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Pre-Fab Homes?
itwerx asks: "I am considering purchasing a pre-fabricated home to put on an empty lot in an urban area. I have researched hither and yon and Googled to my heart's content and found great gobs of information online. The question here is what the SlashDot community's own experience has been with this type of technology? Anybody purchase a pre-fab home recently? What was your experience like?"
It's big colonial that came in 5 pieces... and it is absolutely magnificent.
If you go with a good builder, you're gonna get a house as good or better than a conventional home for less money.
It tends to be easier to find a good prefab builder than a reliable contractor, depending on where you live.
Just one tip: If you are building a house in the country or suburbs where there is no city sewer, MAKE SURE that you perform a perk test BEFORE purchasing the land. If the soil is clay or too rocky, you could spend as much as 50-75k putting in a septic system!
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
I work in construction, we've worked on a few modular homes and from what i've seen you can find some well build ones.
We did some repair work on one last winter, a tree had fell on the house and it was barely damaged.
This particular house was build WAY above code, it was very empressive. I wish i knew who manufactured it, i would have recommended them highly.
From a process engineering (geek) point of view you can't beat a prefab house built in a factory. There is much better control of the process and allocation of workers. For example if the frameing is finished early the electricians can start early. It is also easier to train a framer/drywaller/painter (which the trade unions hate) who can be quickly moved around as needed. If a house is running late it is possible to work 24hrs instead of only durring dayling. The quality control is also going to be better as a knowledgeble foreman can supervise many homes at once. Also the house designer or someone with similar training is probably onsite and can be called upon to decipher the drawings.
Anecdotal evidence shows that locally prefab houses are of much better quality then regular built homes. The better process builds a better home. By "anectdotal evidence" I mean the 2 prefab houses I know of had no serious problems. Whereas 7 other new home owners have had significant issues from cracks in the wall, to no insulation in the atic/roof, to improperly installed hardwood floors. It is possible that the local home builders are simply incompetent.
pre-fabs are cheaper than a 'properly' built home but offer a way for someone with a limited budget to have something of their own.
I purchased one back in may (2003) and over all have been very happy with it. All of the problems that I have had have been from installation of the home and not construction of it in the factory.
Its solid, roomie and costs as much as renting an apartment but without the landlord hassels.
I've had exactly these questions. Fortunately my wife's father spent 20+ years building houses, and firmly believed that building a house to last a century saves money in the long run. Since he's gotten older, he's worked as a building inspector for the local city, and a couple of others.
When we get together, he tells me stories of stupid dishonest contractors. (I ask for them so I know what to look out for). Apparently, it's pretty common for the cities not to have enough inspectors, especially in fast growing areas. It's also common for inspectors to let the contractors know in advance what will be looked at closely and what wont. Large tracts of homes are especially vulnerable to inspection oversight. For dishonest contractors, it's cheaper to fix what an overworked inspector catches than to build the entire thing to code. Especially if you know the inspector, and know what he looks for and what he ignores.
He very much likes pre-fab houses for quite a few reasons (detailed below). He's also a big fan of steel framed houses, since they're strong and easy to put up. And don't burn. Wires are also very easy to fish through them. They also have extremely strong points under the supporting I beams, good for hanging unlikely things like water beds.
Pre fab vs onsite:
Pre Fabricated houses are built in a heated factory by workers with all tools and materials close at hand. Building supplies are instantly available, and are replaced as needed.
On-site building requires timing of delivery of supplies. Lumber brought in advance is subject to waiting in the rain, theft, vandalism, and bugs in the dirt. Tools are brought to the site, and if one breaks, gets lost, borrowed or needed elsewhere, an inferior tool will probably get drafted for the job. Supplies are bought in quantities just enough for the job, and if an accident or shortage happens, they're will probably be a "stretching" of supplies to make it through the job. Or it's running over budget and cheap stuff is substituted.
Pre-Fab: The compressed air is high pressure and lots of volume, meaning that the tools all work properly. The factory is well lit and problems, if arising, can be corrected immediately.
