Having a new home built is something that traditionally takes up to six months to complete, costing the new homeowner tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. The process looks something like this — you design the house, then the contractor breaks ground, pouring the foundation and building the structure from the ground up. You're able to move in once construction is complete and the home has been inspected.
What if you could reduce both the time it takes and the cost of building your dream home? Modular housing might be the answer you've been looking for. What is modular housing, and what are some of the benefits of this new construction technique for homeowners?
What Is Modular Housing?
First, what is modular housing? It's important to note that there is a difference between modular and manufactured housing. Manufactured homes, often called mobile homes, are designed to be moved from one location to another. Modular housing is designed to create a permanent building once they're complete.
The biggest difference between modular housing and traditional construction methods is that each piece of a modular home is constructed in a factory before being shipped to the site of your new home for assembly. This isn't a new idea. Between 1910 and 1940, Sears Roebuck Co sold more than half a million prefabricated homes. It's just started picking up steam in recent years as contractors are looking for ways to improve productivity and reduce costs.
Faster Construction
As we've already mentioned, it takes roughly three to six months to completely build a new home, from design to groundbreaking to move-in day. Modular construction takes a fraction of that time. A 20'x40x office, for example, can be designed, manufactured, and shipped in five days.
It takes another week from there for crews to assemble it. Less than two weeks from a blank lot to a fully functional office. Homes take a bit longer, due to their size, but modular construction takes a fraction of the time that traditional stick-by-stick construction does.
Lower Costs
While you won't be building your home for pennies on the dollar, modular construction does end up costing you less in the long run. On average, modular homes cost between 10 and 20% less than stick-built homes. You also end up spending less money on contractors because it takes a fraction of the time to assemble.
More Environmentally Friendly
Modular homes are more environmentally friendly than stick-built options, for a number of reasons. With every piece of the home built exactly to specifications in a factory, there is no need for extra materials on the jobsite, and as such there is less waste. According to industry experts, prefabricating trusses and frames reduce jobsite waste by 52%. It's also easier to construct these homes with green and sustainable materials, which makes them better for the environment and helps to reduce your carbon footprint as the homeowner.
Better Construction
With stick-built homes, each building has a unique fingerprint based on the skills of the contractors building it. With modular homes, you don't have that uniqueness, but you also have the benefit of strict quality control. Each piece of the home is assembled in a factory and held to the highest standards before it is shipped to the final jobsite. You also don't have to worry about whether the lumber has been exposed to the weather, or whether the concrete has cured correctly due to rainy afternoons. All you have to do is wait for the contractors to put everything together.
Modular Homeownership is on the Rise
Modular construction is becoming a popular choice for its speed, quality, and reduced costs. Prefab or modular homes aren't a new concept, but if you choose to build a new home in the next decade, modular construction might be the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly option.
