You're right! These are not your grandfather's "Oldsmobile." Design, effective use of space, quality of workmanship, quality of materials, durability, AFFORDABILITY and a hundred other positive reasons position factory built housing as the way to go. Thank you for putting the spot light on America's best kept secret.

I have owned 3 and now live in a 5000+ sq ft. modular home. System built homes are constructed better than some or most stick built homes or tract homes. If the quality control is good in the factory and the set crew know their job, i'ts great and you end up with a exceptional product. I do know the houses are designed to be stronger. But the finish product depends on the set/finish crew.
When a builder comes into my home most do not know they are modular. I am sold on them.

I've lived in my modular home since 1998 and it took 2 years to learn that it wasn't a stick-built house. This building was built in the early 1980's and is huge, not what I was used to seeing as a modular home.

I'm 56 years old and what I typically had in mind was the old small ranch style that had the steps leading to the basement located in the living room area just inside the front door entry.

The total square foot of the house is 3,500 and has an open floor plan.

The only thing I do not like about the house is that the drywall system is too tight making the seams show no matter how many times you correct them. The problem stems from where the wall meets the ceiling panels. This can be corrected in my house and, I'm sure, has been corrected by the manufacturer of the building.

Would I build a modular house in the future? Quite possibly, yes. New technology seems to make the buildings more energy efficient and more economical in the long run than stick built homes (build did two conventional homes before buying this house).

Afet hurricane Katrina the government put out a brief that showed man/mod homes weathered the storm 30% better than stick built homes. Much of the Governement funded replacement housing in the New Orleans area has been man/mod. Additionally, the homes tend to be far more energy effecient due to the 6 inch exterior walls, insulated floor and ceilings and smaller attic area. The average utility cost on a 2000 sq. ft. home is around $236 per mo. total electric.

After losing several sales to modulars in the late 1980's I checked out a modular manufacturer in my state and was blown away by the quality and how strong a structure they were building. Everything was glued, screwed, nailed, and caulked ( now structural foamed) together to make a tight and very strong house. I quickly realized while I was stick building to code I was not any where near the standard they were building to.

Today all I do is modulars, we spot build and I use my stick experience to do some of the special touches,decks, and garages they want with the house. Just like anything else there are high and low quality homes, do your homework and research before you sign. Would I ever build a stick built a house again NO WAY!!! FEMA now recommends modulars in all high risk areas-- what does that tell you.

I am a proud owner of a modular home. I knocked down my 1880 schoolhouse and replaced it with a colonial style modular house. I looked at the homes priced stick built vs modular, dramatic savings. I could also not get away from the standard 2x6 outside walls. My house was 1,000 sq ft bigger than the previous yet my heating costs and consumption remained the same. I went from 2,400 sq ft to 3,400 sq ft. The quality has been as expected. It has been a little over 4 year and still looks great. I have to tell people that it is a modular house. It cost half of a comparable stick built. It was a chore though and not for the light hearted. I had to be the GC for the whole project. It is stressful building a house even when it is built in a factory and shipped.

Maybe you had a bad builder,or building inspector, yes all houses have to be built to the same code including manufactured homes. Code means that that that the house meets certain reqirements. Also what specifficaly are you complaining about.

Dear Marjie,
Hello, I wanted to comment my 2 cents worth to you on modular and or manufactured homes. My wife and I looked VERY, VERY long and hard at all aspects of building a home. We looked at stick built, double wides, "manufactured", and modular. We even went so far as to spec out a modular home at a local dealer which was a Colony Home. After looking and discussing between ourselves how much we would have in the house, (money and effort on our part), we decided to go with a stick built home. Our stick built home cost just a couple of thousand dollars more and we didn't have any headaches as far as getting permits or making sure contractors showed up when supposed to or anything we would of had to do on our own by choosing modular. The thing that pretty much made up our mind to go with a stick built home over modular was seeing 2 sections of a modular home on the road near where we live. The two sections of the home had already travelled about 3-4 hrs. on the road at that time and still wasn't to it's destination. I do feel that modulars are built well but 3-4 hrs. riding over road as opposed to building on site and being able to physically watch periodically what went on during construction was about all it took for us to decide to build a stick built home.
Thank you,
William Cutter

Dear Sir,
My son and I have beeen building in Ak.for over 30 yrs. I have built Community Centers on the Aleutian Islands and many domestic domociles in the Anch. area, as well as Hockey rinks and Commercial buildings. If there is a quality built Modular Home of Modern Technological applications, I'm sure the astute consumers in Alaska would flock to this product. I've seen some good units from the Netherlands, but shipping costs are prohibitive and will bust the cost/return ratio. Here in Alaska we are actually in desperate need of such Technology.
I hope that there are Some who have the where-withal to start such a program, and wish to document their efforts.
Thank You For Your Time.
Antony E. Clarke Jr.

I would be interested in knowing this too as i have recently been thinking of doing this the only thing I would insist on is 6 inch walls with a soy foam for insulation also making sure that the floor was well insulated and wraped because they have a bad problem with that

Marjie, I'm not a pro in the building field, but I have been in 'modular' homes and I have to say I've found them extremely well built. Because of the controled environment in which they're built, you don't have the 'shrinking' and nail pops like on site 'stick' built. They come in numerous floor plans and are set in place with a crane, very interesting to watch them be 'put together'. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase one. I'm not sure of the procedures that are your responsibility, but I'm sure 'they' lead you through all that. Good Luck!

