HawthorneVillager.com

Hmmm, now I wonder where you learned that little tidbit about the siding/bulkheads Greg...

You guys don't have the siding around the kitchen...

Who's house could you have been loitering in and what home owner could you have harassed in order to have learned this curious bit of info?...

I'm stumped.

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Mark

THAT'S the reason? Well, don't be giving me credit then. I thought it was cause the bulkheads were holding up my entire flimsy, all siding, non-bricked upstairs.

Glad you typed that essay and not me. Phew.

Further to the original questions...

There are ways to completely delete the bulkheads in many homes with siding. Technically, I think it can be done in almost any home but as kemist points out in his first post, it may come at a cost - often undesirable vent locations, possibly even locations that shouldn't pass code (but probably get overlooked). And it can also get prohibitively complicated which would be another reason Mattamy, as a volume builder, would have to put the kibosh on some bulkhead deletions.

In our case 75% of our bulkheads were completely deleted - allowing us to install the cabinet crown moulding (to be done later). We left a small stretch over our patio sliders in order to avoid a negative impact on air flow/vent locations in our Master Bedroom - and I'll thank Greg for helping me with this solution . Again, this bulkhead could also have been deleted...but the cost (undesirable vent locations) was more than I was comfortable with.

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Mark

From my experience, if there are ducting within the bulkheads, Mattamy will refuse to delete them. Even for a hefty fee.

I agree dakaardian. I think that speaks to my comment about "prohibitively complicated". Sometimes re-routing everything comes with an easy solution, other times quite difficult. At some point, it becomes more difficult than Mattamy (or any volume builder) can justify and must tell the home owner that it cannot be done. I think a custom builder could "find a way" but would of course charge for the process accordingly. Mattamy, understandably, doesn't have this luxury.

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Mark

Here's where things can start to get a bit wonky.

Based on my own experience and conversations I've had with other home owners, there can be different answers to the same "Can my bulkheads be deleted?" question for the same models. I can tell you that I've spoken with others who have the same model and elevation as we do and received differing info on this issue from everyone including their design consultant, builder, architect, etc.

In our case, we were told during our structural appointment all of our bulkheads could be easily deleted. More recently, our builder informed us the only way to do this comes at the sacrifice of proper air flow in our master bedroom and some portion of our bulkheads really should be left as is - as I've mentioned in my earlier post. We took his advice and did as I described earlier.

I'm of the understanding every home Mattamy builds comes with bulkheads. Brick, siding or otherwise. The owner then determines if they want to keep or delete them. If the owner opts to delete and it can be done with what Mattamy determines is a "reasonable" (read minimal) amount of work (it may or may not involve re-routing services), Mattamy will do so at no charge. Where it gets a bit wishy washy is in cases like ours where the DC says one thing and the builder another, or when other homes of identical model and elevation have had their BH's deleted yet "you" are being told they have to remain. Why does the latter happen? And I know that it does. Maybe, the homes being compared were framed differently. Though I always thought this would not vary between homes of the same model/elevation. So to be honest I haven't been able to figure that one out.

So when you go to your structural, assume the bulkheads are there regardless of your brick/siding configuration. Request that they be deleted.

If you're told it can be done, great. But keep an eye on your kitchen when the services are being put in. It was at this stage we realized we were going to end up with at least some bulkhead even though we were told none would exist.

If you're told by your DC the bulkheads can't be deleted, don't completely lose hope. Though more than likely it'll end up this way, develop a dialogue with your builder and work together to see if there is a possible solution to at least minimize them if not eliminate them all together.

Best of Luck!

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Mark

It's a sickness really...can't help ourselves.

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Mark

Hi Greg,
Thanks for telling the truth about making up stuff as I was just wondering how you and Mark seem to know 'everything".
Mary

Our Chief Builder is a really terrific guy who takes the time to educate home owners on any questions or concerns they may have. And if he doesn't already know the answer, he gets it for you. Any info I pass along has likely come directly from this process of him educating me.

On my own I actually stink at this home building thing, honest to God. Greg will tell you. Ask him about the frame around my fireplace I didn't realize existed until he showed it to me - even though it was in plain sight for two months. I just ask a ton of questions and am fortunate enough to have a builder who doesn't mind me asking or providing answers.

As for Greg...you think he's making up a lot of stuff here? You should catch him after a couple cocktails. It's all "Did I tell you about the time I saved Bill Clinton's life?" or "My buddy has three ears" or "You think I'm sitting next to you but I'm really just a hologram" or "I'm 31".

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Mark

You mean he's a teenager ?????

Ha! I like that. Hadn't thought of it that way.

In dog years maybe...

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Mark

Now, please don't tell me that Greg also goes to "the park" for a walk every day.
Mary