|
 |
 |
Modular Homes: An Updated Look at a Rising Industry
Whether it’s called a modular home, a systems-built home or a factory-built home, the modular home is a green alternative to stick-built, traditional construction.
Whether it’s called a modular home, a systems-built home or a factory-built
 |
A completed modular home. Photo courtesy of Modular Homes, Inc.
|
home, the modular home is a misunderstood product. Despite a steady growth in sales, the modular home industry still battles public misconception. The move towards green modular homes and a continued commitment to consumer education are helping to raise the public’s perception of this promising housing alternative.
Continuing Education
The modular home industry is still struggling to shake comparisons to mobile homes (or homes with axils and a chassis) and is equally confronted by misinformed consumers who perceive the modular product to be “cheap.” Although the modular home-building process does produce less construction waste, takes less time and can be a little
Modular home construction. Photo courtesy of Modular Homes, Inc.
|
|
easier on the budget, the end product is anything but cheap—and industry proponents are eager to spread the word. “The truth is modular homes appraise at the same, if not more, than a stick-built home,” insists David Cooper, president of Modular Homes, Inc., a N.J.-based modular home building company. “They are built with more materials, they are constructed in factories that have it down to a science and are built sturdy enough to sustain the hurricane-force winds of being driven down the highway.”
Through educational efforts led mainly by manufacturers and builders, the modular home misconceptions are methodically being transformed into greater awareness. “We have classes and seminars to teach the benefits of modular homes, as well as green homes,” says Cooper. These educational opportunities
|
A completed modular home. Photo courtesy of Modular Homes, Inc.
|
exist for builders, consumers and real estate professionals and teach about the economical and environmental benefits to building modular as well as an all-important notion that “the modular house isn’t going to look any different than a traditional home,” Cooper adds.
Green Modular Homes
It’s fairly well-established that the modular home industry is inherently green. Factory building produces far less waste, keeps lumber dry (and thus free of mold) and guarantees precision cuts that result in a tighter-fitting, more energy-efficient home. This “green-by-nature” quality is helping modular builders promote their products to the growing ranks of green-savvy prospective homebuyers. “Just out of the
Modular home construction. Photo courtesy of Modular Homes, Inc.
|
|
factory a modular home can be 15 percent of the way towards LEED certification,” says Cooper, referring to the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED-H) certification program for residential structures. Cooper’s Modular Homes, Inc. (MHI), acts as general contractor to the homebuyer, from finalizing floor plans to on-site construction of the shipped modules. MHI’s “Building Green. Living Green” motto speaks to an industry-wide trend of building upon the green qualities imbued by the factory-built process. “We’re working on a LEED Silver certified home right now,” says Cooper, who added that the industry as a whole is still awaiting the “gold standard” for green, the as-yet not clearly defined or regulated term. To achieve the LEED certification, Cooper hires a LEED-certified consultant to advise on the project, and a LEED certified inspector is brought into the factory to oversee and sign off on the various steps of the construction process, just as would be done on a site-built home.
Although not every homebuyer has the budget to achieve the Platinum LEED-H certification, meeting some reasonable green goals for a home might be more
|
A completed modular home. Photo courtesy of Modular Homes, Inc.
|
readily accomplished by going modular. Where the modules that comprise the finished home must be transported on flatbed trucks from factory to site and craned into place, they must be built sturdy to survive the handling. This means, among other things, the use of 2x6s for framing, rather than the 2x4s used in most site-built homes. What happens with the extra two inches? “It’s filled with additional insulation,” answers Deputy Director for the Modular Building Systems Association (MSBA) Chad Harvey says. That extra insulation contributes to higher energy efficiency. According to Harvey, there are countless nuanced factory construction techniques that result in a greener product, from tightly sealed outlets (of which there are many in any given home) to the extensive material
A completed modular home. Photo courtesy of Modular Homes, Inc.
|
|
recycling program employed by most modular factories.
Like traditional site-built green homes, green modular builders rely on educated subcontractors who understand the green industry. This can be a particular challenge to modular builders, who are often shipping the home from one state to another, sometimes to an unfamiliar area. “It’s not easy to find subcontractors who understand Energy Star and green building,” says Cooper. Resources like the NAHB and good old-fashioned word-of-mouth networking help the builder assemble the right team to complete a green project.
Site and Systems-Built Homes: The Best of Both Worlds
One inaccurate criticism of modular homes paints them as “cookie-cutter” or generic. Though this perception may be attributed to the confusion between the
mobile home and the modular home, nothing could be farther from the truth. “People still have this image of a double-wide mobile home when you say modular,” says Harvey. In reality, the modular home industry allows for more customization than ever before. Higher-end modular homes, like many of the ones MHI are responsible for, are being built through a happy marriage of systems-built and site-built techniques. “We call it value engineering,” says Cooper. The phrase refers to a practice of assembling as much of the home as possible within the factory and then completing whatever is left on-site. Collaborations among the architect, builder and homebuyer can result in a floor plan that places challenges on the manufacturer, who can only adjust their factory building methods so much to stay profitable. To overcome these obstacles, the mostly constructed modules leave room for on-site completion of, say, a 30-foot great room that calls for post and beam spanning.
There will always be site work on a modular project, whether it’s adding the garage (a very common site-built component to the modular home), attaching siding or completing any of the myriad finishing pieces needed before the home is ready to be moved into. The increased flexibility of manufacturers and the marriage of construction techniques by builders have opened the door to customization options within the modular home industry that can only further drive homebuyers toward this attractive—and green—solution.
Text by Benjamin Hardy
© 2008 BobVila.com
|
|
