Time To Hang Plywood?

Nail banger

I am bidding a new mini storage project and am unsure of the time it will take to sheath. It is going to be 14 gauge steel studs with Zip plywood with taped seams. The building is 178'x196' and 22'6" in height. Just the front will have a facsad (sp). I estimate approx 260 sheets. They have to be screwed every 6". They will also have a man lift for us to work out of. How many sheets do you think a 3 man crew can hang in a 8 hour day. 1 guy cutting and 2 guys screwing

neolitic

Wouldn't allow that kind of behavior!

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BuiltByMAC

Neo, you crack me the f*#@ up! I was thinking some smart ass comment about that sentence too...until I scrolled down and read your reply! Too funny!

Nail Banger, I don't know what to tell you. I've worked with framers that work hard from punch in to punch out and I've seen other crews that take 1 1/2 lunches and milk the rest of their time. I don't know if anyone here will be able to tell you how many sheets your own guys can hang.

Work out the logistics -
how close will the pile of sheeting be?
Mini-storage - so no windows or doors (on three sides)
22' high so 4x8 sheets 3 high (2 whole rows will have to be done off the lift)
A good chunk of the time your cut guy will be twiddling his fingers...how about 2 lifts and one guy to feed sheets to the guys on the lifts. When he's not cutting or feeding sheets, he can be moving whole sheets, stacking them around the building for faster access from the lifts.

Mac

Nail banger

There is 54 windows on the front. I think we could probably hang 40-50 sheets in a day. Do you think this is a realistical number?

neolitic

Like Mac said, you know your crew, we don't.
I'd think may partner and I with a helper
would be happy with 25-30, but I'm 60 he's 62.
Mac might do 50 by himself!
See what I mean.
One thing you might think about is a little Bosch or PC
"pony" router/laminate trimmer for your openings.
Keep the ground man busy with logistics like Mac was saying.

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BuiltByMAC

I first time I showed up on a jobsite and saw someone ripping out the window and door openings with one of those, I was floored. I'd spent the summer measuring, snapping lines and cutting out ROs w/ my worm drive. Talk about a time difference! A router and plunge cut bit could do in 30 seconds what took me 5 minutes with my saw!

Nail - figure placement of windows - does that affect how you want to install the plywood (horiz. or vert.)? Plan out each phase of the project, if you've got numbers of material in front of you, you can guesstimate how long each segment of the job will take with your guys. Add 'em all up for total hours on job - bid according to that.
Once you start work, keep a log of time on tasks. ALSO, keep your guys working efficiently. Setup your work environment well.
The logs will help you know for next time. Build a catalog of those time logs - now you've got history on your guys and your business that you can refer to when bidding new jobs.

Mac

Nail banger

Never thought of that. I have a 18v Dewalt cut out tool that I have used as a router. I usually cut mine with a sawzall.

neolitic

Sawsall is nice with wood frame,
a bit more problematic with steel
(Dulls blades faster and LOUD! in my experience)
Try a bit with the bearing tip in the router.
Cut 'em as you go, i.e.cut 1st sheet
before you hang second one and close the opening.
Saves plunge cutting, bet you like it.

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Nail banger

sounds like a great idea. I havn't done much work with steel studs

FramingFanatic

Use a chainsaw for the windows. Thats what we do up here, works like a charm no measuring all you gotta do is feel.

neolitic

LOL "The rocket's red glare...sparks flying through air...
As the chains, they do flip...."

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BuiltByMAC

Seems like that would work better for wood framing than steel... do you get overcuts into your trimmers/headers/sills "feeling" with a chainsaw?

Mac