I’m an architect working with a client on a new 4500 sf +/- Shingle Style custom home. The client is very interested in going the modular home route. However, I personally have never had one of my projects built via the pre-fab or modular route. I have explained to the client my initial concerns about being able to achieve an end product that is anywhere comparable to a custom built, stick-framed home. The clients wish to have a custom home constructed of higher-end materials and products. The modular manufacturer’s are constructing their homes with what I consider middle of the road materials not typically found in a finely crafted custom home.
The information I have seen to date just seems to make it painfully obvious to me that a true custom modular house is just not a possibility yet. I have spoken with a couple of companies and I’m very skeptical of their ability to build a home to the specifications required in a true custom home.
Does anyone have any thoughts or experiences that they could offer about this subject? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Replies
There have been several thread here on modular housing.
Using the advanced search with the words "modular" or "prefab" should get you a lot of reading.
Luck can't last a lifetime, unless you die young.
Hi - the house that Sarah Susanka designed for the Int'l Builders Show used modular construction. http://homebydesignshowhouse.com/plans/default.asp
It was beautiful and she is a real advocate for modular housing. People have just begun to post to her message board http://notsobighouse.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x.
LiveModern talks about prefab too http://livemodern.com.
And the Dwell home, which is just getting completed is prefab as well.
http://www.thedwellhome.com
These are all architecturally designed - the market is growing!
~CabinGal
Edited 7/28/2004 11:54 am ET by CabinGal
The show house ("Home By Design Showcase") that was on the site of this year's builder show in Vegas, was done with SIPs. It was not modular, nor panelized.
If there are good panelizers that cover the territory where you wish to build, some of them can be capable of doing a high end custom.
The Bob Vila show has been screening a shinglestyle biggie done modular.
Susanka and her former husband built their St. Paul home in the mid 90s, which became the model for her "not so big house" thoughts and writings, and it was done by a panelizer, Sterling Building Products, of Wausau, WI. Floor deck sections wre panelized, and the roof was 100 percent engineered trusses. The exterior walls all included doors and windows, and I believe the job was under roof in four days.
I'm not a builder so thanks for correcting my misuse of the terms. Could you please clarify the differences?
Thanks
Modular housing is built in chunks roughly the size of a mobile home. 12 to 14 wide, 8 to 10 high, and up to 50 feet long. Highway regs determine max sizes. They are factory-built and include exterior and interior finishes like painted gypboard, trim, doors, casings, cabinetry, electricals, and plumbing. A crane is used at the site to put them together like king-sized lego blocks. Modular homes often include prebuilt roof assemblies with shingles and flashing put on at the factory.
Panelized houses deliver in sections of wall, sometimes with windows and doors in the exterior panels, sometimes not. Wall panels, 8 to 10 feet tall, are up to 30 feet in length. Panelizers sometimes do the floor frames in chunks, also. Roofs are done with engineered trusses.
Prefab is a general term that may apply to either of the above.
Houses built with SIPs (structural insulated panels) have a preengineered exterior shell of "sandwich panels" made by gluing OSB (oriented strand board) to both sides of a rigid EPS (expanded polystyrene) foam core. Foam cups are made from molded EPS. SIPs range in thickness from 4 inches to more than 12 inches. They go together with tongue and groove details at edges and ends.
Another prefab site: http://www.fabprefab.com/
This topic is becoming one of the hottest in the whole industry, IMHO.
In many cases, there will be zero $ savings w/r to stick built. Usually will save some time.
There is a good article that discusses the pros and cons of all three types in the June/July 2004 issue of Fine Homebuiling. I am starting on a modular house this week that just finished getting craned in place today. The owner and I are going to do the wood clapboards and trim, porches and other exterior details You can get a 'prefab' house as finished or unfinished as you want and as highend or entry level as you want. Some of the larger fancier ones are pushing the 1 mil$ mark. As for quality they are assembled inside so the weather doesnt affect matterial swelling or cause delays. And because they have to survive transport they are over built. Doubled up interior walls (where the moduals meet), doubled up rim joist etc. My client upgraded from OSB to plywood sheathing. The modular companies will do just abought anything you want if you have the $. Your client can have custom cabinets, trim, built ins etc done after the home is erected to give the house a 'high end' feel if thats a concern.
