Plans and Specifications

Ironwood Homes provides a “Base Plan Set” which is the set of plans and specifications you will use when developing the plans for each individual home. This Base Plan Set includes details and specifications for prefabrication of the common parts as well as on-site assembly of the structure.

The plan details are intended to be imported into the final home plans, reducing the design time and costs. By providing and requiring these details we can ensure every home is built right and will perform as intended every day and when disaster strikes.

The Base Plan Set includes the primary structural details needed to assemble shear panels, and selection criteria for beams, floor trusses, connectors and clips needed. This set also provides details for setting adjacent and stacked frames with their connection details. Wood grades and steel gauge requirements and sizing for each are specified. This is to ensure the structural integrity of every home is met.

On the exterior, materials including insulation is specified and details for installation is provided. This is critical to energy-efficiency and especially to create a high fire-resistant home. Siding and trim, roofing materials, patio covers, decking have minimum material requirements. These will vary between Light-Gauge Steel framing and Wood framing.

Individual Home Plans

Designing an Ironwood Home starts with setting the structural and gravity frames to create the size and shape of the home. Bay extensions and other exterior features will be added at this time. The exterior wall panels are not designed until the interior layout is complete.

After the frames have been arranged, create a floor plan, marking the location of all shear panels. These are the only restrictions in your home design. Shear panels cannot have openings but can have pipe and conduit running vertically down from the ceiling. Horizontal penetrations through the studs are not recommended.

Design interior rooms with large open spaces and arrange rooms to minimize the need for interior wall construction. Where the shear panels exist you can place closets and food pantries. Now go back to your exterior plans and add your exterior doors and windows to align with the interior spaces, remember to avoid the shear panels. We are ready to complete the exterior and interior framing and plan the prefabricated wall sections, add the roof and other exterior framing.

Hand the drawings over for MEP design: Some simple requirements and some absolute requirements for MEP design:

MUST HAVE: All-Electric, no natural gas or propane. Use heat pump systems for HVAC. Electric appliances in the kitchen. EXECPTION: Cold Climate areas with gas ONLY used for heating and water heating.

MUST HAVE: Solar power + Batteries required. Design a solar power system to support normal daily power usage and recharge the battery. The batter should be sized to provide some power into the evening, stopping when a minimum power reserve level is reached, typically 8-12 hours emergency battery power on minimal usage.

Explore home wind power as well. Home size wind generators are developing rapidly and will be a great addition in some locations.

MUST HAVE: Solar Water Heating or heat pump water heating required. The best design includes both. (See DHW design drawings)

Minimum of 4 circuits to the kitchen, not including the refrigerator, oven and cooktop. This is to support the many different countertop appliances used in kitchens today.

Exterior lighting controls in the patio areas, yard lighting, and under the eaves for holiday lighting. These lights are controlled by timers and / or photocell.

Quad outlets or multiple duplex outlets where entertainment centers will be located.

Provide point of entry and then distribution for phone, cable and internet. Provide wireless access router locations with Power and Ethernet cable to wireless access point locations.

What is an Ironwood? | Why Ironwood? | Fire Safe & Strong | Energy-Efficient | LGS or Wood?