Why Buy A Modular Home
[History] [Quality] [Amenities] [Time] [Cost] [Summary]
There are many reasons why the best built modular homes are considered superior to the vast majority of "stick built" homes (that is, homes built entirely on-site). The Home Store would like to tell you about some of the more important reasons.
History
Industrialized,
factory built homes are not a recent phenomenon. They have been
built in this country for many years--in fact, since the 1890's.
Americans began buying industrialized housing out of mail-order
catalogues as soon as they could ship the materials cross-country
by railroad. Sears took advantage of this and sold about 100,000
mail-order homes from 1908 to 1940. The use of production line
techniques again picked up after World War II and made a sizable
contribution to reducing the housing shortage that developed
after the war.
The distinction between prefabricated homes and "stick built" homes is not as clear-cut today as is sometimes believed. Fewer than 12% of all new homes being built today technically qualify as "stick built" homes. It is just too expensive to stick build the old-fashioned way, and construction usually takes too long. Almost every house today uses mass-produced, factory built components. For example, nearly all homes--stick built as well as modular--use pre-hung windows and doors, roof trusses, floor joists, baseboard trim, sheetrock, and kitchen and bath cabinets made in factories. More and more aspects of home construction are being completed in factories because the factory environment helps to organize the construction process. By using automatic assembly equipment and repetitive assembly-line techniques, factories assemble component parts more quickly and with greater consistency in product quality. This is true whether the components are assembled to make a window or an entire house.
Actually, many historians argue that the organization of today's stick built construction resembles that of an assembly line (for references see House, by Tracy Kidder, Avon Books, 1985). It is certainly true that very few stick builders use the hand tools, which defined the craftsman carpenter of 75 years ago, since power tools greatly increase efficiency. It is also true that few contemporary builders have developed the craftsman's skills, since such skills are not needed to install the factory built components. On the other hand, all modular homes are actually built by hand, as well as by machine. The personnel who build modular homes are trained to do very specific tasks. Although these men and women are not experts in all aspects of home construction, they are specialists who have acquired a high degree of skill to carry out their task. The use of modern technology and factory production systems is only part of the story at a modular factory, since all modular homes still require the hands-on effort of experienced carpenters, electricians, roofers, and plumbers who take pride in their work.
Quality
The best built modular homes offer better quality for less money. The structural integrity of a modular home is its main claim to superior quality. Here are some of the factors that produce superior quality:
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Better Equipment: By design, modular factories are able to use larger, more powerful, and more sophisticated equipment. Because all main components are assembled with jigs, precision control is ensured. This means that every home is built exactly as it was designed, with all corners square and all walls plumb. In stick building, the carpenters often have to use "creative" techniques to make things fit because measurements are seldom exact.
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Climate Control: Building in a modern modular home factory means building under climate controlled conditions. This enables manufacturers to eliminate two problems, which plague stick builders, particularly in the Northeast. First, it allows them to avoid weather-related defects: moisture saturation by the lumber, drywall and insulation; warping of walls and doors; freezing and cracking of brittle materials; and other ravages of the elements. Secondly, a factory environment enables modular companies to avoid weather-related delays that prevent the Customer from keeping his or her move-in date on schedule.
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Materials: Only the highest quality, kiln dried lumber can be used, because warped, badly knotted or splintered pieces would jam the finely tuned assembly line jigs. This means that better materials, applied with tighter specifications, go into modular homes.
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Better Construction: Because modular homes have to be shipped over the road, they are built stronger than more conventionally built homes. Major components, such as walls, floors, and ceilings, are not only nailed together, as in stick built homes, they are also bonded with a special adhesive. This double fastening enables modular homes to be sturdy enough to withstand miles of travel, something no stick built house could survive without serious structural damage. Another advantage of using adhesive to secure walls and ceilings is that they are less likely to be plagued by annoying nail pops.
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Tighter Construction: The tighter construction of modular homes greatly improves their energy efficiency. For example, hand packed insulation around electrical fixtures and caulking along exterior sheathing seams helps to eliminate infiltration of cold air in the winter and hot air in the summer.
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Quality Control: Superior quality in modular construction is first ensured by the manufacturer's compliance with national, state, and local building codes. To verify this compliance, each building plan is inspected by a state-approved third party inspection agency, which certifies that the house will meet the most stringent state construction standards. Stick built plans rarely receive this much expert review.
