The Manufacturing and On-site Assembly Process

The home begins as individual 10' 8" x 20' 8" steel components or "cells". Each cell's parts are assembled and welded in a specially designed jig, including ceiling and floor joists, and finally the floor and ceiling plates. Electrical, plumbing and HVAC are run through grommets in the ceiling, floor and duct portals to adjoining cells. After the cell is constructed, it is placed on heavy-duty casters to move it to staging areas for adding exterior and interior walls. Exterior wall panels are molded and each panel is bonded to the steel interior superstructure and windows/doors are installed. The exterior wall assembly is then bonded to the appropriate section of each cell. Once the exterior walls have been added to a cell, the interior drywall and finishing is completed.
The site is prepared for the arrival of the individual components (cells) for assembly. The cells are loaded onto tractor-trailers and transported to the site. There the cells are lifted from the trailer and set onto pilaster pins and bolted into place. The cells are stacked, the two roof sections and two end gables are added and the assembled home is ready for occupancy after the utilities are hooked up.
  
How are PDG Domus homes built?

      The PDG Domus home is based on a framework or "component" of welded structural tube and plate steel, much like the structure of skyscrapers. These structural components are combined in many configurations, creating a wide variety of architectural styles and floorplans for you to choose from.
      The exterior walls are molded with Modar® resins (produced by Ashland Inc.), a laminating material used to produce car and truck bodies due to it's safety and durability. The application of our unique casting technology, duplicates any exterior surface: wood, brick, slate or stone. The laminating material is impregnated with a ceramic material, which increases the insulation and burn-resistance factors. Additional benefits of this material are it's strength, rot and insect resistance, and colors are impregnated which means never having to paint!
      The entire Domus home is manufactured by highly skilled craftsmen in the environmentally controlled work space of our micro-plants to ensure a high quality finished product–your new home. We're able to produce a stonger, more durable, more energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly home, with a higher attention to detail than stick-built structures.
      A typical 1600 sq. ft. PDG Domus home is transported to the site as five components, two roof gables and two roof pieces. A Zoom Boom (or crane) lifts the components into place. The home is assembled in 3 days, after the assembly and utility hook-ups have been completed, the homebuyer can move in.

PDG Domus receives 40 ft. lengths of tube steel and 10' X 20' steel sheets, then cuts it to specific measurements for each component of a particular model. A structural cell is made of 4” x 4” and 4” x 6” tube steel (ASTM-A-500) and steel plate cut into pieces then welded into an integrated form. The floor sections are welded into place over .25” thick steel floor joists, steel enables tighter tolerances then wood, giving the PDG Domus home tighter assembly which dramatically reduces energy costs. The steel structural cell is stronger than wood, eliminating the need for additional weight-bearing walls and enabling the cells to be transported to sites without damage.
The exterior panel is infused with Polane S Plus which gives a durable 50 year, low maintenance exterior finish. The wall assembly integrates; the exterior wall panel, structural steel wall sub-assembly bonded to the wall panel, structural foam insulation, and interior wallboard. Electrical harnesses and plumbing are integrated into the wall assembly while it is being manufactured.
Standard wallboard is bonded to the inside of the wall panel and structural insulation foam is injected into the wall assembly giving it an average R-value of 35.
 PDG Domus home is built entirely in a plant;
The individual components are loaded at the manufacturing plant on a standard tractor/trailer. The components are transported to the site, then unloaded from the tractor/trailer. The components are and lifted into place, starting with the front of the house. The components are lifted into place, the lower components are set on steel pilasters.
The lower components are added to form the first floor. The upper components are added to form the second floor. The front gable is added, forming the third (loft) floor. The rear gable is added.
The first roof sections is lifted into place. The second roof sections is lifted into place. Rear deck and front and rear railings are installed. The completed Hartford model, from PDG Domus homes.