Lessons from The Two Hour House.
The second major inspiration for us is the work of Brian Conaway and 600 friends who built a 2250ft2 wood frame home in 2.52.29 hours. So when someone asks us just why we think we can do the work we do in less than two weeks, we actually wonder why we can’t go even faster. Because two weeks to renovate a home, according to Brian Conaway, isn’t that fast!
Take a look at this video to see how they did it.
Whilst building regulations in the UK are different to those in the USA making it much more difficult to build a home quickly in the UK, the most interesting thing about this experiment was the process Conaway and his team took to beat the previous record. They were willing to challenge any convention to achieve their goal. This resulted in a number of innovations in how they built the house. Ones that stood out to us included:
1. Work backwards – That is, start with the outcome and then work your way back.
In doing this,we have found that an unanticipated benefit of using spray plaster is that you do not have to sand and wipe down the walls before painting - this saves 1-2 days and lot of work on a typical build. Further, as the spray plaster we recommend is white, you don’t actually need to paint the ceiling if you don’t want to. Another time saver. People don’t actually want to paint their walls, they simply want them the colour of their choice.
2. If you want to move really quickly then raise your standards.
Conaway and his team found that to save time, it was essential to over-specify the level of finish and not to scrimp on standards. Instead of going with an approach that may be acceptable, it’s better to exceed any regulation or recommendation and practically eliminate the need to do any snagging or corrective work. It does cost you a little more in the short term but then you can also sleep peacefully knowing your house is extremely well made and you actually get the job done faster .
3. Speed and Genuine Quality Actually Go Together.
Linked to that is the research shown in manufacturing that demonstrates that quality is actually free. Whilst it may be common sense to think that it is cheaper to do it right the first time, this is supported by the research too. It may be hard work initially but it is ultimately free as there is less rework and repair. Clients will be happier too and so the cost of finding new work falls as word of mouth marketing reduces the need for conventional advertising. The biggest cost in combining quality and speed though is the thought needed to create a great system.