Modular home
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Image:Modular.jpg Modular homes are houses that are manufactured in a remote facility and then delivered to their intended site of use. Typically, modular dwellings in the US are built to local code, so dwellings built in a given manufacturing facility may have differing construction standards depending on the final destination of the modules. For example, homes built for final assembly on the Southeast coast of the United States may have additional bracing built-in to meet local hurricane codes.
Modular components are typically constructed within a large indoor facility on assembly lines much like Henry Ford originally instituted with his automobile company. Such facilities use rail to move the modules from one workstation to the next. Independent building inspectors are on site to supervise the construction and ensure that all building codes are adhered to during assembly.
Such dwellings are often priced substantially lower than their site-built counterparts and are typically more cost-effective to builders and consumers. Manufacturers cite the following reasons for the typically lower cost/price of these dwellings:
- Indoor construction. Assembly is independent of weather which often leads to cost overruns on site-built dwellings.
- Favorable pricing from suppliers. Large-scale manufacturers can effectively bargain with suppliers for discounts on materials.
- Low waste. With the same plans being constantly built, the manufacturer has records of exactly what quantity of materials are needed for a given job. While waste from a site-built dwelling may typically fill several large dumpsters, waste from a modular dwelling may only take several 55 gallon drums.
- Construction workers. Factory workers are highly trained for specific construction processes, and work directly for the manufacturer. Site-built homes are constructed using many different sub-contractors which often employ unskilled labor from a transient work-force.
These cost savings are somewhat offset by the costs of shipping, typically via roadway by tractor trailer. The shipping costs can include permits for travel, as well as the actual freight charge.
Characteristics
Image:Stoke newington raines court 1.jpg Off-frame modular dwellings differ from mobile homes largely in their absence of axles or a frame, meaning that they are typically transported to their site by means of flat-bed trucks, however, some modular dwellings are built on a steel frame (On-frame modular) which can also used for transportation to the homesite. Many modular homes are of multi-level design, and are often set in place using a crane service.
Modular homes usually lack the shallowly-sloping roof-lines typical of mobile homes as the roof can be transported separately, from the other components. However, most modular homes come pre-roofed with hinges which allow the roof to be "folded up" and have knee-walls which swing into place to support the higher pitched roof.
Once assembled on the site, a process taking hours or days rather than weeks or months as is typical with site-built housing, they are essentially indistinguishable from typical site-built homes. For this reason, the rapid depreciation in market value typical of mobile homes does not apply to them. Given these facts, many US courts have ruled that zoning restrictions applicable to mobile homes do not apply to modular homes. Additionally, in the US, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice allow for the use of site-built homes as comparators in a real estate appraisal, thus modulars are typically evaluated the same as traditionally built dwellings of similar quality. These developments are expected to increase the sales of modular homes greatly in the near future.
Modular homes can be assembled over full basements and built to multi-story heights. Additionally, motels and other multi-family structures have been built using modular construction techniques.