MBC Factory Tour - Info and Photos

[garrymartin]

A couple of weekends ago, my wife and I spent some time at the MBC factory and got to ask some questions of the team there. There were quite a few different people there; sales, design, windows, even Kevin Blair, son of the founder Joe Blair, who took us on part of the factory tour. We were there for over 2 hours, including a 1-1 session where I covered any outstanding questions I still had. It was an informative day and great to see how they've developed and expanded. Seems they just keep buying more and more space whenever any adjacent units become available!

 

Great session and I took a lot of photos. A couple are attached but the remainder can all be found at https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/11i21jn1n6ko1uclcbrm7/AMtb-Jt48ljlTc0lPfiQeKk?rlkey=f08zqofj4l1qllgrxphtnawtc&st=uxhdqk71&dl=0

 

They seem quite busy and are seeing an increase in demand from people building lots of houses, especially in the social sector where they explained it is easier for a company to secure any additional funding required for Passivhaus standards as they can offset it against potential future requirements to help with heating costs etc. From a pure materials perspective, they acknowledged the challenges of Brexit, COVID-19, etc. and how that initially affected costs and quotes quite significantly but things are a little more settled now and as they expand, they're able to secure pricing for longer periods as they're able to commit to larger orders. They're also sourcing from multiple suppliers and multiple regions as costs and availability flex due to growing seasons etc.

 

Process

• Pre-start meeting - they discuss design guidelines and decisions with you and get your architectural drawings if available. MBC redo the designs in their software, including the 3D roof design. This takes about 4 days and they can then be provided back to your architect (if applicable) to update anything that did not translate from your original vision into an engineering specification.
• General arrangement - that design is then turned into the build instructions for the factory. The full structural engineering package is provided by Adept who MBC have been working with for over 22 years. They have 20+ engineers.
• Once erected - cut all your holes for service penetrations etc. and then MBC will come back to tape etc. and provide their full airtight package. These teams are all employed by MBC so are well versed in airtight requirements.
• PHPP - standard MBC timber-frame features are available for PHPP modelling, but they don't do any modelling themselves; you'll need someone to do that.
• Building Regulations - MBC don't do building regulations drawings/documentation so your architect or an architectural designer would need to do those.
• File ownership - MBC don't provide you with the source files from their various software packages but will do exports in various formats for you.

 

General

• MBC Passive Foundation - they don't subcontract this (technically) as they own the company that does it. This is the same for the timber-frame insulation - they own that company too.
• You excavate the ground to (mostly) a 100kn bearing capacity and backfill with MOT Type 3. MBC then come along and puts in MOT Type 1, sand blinding, EPS etc. If you're putting UFH in the slab, you need to do this, MBC doesn't. Then comes the concrete.
• Site access issues - they can work around most issues. They've not been able to find some way to make it work. They send someone to the site to investigate constraints and then plan accordingly.
• What things influence higher cost - big open spaces, the weight of things (like green roofs) and features that require hidden fixings or complicated connection details.
• They have not seen any issues with mortgage companies or warranties concerning their timber-frame installations.

 

Materials and Sources

• They source their materials from different places depending on the market and where things are growing. All timber is FSC sustainably harvested with documentation.
• They secure pricing with suppliers based on estimated cubed usage, and swallow any pricing fluctuations once a price for your timber-frame has been agreed.
• External walls and floors are treated. Some locations require additional treatments for things like longhorn beetles.

 

Windows

• They supply and install Rationel and Velfac windows. Solarlux (generally aluminium) as a gap filler when there are requirements that can't be met by Rationel or Velfac. The Rationel windows are primarily timber/ali-clad with a larger profile, whereas the Velfac are composite, aluminium/timber and have thinner profiles.
• MBC are of course happy for you to choose windows from someone else so long as you use an installer that is manufacturer-approved and that they are installed to MBC airtightness specifications which they will provide.
• Choosing MBC to design and build the timber-frame and to install the windows can save some time in some situations; MBC will happily place the order for the windows based on their design drawings. Some window companies will want a structure to measure against unless you are willing to take the risk of measurements being incorrect. Furthermore, there is no possibility of the timber-frame supplier and the window supplier blaming each other for any issues if MBC does both!
• Installation of windows is by NKG as sole installers. They are very experienced with housing and deliver consistently good quality installs.
• Their window systems manager, Jason, was at Rationel for 15 years, was an installer himself for 3.5 years, and before that was a carpenter.
• How can you save money with windows? Bifolds are more expensive than sliders. The taller and wider the glass, the more expensive it gets, large spans especially. Openers are more expensive, but only marginally so in the grand scheme of things.

 

Edited July 25 by garrymartin
Photos didn't upload

[joe90]

That’s really good info, well done. Our Jeremy Harris used MBC and he really sang their praises when they did his build.

[zzPaulzz]

Excellent info, thank you. What’s your thoughts on the Passive versus the High Performance systems? I can’t decide if the 15% price difference is worth it in the long run. 

[garrymartin]

4 minutes ago, zzPaulzz said:

Excellent info, thank you. What’s your thoughts on the Passive versus the High Performance systems? I can’t decide if the 15% price difference is worth it in the long run. 

You're welcome. The systems obviously have a price differential because of the extra benefits that Passive brings. I can't really comment on whether the 15% price difference is worth it to you, but for me, I'll be going Passive.

[zzPaulzz]

9 minutes ago, garrymartin said:

You're welcome. The systems obviously have a price differential because of the extra benefits that Passive brings. I can't really comment on whether the 15% price difference is worth it to you, but for me, I'll be going Passive.

That’s my strong inclination too.  It seems like a simpler build system with inherently less cold-bridging and a higher decrement factor than their high performance wall.  And the excellent air-tightness guarantee. 

[jack]

They were a great company to work with when we built in 2014 - one of the best we used on the whole build.

 

It sounds like they've tightened up and become more professional and organised, which is great.

[Dunc]

Good info. I'm currently contracted with MBC...it's been generally good but a couple of points which anyone building in Scotland may find helpful:

1. They can't supply Rationel/Velfac windows in Scotland (someone else has the contract for that aparantly). This isn't made clear on the website.

2. The groundworks team don't want to travel to NE scotalnd to install a raft, even though the timberframe side of it is fine up here.

[LnP]

Excellent write-up, thanks. I'm in the process of assessing timber frame quotes, looking at four companies. As mentioned elsewhere, it's not straightforward because they all have different scopes. I've not finished yet, nevertheless it's looking like MBC will be ~30% more expensive than the others. Of course best value is not always lowest cost, but I'm interested in views on this.

 

PS I'm going well insulated but not Passivhaus.

Edited August 19 by LnP

[zzPaulzz]

6 hours ago, LnP said:

Excellent write-up, thanks. I'm in the process of assessing timber frame quotes, looking at four companies. As mentioned elsewhere, it's not straightforward because they all have different scopes. I've not finished yet, nevertheless it's looking like MBC will be ~30% more expensive than the others. Of course best value is not always lowest cost, but I'm interested in views on this.

 

PS I'm going well insulated but not Passivhaus.

Me too. It’s very hard. So far comparing MBC with Scotframe, Frame Technologies, Fleming, Potton/KTS and Turner Timber.