On Site: The compressors are small enough to carry around. They don't have the same power (they work, but can't handle the same duty cycle)
Pre Fab: completely engineered, and any problems have been long since solved, and properly corrected. It's on an assembly line.
On Site: often designed one at a time, for each plot of land, so each one is different. Sometimes boneheaded mistakes are made in the design, but not caught till later. The fixes are ugly, but hidden (suprises later!). Once the house is built the contractor is gone, and he didn't do the work anyway, he subcontracted it to guys who are operating on a shoestring,cutting corners everywhere possible.
Contractor: Get the job done for the least amount of cash acceptable. Do a good job where the building inspector is looking, unless it's a subdivision. Then there's no time for inspections and horrible things happen, like stealing the rebar out of the cement forms before the pouring. Unbelivably stupid, but it happened.
The mentality of the factory owners is like Avis rent-a-car "We're #2 so we try harder". Everybody equates them mentally with ramshackle mobile homes, so they have to be nearly perfect to even try to compete. Oh, and since the "mobile home" rep is still dogging them, they have to compete on price, and the house is a continuing "model home" because all the owners friends are going to ask about it.
Any materials for building on upper floors have to be lugged up stairs^h^h^h^h^h^h ladders (ever try to climb a ladder with both hands full?). Every extra bit of adhesive/lumber/brick/drywall mud/nail used is one more that has to be lugged up. Was it even delivered in the first place? If they run out of something, they'll substitute with something else to get the job done.
********* sig: If you don't like the law, get filthy stinking rich, and buy a better one.
Surely the geeky thing to do is casemod an existing home. What you could do is add a window, and put some lights on the inside, so making the internals visi... I'll get my coat.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
Don't forget to take the wheels off. Trust me, you do NOT want your house being repossessed.
Seriously, I know a few people with prefabs (off site construction, or some other PC phrase exists) and they seem okay. Watching the home shows, it seems they can do amazing things these days. While you can't get a true 'custom' home (also unlikely as most contractors only want to build from one set of cookie cutter prints) there is enough variability in modules that if you find a large manufacturer, you're unlikely not to be satisfied.
There, think that second paragraph might be serious enough to avoid a downmod as a 'troll' for what is really a 'funny', 'insightful', and 'intelligent' joke in the first.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
Check with the manufacturer, ask for details on how it's constructed. They've been required since the mid-80s to build them to at least HUD code and since they're generally shipped down the road in pieces, each piece is usually sturdier than many "stick-built" homes (in order to survive the trip).
:D Also, prices vary from dealer to dealer (even with the same manufacturer), so you may be able to drive an extra hour or two and save yourself a few thousand bucks.
Even with these requirements, there's still a _very_ wide range of construction quality, both exterior and interior. Shop around, walk through a few lots physically. Beware, we work on commission. Don't seem too interested or you may find yourself sitting at a table with a pen
As for the houses themselves, there are several different types (manufactured, modular, etc.) each with their own features and price ranges. I sell manufactured homes. They have their own shipping frame built into the bottom of the house. The structural benefits make construction less expensive for the manufacturer, but as a result they're built less like a stick-built home than a modular is (where rooms are preconstructed, minus foundation, and shipped to the site). Also, much of the construction contains OSB (oriented strand board) which can cause problems for severe asthmatics due to possible low-level formaldehyde release from the bonding adhesives. Most modern homes actually use this material in one place or another, it's just more prevalent in a manufactured home. If you're worried, look for adequate ventilation in the construction. As a side note, I've worked 8 hours a day (sometimes more), 5 days a week in one (for an office) for a few years and feel fine.
I actually got into the business when my wife and I moved and were looking for a new home. We considered a manufactured home, but eventually settled for stick-built. Here's why: the house was already built, all we had to do was pay a price. With paperwork, site-work and build-time, a manufactured home can go up in as short as 2 months. This is _extremely_ fast in comparison to constructing a stick-built home, plus you have a considerable amount of 'customization' available (at roughly half the cost per square foot). However, it _is_ a construction site and will probably end up being a construction loan. Be prepared for it to take time and you'll need to be in constant contact with your salesman and bank.
