Modular Homes Basic

The modular home building process is so far removed from the process of traditional home construction that the job of modular home builder bears almost no resemblance to that of general building contractor.

While both a general building contractor and a modular home builder are responsible for seeing that a foundation is dug and poured before the actual home construction process begins, the general contractor has to assume responsibility for every facet of the traditional home, while the modular home builder simply has to have a crane on-site to lift the pre-assembled home modules into position on the foundation, and to oversee a crew w which joins the modules during the tow to three weeks it takes to complete the modular home.

The Modular Home Builder: Not Your General Contractor

You know what role a general contractor played in getting your home built. But do you have any idea of what a modular home builder does in the process of getting a family settled in a new modular home? The differences in the two jobs may be greater than you imagine.

The Differences
When a new stick home is being built, the general contractor digs and pours the foundation, erects the framing and walls ad ceilings, puts on the roof, adds wiring, insulation, and plumbing and the heating and cooling systems, puts in the flooring and perhaps carpeting, cabinetry, and storage spaces, and paints and papers the walls.

When a modular home is constructed, the modular home builder digs and pours the foundation, and then moves on to another foundation until the sections of your modular home arrive on a truck.

Modular homes are prefabricated homes, the walls, floors, and ceilings of which are built into “modules: in the clean, climate-regulated confined of a factory. All the details of every modular home fabrication are controlled by computer, to ensure that the finished modules will fit together with minute precision. Compare that to the hand levels and chalk lines common on a traditional home construction site.

Modular homes have factory-installed wiring, insulation, and plumbing; there is no waiting around for the local plumber’s or electrician’s or drywall hanger’s union to finish someone else’s job so they send someone to begin yours.

General home contractors will have their individual suppliers ship materials to the building site, where they can be exposed to the elements for weeks or months at a time, or subject to theft or vandalism, while waiting for a construction crew. A modular home builder does not need individual suppliers, and everything which is delivered to your home site is contained in a finished module. Modular home construction is the simple process of fitting those modules together on the permanent foundation, and it takes not months but weeks.

Modular Home Construction
A modular home builder will make sure that a crane is ready to start lifting the delivered modules into place as soon as they arrive. Each module will be attached both to the home’s foundation and to the modules which adjoin it. Modular home construction seldom requires more than one plumber or electrician to connect the wiring and pipes, which were installed at the factory, to the home’s power and water sources. Not only were they installed at the factory; they were examined by certified inspectors.

Some modular home builders will even include landscaping as a part of the process; you can inquire when you order your modular home whether it will be included in the price. But when you sit down and total how much you have just saved by having a home ready to move into in weeks instead of months, you may feel like paying for landscaping is no big deal!