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In today's modular home industry there is an almost unlimited
product offering. A custom modular home in California or Texas will be a bit
different than a home from Wisconsin or Connecticut. A custom modular home will
be the same as any luxury built home with the big difference being lower costs
and higher quality due to the systems built process and the manufactured home
factory's massive buying power.
Here in the Northeast we tend to favor the better quality
specifications as it provides a far better product for our customers and it
actually saves money for everyone. The cost savings comes from less down time on
site trying to make a feature fit and of course service costs are controlled
when the product is built right the first time. We only do Energy Star rated
homes due to our winters but find that more and more custom builders in the
South from Florida to Pennsylvania are going with the Energy Star requirements
as energy costs continue to climb for air conditioning.
Every
custom builder in the business has what we call "standard plans". These are home
designs that the builder has done a number of times and have worked well for
both the customer and the builder in the past. Standard plans generally have set
specifications and pre-calculated pricing already in place. More and more
builders today are converting these standard plans to the manufactured home or
system built home format to take advantage of the time and cost savings offered
in a custom modular design.
Clients today may wish to view some standard plans to get an
idea of what is available but most, especially here in the New England region,
have a specific home they want to build that does not fit the standard plan
program.
The advantage of a
custom design is simply getting the exact home you want without having to make a
compromise. Most builders today have the capability to custom design a home for
you. We encourage you to spend a lot of time on the design and the features.
Doing so on paper is far better than changing things missed after the fact when
the home is already constructed. 3D views are also helpful so you can get a feel
for the layout of your home.
Each geographic area
has a set of specifications they can build to. Each home is approved by a third
party inspector and conforms to the National Building code. We strongly suggest
looking at the next level of specifications as this is where the value is in
building a new home.
Our New England modular
homes are best if built with 2X6 walls having an R21 rating. Avoid builders or
manufactures that make 2X6 exterior walls an option. The best homes all have
the 2X6 structure as a basic, standard specification. Building these walls on 16" centers
makes for a warm, strong home. Ceiling insulation should be at least R38 but better if
R40. This gives you your best "R" value for saving those expensive energy dollars.
Given the constant increases in energy costs a new home built to these better
specs turns out to be a wise investment.
Once the home is
designed, color selections made, and pricing is all done the builder and the
factory team work as a unit to complete your project. The builder is busy
working on the site to prepare it for the delivery of the home and the factory
is doing the construction. When both are completed the home is ready for
delivery and set.
Foundations are carefully placed and squared to accept the modular home units.
Home foundations are generally 10" thick poured concrete. Here in Southeastern
Connecticut we also use a "brick shelf" when doing a historic reproduction home.
A brick shelf provides the support for both brick or stone to get the colonial
look so popular in the area. Wooden kneewalls as shown here make it possible to
have a full walkout basement.
A
crane is used to provide the "heavy lifting" required to set the modules
precisely on the foundation walls.
Proper fit of all of the modular components is mandatory to create a well
crafted home. Walls will line up, stairs fit and roof components all meet to
make your home exceptional.
A properly set home
makes for an easy trim out from the on site builder. All of the materials
required to finish the home are provided as part of the package unless deleted
by the client or the builder. An example would be countertops. Each home comes
with a countertop for the kitchen cabinets but the client may want a special
granite top. This is an expensive piece of stone that should be measured, cut
and installed once the home is on site. Finish flooring is another example. It
is often best to delete the finish flooring and have that installed as a
finishing touch one the home is completely trimmed out.
New
England modular home styles include ranches, capes and colonials. We also
feature the chalet style home so popular in Northern New England.
Custom Luxury Condos and Townhouses
Modular
construction benefits for multifamily projects are multiplied by the number of
units being built. Material costs are controlled, interest costs are minimized
and completion times are much shorter.
Given the shortage of multifamily homes throughout the state
those needs are being filled with modular construction. This product can be a
simple duplex and continue right up to major condo projects. In multifamily
builds the quality of modular construction is certainly valuable. Face it if you
are a builder doing twenty condos you want to get them done and then move onto
the next project without being dragged back to fix problems that could not be
avoided. On multifamily projects builders like the timing of the modular
project. Sites are not left open for months on end, materials do not disappear
off site, and the interest costs are a lot less as the build out is so much
faster. Modular also helps builders react to market conditions a lot faster. So
more profit, less risk, predetermined time line and the ability to build more
units all make modular a wise choice for multifamily homes, offices and school
rooms.
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Connecticut
Modular Homes