As for the prior poster who wrote: "If the soil is clay or too rocky, you could spend as much as 50-75k putting in a septic system!", I can honestly say I've _never_ seen a system cost that much. Maybe it's just where we live, but high end systems here run just under $20k, while the average is $12k. You will need to be sure of: Electrical access, septic rated for the house you order, site-work for the foundation, garage (?), access for getting the pieces of house on-site, etc. There are a lot of costs that aren't included in the house, _make sure you get it all up front before you sign_.
All said and done, manufactured homes are a great way to go for a semi-customizable home at about half the cost of building your own. You'll probably be limited to a single floor (2 story homes are still a rarity, but they exist), but we've got some that are in excess of 2700 sqft. I really like the product and may end up living in one at some point in the future. Good luck in your research.
If you don't want a colonial, or other "traditional" home you should check out
FabPrefab, a web resource dedicated to tracking developments in the realm of 'modernist prefab dwellings'.
Also check out Dwell Magazine and the Dwell Home which is a showcase project for the magazine and is prefab.
The Loftcube is a cool Prefab Penthouse ( delivered by helicopter ! ), but whether you could get one shipped from Germany is something else.
Damned kids these days! Doesn't any one say "thither" anymore? ;)
"Yeah, well, Dracula called and he's coming over tonight for you and I said okay."
Suggestion: go to real estate school and get your real estate license.
It's kind of like a law degree. You don't have to be a practicing lawyer for it to help.
A real estate license will teach you the great unknowns about the laws and pitfalls of the business.
Unlike law, the real estate license takes about a month (around here, at least) and is subsidized by the real estate brokerage firms. They don't care to make money by tuition, they just charge enough to make sure that the prospective students are serious, not timewasters.
Around here it's $500 dollars, and that more than covers the savings you'll make on every house you buy or sell. It's a month, but the hours are extremely flexible at most of the schools, and your real savings will probably be closer to $3-5000 on each house you buy. More than enough to pay back your time invested.
Earning a real estate license will also let you forgo the need to hire your own agent. You'll be able to split the fee with the selling agent, and pocket about 3%. Yes, it's legal in most, if not all places, to act as your own agent when purchasing on your own, but there are some thing you really need to know. Accordingly, this paragraph starts with the word "Earning" rather than "Having"
Also, there are a great many people who don't like realators for various reasons, and prefer to keep the comissions for themselves. Hence "For Sale by Owner". It is very helpful to know what you're doing in this circumstance because both of you might very well be clueless to the laws and ordinances and local "gotcha's".
Another worry is that "For Sale by Owner" might be because the current owner is attempting something that no realator would risk their license by being a party to.
Caveat emptor. Knowlege can keep you from getting burned.
Good luck.
********* sig: If you don't like the law, get filthy stinking rich, and buy a better one.
Check out this website...
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http://www.heritagebuildings.com/homes/home_mor
Trailer Park my foot.
I'll never even consider a 'stick built' house. All of my family and friends have horror stories about contractors, etc.. To use one of my Dad's very favorite sayings 'If you want it done right, you've got to do it yourself.'
"Oh drat these computers, they're so naughty and so complex, I could pinch them." --Marvin the Martian
The slashdot crowd is probably far more knowledgable about prefabricated cakes and pies than prefabricated homes.
Now, if you are not going to move out from it, than yeah, maybe it could work out pretty good.
There's a reason mobile home parks are known as "Tornado Magnets".
Have an insurance agent tell you about insurance options/price difference between modular and stick built homes.
Modular homes seem to have straighter lines, but they are made from thinner lumber. Where a stick built home is made from 2-by somethings, modular homes are made from 3/4 by somethings. Joinery is neater in modular construction, but materials are much thinner. One of the main interests in modular construction is weight of the finished product.
Consider how modular homes are attached to the foundation? My stick built house is bolted to baselite basement walls attached (hopefully) with rebar to footings dug into the soil. I actually have an attic which I can crawl up into and view the insulation, add electric circuits, and lighting or fans.
Consider how the electric circuits are going to be connected together in a modular. If a home is a bunch of boxes, the wiring is snap together.