I have toured a number of modular manufacturers. The ones I've seen deal primarily with entry level homes although they are capable of making large structures. One issue is transportation and what will fit or safely travel on the road. The folks that choose these homes are looking to shorten construction times and avoid questionable builders. Local builders are still needed to do the site and utility work as well as place the units and make the connections. Consumers often look at the house cost which seems like a bargain until you add in all the extras. The modular manufacturers have lower labor costs both from the mechanized way they approach construction and from the fact that they can use shifts 24/7 in a controlled environment.
I'm not sure what you specifically call higher quality materials. I would think that brands of windows, doors, roofing, trim detail and such could be specified.
I live on the Maine coast, my brother in law owns a John Calvin Stevens home so I know the "shingle style" well. Some of the elements in addition to lots of shingles are: large steep sloping roofs, curved walls, eyebrow dormers, gables, cross gables, loggias and arcades all of which intersect with the larger roof. This creates many valleys and dormer intersections. Roof leaks at these junctures are the reason for major repairs. We don't cover roof decks with varnished sailcloth anymore and our knowledge of insulation and ventilation plus the materials of today can eliminate the problems of the originals.
There are some advantages I can think of with modular construction. It sure would be nice to just crane up and place a close to finished dormer or a turret roof. I think the key would be to find a manufacturer that has a skilled enough workforce and flexible assembly techniques. I'm sure you would not want cornerboards on a shingle style or spindled railings. The manufacturer would need to understand design and be willing to step out of their comfort zone.
Some disadvantages are the fact that all the elements have to marry together and be weather tight. On site workers will still have to erect scaffolding to marry the valleys and dormer walls. As a builder I would be concerned if I could not wrap bituthane in these areas, for example. Of course much will depend on the design. The typical wrap around porches sit on masonry walls with a roof that is often an extension of the main. Layout from the ground up has to be right on. We haven't talked about the heating system, chimneys
With the computer drafting programs we have, anything is possible. I do think, not knowing your plan, that a home of this design will require a fair amount of stick building in addition to any modular construction that can be used. This project could be a great union of the two methods. If things don't fit it could be a nightmare. If they do, some valuable on site close in time could be gained. I think that's the Architects job, n'cest pas?
Whatever the relevant pros / cons to modular housing,
I own one ( a rental property),
and insurance and mortgages are difficult and fall into the "mobile home" category here in Indianapolis. It sucks. It's a house on a permanent foundation and the only give-away if someone knew what they were looking at is:
1) if you were smart enough you could tell the electric was junctioned boxed together because it was prewired, the junctions are in the crawl
2) the roof trusses are halfsies, instead of full trusses
3) modular homes are required to ship with a serial # and model #, plus similar info for all appliances, here. So there is a sheet with such info below the kitchen sink when delivered.
Otherwise you couldn't tell it's a modular.
remodeler
I toured a factory in Chariton, IA recently. Pretty impressive. 2X6 walls were common. Heard of another factory at Wayne, NE but not in enough time to visit and they only did 2X4's. I wouldn't mind trying one after going through the models. Told them I was a contractor but couldn't get even a ball park price. Add in the site work that I would do (foundation, DWV, some roofing, drywall at the marrying walls, crane etc.) and maybe the price would be a go. Anybody work with the modular builders and know any prices? Thanks, Bob
Thanks to everyone for all of the input. It appears to me that the cost factor is a wash. The differences come down to time and the ability of the manufacturer to pull off the required special detailing. In my opinion, modular does seem like it is a viable option for some entry level homes.
One other thing, though this is strictly anecdotal, is to carefully check the zoning and covenants for your client's site. After having contracted a modular home to be built a co-worker of my husband's discovered that she was not allowed to place the house where she originally intended. She ended up scrambling to find a suitable spot and ended up in a mobile home park! Not exactly property that is going to appreciate. The point is that some neighborhoods specifically disallow modular homes.