Articles
Building
Ideas Winter 1998 Making the Move to Modular Construction |
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A modular home costs less and takes less time to build,
as these homeowners discovered. |
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| Modular construction
is less dependent on weather than on-site building methods. If you
want to move in the spring, most of the home's construction can
be done during the winter in the factory and assembled quickly on-site. In areas of the country fraught with labor shortages or where the building season is short, choosing a modular home makes construction less frustrating and time-consuming. "We can build a high-quality 900-square-foot ranch or a 3,000-square-foot, two-story home in a short time—that's why these homes are popular. And we deliver it to the site up to 90 percent complete," says John Trant, executive vice president and chief operating officer of All American Homes, a modular home building company. Modular homes are built to withstand shipping and are more precise than site-built homes because they're constructed in factories under controlled conditions. Because building costs can vary regionally across the country, modular homes either cost less or are comparable to similar site-built houses in the area. Charles Bevier, editor of the industry publication Building Systems magazine, notes that most modular homes meet or exceed local and state building codes. In fact, most modular homes routinely outshine site-built homes in terms of sturdiness and durability. For example, in contrast to some site-built methods, drywall in a modular home often is both glued and screwed to the studs; double and triple headers frame stairways and doors. "In a site-built home, the roof decking can be as thin as 5/16 of an inch, but in a modular home, it's at least 3/4-inch," says Don Carlson, editor and publisher of Automated Builder magazine. "And it's glue-nailed on, not just nailed on as in site-built homes. The strongest home we build in the United States is the modular home." "A homeowner knows the quality he or she is getting with a modular home," says Barbara Martin, executive director of the Modular Building Systems Council of the National Association of Home Builders. "There are no price overruns because it's all built to specification in a factory. Once you're quoted a price, that's it." One drawback to modular homes is the wait—from three to eight months—until the factory can fit your home into the assembly-line schedule or while the factory workers get materials for your home. Yet, Ron Evans, president and chief executive of Nationwide Homes, another large modular home company, says the wait is over. In fact, his factories added so much capacity this year that he guarantees customers a 45-day turnaround from order to delivery of their home. Another persistent problem with modulars was their cookie-cutter look. If you wanted a contemporary-style home, you were out of luck. Most companies offered traditional looks— ranches, colonials, and two-stories—but today many offer cutting-edge contemporary or custom designs. "Most companies have architects on staff who use computer-aided drafting to quickly assemble a number of predrawn features, such as doors and cabinets, and help you personalize your home," Bevier says. Most companies work with local builders who act as the company's dealer, much like a car firm has local dealers. A few companies will work directly with a homeowner or an architect, such as Wayne Neale, who wanted to see his own design built. The Neales couldn't be happier with their factory-built home. "Things are joined properly, and the carpentry is far better than any I've seen built on-site," Wayne says. "Even the door casings are joined almost like furniture, extremely tight in the miters." He adds, "By building a modular home, we got a house where the quality level of the construction is extremely high. It was the right choice for us." |
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| How
to Pick a Modular Home Company
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