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A House Divided
A repetitive manufacturing process in modular housing allows for efficiency and value
by Clint Casey
When Abraham Lincoln suggested that “a house divided...cannot stand,” it became evident that Honest Abe was unfamiliar with the prospect of modular housing. The trend hit a sharp upswing six years ago and has continually increased in popularity since its introduction. And because every manufactured housing company is dabbling in modular housing, there are a number of design and architectural options to consider.
Simply, a modular home is constructed in a plant and delivered to a site in large segments. The allure lies in its expediency and affordability. Theoretically, a home could be built in a factory, delivered on location, and its pieces put together in less than a week. The construction process is similar to traditional manufactured housing, with costs ranging from $30,000 to $200,000.
One reason for the rise in popularity is the fact that modular homes can be sited where Housing and Urban Development homes are not allowed. Another is the accessibility of home loans. “Modulars tend to be in a perceptually fixed location, so they qualify for more conventional type loans from traditional lending agencies like banks,” says Chris Nicely, vice president of marketing for Clayton Homes.
The footprint for modulars is exactly the same as a traditional home. In a site-built or modular purchase, you pay for a certain square footage. “Once we know the size of the lot and the restrictions associated with the lot, if it needs to set back, then we know the available space to site a home. If it’s a narrow lot, then we know that we have to build more long on the house. Once you find out what that is, we have a lot of different ways to go,” Nicely says. “If it’s a situation where we have a smaller lot, but we still want the square footage, we may put a Cape Cod on that same lot. We have over 1,500 floor plans to select from, and, in some cases, they can be customized with some latitude by changing walls and dimensions.”
Because the homes are constructed in a repetitive manufacturing environment, modular buyers get more value per dollar from manufactured than from a site-built house. “The materials are kept dry, and we don’t have issues with changing labor, changing weather, and changing technologies,” Nicely says. “There are a lot of advantages of the production line type of manufacturing when it comes to housing, and the advantages are passed on to the buyer.”
From an interior design standpoint, modulars provide the same options as traditional housing, including choice of carpet color, countertop colors, and homes fitted with drywall—rather than paneling—are painted with a primer.
There are certain requirements from an engineering standpoint before a modular home can be sited. The crews who assemble houses are certified by the state, and while they are required to ensure that the land allows water to run away from the house, the responsibility falls on the homeowner to make certain the site is prepared properly. “If our people go out there and notice that water would run into the site and needs a crown so that it would go away from the site, that would be something the homeowner would be responsible for doing,” Nicely says. “Once the site is inspected, a simple assembly could take five days to two or three weeks with a more difficult setup.” A more intricate setup might consist of raising a roof, building decks or porches, and putting a foundation under the house.
On the whole, modular housing faces the same problems that all homebuilders face. All homes settle over time and deteriorate the structure, and the assembly and setup of a modular home carries the same importance as the construction of a house built onsite. “We’re trying to have lower maintenance homes with fewer problems, [homes] that are structurally engineered and built in a controlled environment, so that we minimize issues like water and moisture, maintenance required, and still give flexibility of floor plans with modern amenities,” Nicely says.
The life span of a manufactured home today is more than 50 years, and site-built housing, depending on the materials and builder, will have a similar lifetime. “A lot of homes that were built in the ‘50s are being plowed under, but at the same time some homes built back in the ‘50s are still viable from a housing standpoint,” Nicely says. “It’s dependent upon the people that live in the house and how they take care of their homes. Now, more than ever, the life expectancy of a manufactured home approaches site-built, and could in a lot of situations be the same.”
November 4, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 45
© 2004 Metro Pulse
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