The Modular Home.