Modular Homes Basic

Using a modular home kit can be the best way for a homeowner to take control of the home building process, and someone with a bit of home building experience may even be able to construct a completed home with a modular home kit and the help of a few friends.

A modular home kit requires that a permanent foundation be poured on the building lot before construction can begin, and that a crane be present to lift the home’s modules from their shipping trailer and into the correct positions on the foundation and joined. The home’s builder can then finish the home by adding its structural insulated panels which contain its wiring and pipe connections and cutouts.A Modular Home Kit: The Barn Raising Comes Home

Even though the Amish people of Pennsylvania can still raise a very solid barn in a single day, for most people the tough of building anything more complicated than a model airplane is a non-starter. But as unbelievable as it sounds, there are modular home kits on the market which will provide almost everything required for the DIYer to build an actual, and not-too-shabby at that, house!

The makers of modular home kits are not above saying that even inexperienced DIYers can turn their kits into functioning homes. Why? Because modular homes take most of the work out of homebuilding.

How Modular Homes Work
Modular homes are constructed of factory-produced modules; each module is connected to other modules at a home site until the final module is in place, a plumber and electrician connect the pipes and wiring to the local power and water sources, and the house is finished. Homes built from modular home kits are literally indistinguishable from traditionally constructed homes. Because they can be constructed in such a short period, modular home are often less expensive than traditional homes of the same square footage.

Modular home are most commonly ordered by consumers and finished by modular home builders, who will have dug and poured a permanent foundation on which to assemble the modules. But those homeowners with an independent streak can simply purchase the modular home kit and go it alone.

The Structural Insulated Panel
Anyone wishing to assemble a modular home kit needs to understand the concept of a structural insulated panel. Measuring 4’ x 8’, and weighting about one hundred and twenty-five pounds, the SIP sandwiches foam insulation between two layers of strand board, and these are the modular panels which can be fitted together with computer controlled precision by just tow or three people.

The SIP panels also contain connections and the cutouts for pipes and wiring, are warp and bend proof, and with their already installed insulation are the building blocks of a solid, energy-saving home.

Modular home kits are available in hundreds of floor plans, and if you find one that you’d like to take on, you can pay extra for the privilege of being able to call on the manufacturer for help when necessary. If you have the land, and can round up a few friends to help, you can order your modular home kit, have you foundation dug, and finally experience the fun of an old-fashioned barn raising for yourself!!