Once construction begins, modular homes are subjected to far more inspections than stick built homes. At each stage - from framing to finishing - there are quality control stations set up to monitor the quality of the workmanship. A full-time, seasoned quality control inspector travels from station to station with extensive checklists of performance standards. In addition, a specially trained inspector form the state-approved third party inspection agency inspects every home as it moves down the line. The additional costs incurred by this system are more than compensated for by the reduction in service work in the field
Amenities
Manufacturers can customize
a home's interiors as well as exteriors, according to the Customer's
needs. Open floor plans, steeply pitched roofs, bay and bow windows,
curved stairways, vaulted and cathedral ceilings, skylites, reversed
gables, angle bay towers, central vacuum cleaners, whirlpool tubs,
and vertical cedar siding are just a few of the many, many options
that Customers routinely add to the standard floor plans. After
a Customer's house is set on the foundation, the Customer can
add still more of his or her own personal touches by customizing
it with porches, balconies, decks, sunrooms, garages, etc. Modular
manufacturers can also take the Customer's own plans and build
him or her an entirely new design at the factory.
Time
Typically, modular homes are delivered to the site in 8 to 10 weeks, and they are ready to "move into" in another 4 to 10 weeks, depending on the size of the home and amount of required on-site finish. This means that the Customer can usually move into his or her home in about 3 ~ to 5 ~ months. Today, it is fairly common for an anxious buyer to wait 6 months to a year for a stick built house. Even the most efficient stick builder is significantly limited by a 3 to 5 man crew, which must travel from job to job, rather than the modular manufacturer's 150-man crew, which always works at the same location. Furthermore, delays due to material back orders, no-show subcontractors, poor weather, etc. make it hard even for the most conscientious stick builder to keep the Customer on schedule. This often presents a serious problem, especially to a buyer who has already sold his or her old house and is pressured for early occupancy by the new buyers. Absorbing the costs of a motel or a rental property or coping with the stress of a few months in a relative's home is something most people prefer to avoid.
Cost
The purchase price of a modular home is less than that of a conventionally built home because the factory is able to reduce its costs. The savings come from volume purchases of materials directly from the manufacturer (eliminating middleman markups), lower assembly line wages, and a reduction in lost and damaged materials caused by on-site weather conditions, pilferage, and vandalism. Imagine what an automobile would cost if it were built from scratch in a mechanic's garage. The only way a stick builder can match the cost of a modular home is by building with less expensive, inferior materials, by employing unskilled labor, or by paying for fewer man-hours. This of course results in poorer construction, craftsmanship, and service.
In addition, with less labor required at the job site, overall construction time for a modular home is far shorter. This not only reduces on-site construction costs, it also reduces the number of days the Customer must pay interest on his or her construction loan.
The costs are not only lower with modular homes, they are also known in advance of construction. The modular manufacturer can offer prices that will not fluctuate. Most modular homes are 90% complete when they are shipped from the factory to the building site. The Customer knows the exact cost for the modular unit in advance--even when the home is customized. In fact, the price is guaranteed, regardless of cost increases to the factory for materials and labor. Consequently, there is less possibility of significantly miscalculating costs, which means there is less chance of unaffordable cost overruns.
Just as there are good modular homes, better modular homes, and the best modular homes, there are good, better and best stick built homes. Customers often make the mistake of comparing good stick built homes to the best modular homes and concluding that because the price is similar there is no advantage to the modular home. In fact, the difference in quality and amenities in these situations is substantial, with the advantage going to the modular home. When the best modular homes are compared to the same quality stick built homes, the difference in price is substantial, with the advantage again going to the modular home. That is why the best buy in terms of both quality and price is a modular home from one of the best companies.
Summary
Modular construction has become the construction method of choice for the quality conscious and cost conscious house buyer. The best-built modular homes are not just as good as the vast majority of stick built homes, they are better built. The advantages are many, from better materials, to state-of-the-art construction technology, to superior finished quality, to saved time and money. And the Customer gains all of these things without sacrificing amenities.
The Home Store will be happy to discuss these points with you at your convenience. We will also be happy to give you a copy of our handout, "Why Buy A Home from The Home Store". While all modular homes have many virtues, we believe our homes are significantly better than those of other modular companies, and we believe The Home Store's service is second to none. Make an appointment to speak with us, stop by one of our models, or give us a call. We will be happy to explore with you the many advantages of a modular home from The Home Store.
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