Manufactured homes

I've been checking into manufactured homes. Not mobile homes, or "modulars", but homes that are custom built in a building, then delivered in pieces and assembled. Here are the key selling points, could somebody comment on each?

1. 2x6 exterior wall construction
2. Very little exposure to the outdoor elements
3. Built using manufacturing consistency and quality

This is one that I'm looking at:

www.wardcraft.com

And NO I don't work for them. I want some honest feedback on this please.

I'm a brick and mortar kind of guy myself... last longer and looks much better in my opinion.

Isn't that WAY more expensive?

My late father in law was head building inspector for a large city. He was impressed with modular constructed homes. Of course the key is the quality of the installation, just like anything else.

We have discussed this here before, but I liken on site construction to dumping 2000 parts at the end of your driveway and having a team of mechanics assemble a car from it - in the rain, dust and wind.

There a good idea depending where you live. I had a friend who bought property out in the boonies and no home builder would go out there. Manufactured homes people fought over him.

I had to have one hauled of a property that my grandmother was renting and there great till you have to move them.

funetical said:

I had to have one hauled of a property that my grandmother was renting and there great till you have to move them.

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I think you might be confusing a mobile home with a modular home. Modular homes are like a stick built house, but made in sections off site and put together into a permanent structure. No wheels.

I've seen several modular houses and you couldn't tell that they were built in a factory. There is an advantage to factory built houses, they are framed in a controlled environment, they have quality control inspection as opposed to job site framed, sit in the weather construction methods. All brick houses are a veneer and the brick is not structural in todays construction. You could have modular panels with a brick veneer. At first I thought mobile homes but I'm warming to the idea of modular sections.

oh right. Got it.

thanks for sharing

Cork-Guy said:

I'm a brick and mortar kind of guy myself... last longer and looks much better in my opinion.

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remember the story about the three little pigs:2cents:

The idea seems good enough but I am not sure that how practical is it for most of the home seekers.

The overall cost of construction with manufactured structures is often the same as stick built but the time required is greatly reduced and weather not a concern. With a concrete pad in place a manufactured home can be in place in a day. Even with SIP panel modular construction a house can be erected and weather sealed in 2-3 days.

Highly recommend working with a architect who has experience with modular homes if going that route or with established "local" builder for a manufactured home is one exists. Biggest limitation is on dimensions as panels or sections need to travel over the highways. This is where the help of an experience architect can be helpful in providing a good floor plan that will not feel like a mobile home. They can also help with site location and local permits. I have seen more than a few manufactured homes in my area that lost a lot of value just based on the site preparation and the way the house was laid out on the site.

There are manufacturers that can integrate solar and passive cooling in their houses, some have multi-level designs to make better use of a small lot.

Overall the automated builders have less material waste and tighter quality control as every step in the process is easily monitored in their factories.

For the money they are ok. But like our saing goes "The Bitterness of Poor Quality Remains Long After the Sweetness of a Low Price is Forgotten". Sure there building them indoors, but they are cutting corners somewhere to come up with the lower prices. If its a custom home your looking for I wouldn't suggest that. And "poor quality" is not ment solely on workmanship, but also the products put into the home.

Leo
trimplus(dot)biz

Those are nice. I went into a friend's place in the boonies and it was really nice.

I wonder how the home insurance, lender and city codes handle these types of homes?

tony

Trim Plus said:

For the money they are ok. But like our saing goes "The Bitterness of Poor Quality Remains Long After the Sweetness of a Low Price is Forgotten". Sure there building them indoors, but they are cutting corners somewhere to come up with the lower prices. If its a custom home your looking for I wouldn't suggest that. And "poor quality" is not ment solely on workmanship, but also the products put into the home.

Leo
trimplus(dot)biz

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Maybe the savings are more from economy of scale and volume. The few contacts I have had with modular homes - the material and craftsmanship were very good.

just sayin...