I am a NY metro based residential green building consultant. Traditional stick construction today is done the same inefficient way it has been done for the last 200 years. Think about it, bring a huge load of supplies to an open location; plop it down, leave it exposed to the elements; while it gets sorted out and pieced together by building "professionals" (loosely defined, as too often unskilled and/or even illegal); who work (sometimes) in all kinds of weather. I could go on but you get the picture.

Now contrast that with often automated, climate controlled environments; with a trained, consistent workforce; CNC machines; with consistent standards and quality controls. The capacity for precision is exponentially superior to site based stick construction.

Of course there are fly by night shops that stink it up for the rest of the industry, but when a pre-fab company is good, their buildings are really good. Like any major purchase due dilligence is critical . . . don't just look at pretty pictures on the internet; go see their shop; talk to workers on the floor; have them explain their processes, technology, controls, etc. While there are a bevy of wonderful traditional craftsman doing site based construction, find a good pre-fab company and you'll scratch your head asking why anyone does anything but pre-fab.

I had a similar experience and I agree, the modular homes are built better than some site built houses (outside walls up to 8in. thick) but, trying to convince the insurance company that it's not a trailer is another story.

I'm not a professional, but I do live in a "modular home" built by Foremost Industries of Greencastle PA, in 1982. This was my experience: I had to have a contractor build the basement foundation to Foremost specs. The foundation had to be ready for the house on the date specified by Foremost. On that date the house arrived in two sections, was set on the foundation, and the roofing shingles applied. I was given 10 days to do any interior painting (the walls were primed), then the carpets and other flooring were installed. Two weeks after the house arrived, I was given the keys to move in. The whole process took 5 months. Showing the specs for the house to contractors, I was told that they could not build a house of similar quality for the same price, or in the same timeframe. By the way, I am very well satisfied with my home.

Modular Homes are out of the Dark Ages,you can
get a 800sq ft up to 6000 sq ft home. And price
is well below stick cost, time line for move
in cut almost half. What not to love with the
Modular Home.Its a fixed cost at time of order,
no over runs or charges, Build a home your way.

I saw my first Modular,1978,been working with
Modulars from that time,as well seen a big
change to the curb - appeal. I am a Regional Sales
Manager for Apex Homes Inc,N.C.Builder as well.
View web,www.apexhomesinc.com
Thank you...Dillard

We purchased modular as a second home 6 years ago, and yes it travleled from Pa to NC and made trip without any problems. After finishing touches it does not appear different from stick built and we love it. Much more energy efficient and better constructed than our contractor stick built home. We are totally supportive of modular construction.

OURS BURNT IN APRIL,I REALLY NEVER BELIEVED,IT WAS BUILTED LIKE THEY SAID,IT WAS A 1986.IT WAS BUILT BETTER THAN MOST HOUSES.THAT I HAVE WATCH THEM PUT UP.THE ONLY PROMBLE WITH THEM,IS THE INS.WHEN THEY GET DONE PAYING,THE HOUSE IS PAID FOR BUT YOU LEFT WITHOUT ANY HOME OR ANYTING ELSE.SO MAKE SURE YOU HOME INS DOES NOT DEP ON YOUR HOME

Your question is appropriate, and there can be only complete agreeement that Modular building systems homes are built considerably better and stronger than site constructed homes.

Additionally they are built in an enclosed environment, thus protecting their very core of materials from all manner of destructive natural forces, moisture, and vermin.

Lastly, the modular building system home fabrication must be superior in quality of workmanship since the ability to "shim" every joint, simply is not possible. Since you live in a code built site home, you know that all wall, door, and ceiling joints have been shimmed to assure fit. The modular building system does not allow for such "shimming" in order for parts to fit. They must fit or simply be redone.

You have struck an exciting chord. The modular building system is the least known answer to providing consistent, very efficient, safe, and strongly built homes, to all economic levels of buyers. Thank you for your help to say so.

We are a non-profit, building with anything from tires to traditional. We like the modular systems because they allow for easier changes to rooms without the need for achitectual redesign of major support systems. Since each room is in itself a separate structure the strenght of the house in total at completion is far superior to basic stick frames. We plan to put up several pre-built modular cottages for our present project this summer. Hope to keep folks informed of our progress thru video diary. Modular is never a disappointment, just ask the Japanese.

I've driven by models of "System Built" Houses on stilts/pilings. How safe are they in terms of storms, hurricanes, etc. What's the insurance like?

I see that some people think you can't insure a modular home. In twenty years of selling and finishing mods I have never had a client who had trouble getting homeowners insurance. Perhaps they are thinking about trailers.

Last year I had one of my homes gutted in a fire ( no fault of the home) All the roof rafters and ceiling joists needed to be replaced as well as all the sheetrock stripped. After I explained how the house was built the insurance adjuster decided to let us replace the home instead of trying to take it apart and rebuild it. Because my home builder Chelsea Homes Marlboro, NY really cares about their customers we had the replacement house on site in three weeks, we finished the house in three weeks and my client was back in her house in under three months. Try that with stick built!

Mods are build to withstand long trips on the road and being lifted in place by a crane not to be taken apart. Mr. Cutter's comment above is not valid; a mod can be shipped very long distances with no damage at all, aside from a few sheetrock cracks which are normal and easily repaired by your builder. I always tell my clients that when their home arrives on site it has already been in a earthquake (road bumps) and a least 65 mph wind storm.

To the posting regarding the "system-built" homes on pilings, check out the Topsider company. http://www.topsider.com/

This NC based company is known for their beach-front "pod"-style homes on stilts/pilings. They have an amazing reputation and have built their homes in all types of terrain and climates. The cost has gone up dramatically in the past several years, but those who buy them say it is well worth it.