Do you want copper or PVC plumbing? Copper never had the "blue water" problem. It's more expensive, but more resiliant if there is a freeze. What size water heaters are available, and what does your family need?
What if you want to remodel?
Ask a realestate agent to price out older modular homes onsite, and compare them to new modular homes + installation and landscaping. Often modular homes don't appreciate as fast as stick built homes. But consider that newer modulars are built with a different paradyme than older modulars (new modulars are not oversized travel trailers).
All show pieces, both stick and modulars have under-sized furniture. Take in a tape measure, and layout your furniture in the modular model. If you have a king-sized bed, go into a bedroom, and layout a king size bed with night stands etc.
Do the same in the kitchen/dining area for the dining table, and especially your washer/dryer and refridgirator. If you go to see an installed modular, flush the toilet, and turn on the shower, go to other rooms to see how much noise transfers. Are you un-happy with that amount of noise.
Some people are very happy with modulars, and there can be a huge savings with a modular manufacturers mass buying power on appliances.
- High Tech workers, please say NO to Union Carpenters, their Union sees fit to control our compensation.
The fact that the framing of a house is steel probably makes little difference in the combustibility of the house as a whole. The framing is only a fraction of the contents of the house, and you have to consider the furniture, flooring, wall materials, and stored materials (paints, varnishes, solvents,etc) that are also in a house. A steel framed house also has the potential drawback of conducting electricity, and could be a hazard, particularly when using Romex cable, unless the edges are properly protected. Wood framing is less likely to have sharp edges, and does not conduct electricity to any great degree unless it is soaking wet. Of course, you could use BX Cable or conduit, but that adds to the cost of wiring the house over Romex.
I have noticed though that steel roofing is making a comeback around here. Most of the older houses >50 yrs old have tin roofs, most of which still serve their purposes, though they need repainting every few years. After WW2, most houses were built with the familiar asphalt shingles we see today, and those roofs need to be replaced every 20 to 30 years.
Prefinished metal roofing is becoming the standard for most agricultural type structures and outbuildings, but I have also seen it being used on several houses around here as well.
I am currently in the process of building a prefab (modular) home, and while it is too early to say if I made the best decision possible, here are a few impressions I have of the business, . While my housing needs and budget are fairly basic, I wanted to try to make the most of a very nice piece of land that my Dad subdivided for me when he sold the old family dairy farm. Most comparable lots in the area would be sporting half million dollar McMansions, while the realities of my budget were more in line with a tract house in an older Baltimore suburb. The challenge was to build a nice, but modest house for my use and budget, but build in quality and expandability for when the day came to sell.
I had several meetings/phone conversations with each of the 3 builders I interviewed before I made a decision. All three seemed competent and had at least several dozen modulars under their belts. All had some pretty good ideas to build in some expandability, usually by selecting a model, or modifiying an existing one to have buildable space in the attic. Each represented a different manufacturer, and I speced out houses as close to each other as I could to make my decision based on who I thought would do the best work, at the fairest price. I priced the basic houses out when fitted with basic options, then set up a spread sheet to compare items line by line or items on allowances, as well as "wish list" items.
Builder one was very knowledgeable, had been doing modulars for 10 years and the base price of the house was attractive. Unfortunately, the house that was shown in the brochure was not the house that I would get without spending an extra 10 grand for the overbuilt roof. I would be a plain box house. Every little upgrade, such as mouldings, deluxe cabinets, and so on was priced as if the builder was tearing out the cheap stuff , throwing it away and installing the good stuff himself. The manufacturer he admitted was difficult to work with, and between the lines he was telling me that for more than a bare basic house he could do better by me by doing a stick built. I agreed with his assesment, and looked for a second opinion.
The second builder represented one of the largest manufacturers of Modulars in the region, and had at least as much time in the business as the first. The second manufacturer offered more attractive exteriors and floorplans than the first, and the builder seemed much more enthusiastic than the first about the company he represented. The price was somewhat higher for the basic house, but at least some of the increased cost was justified. He shared the same affliction as the first builder by pricing upgrades very aggresively. Another thing that unsettled me a little was his reticence at me doing either a site visit or to contact the owner of a completed house.
While the subdivision process for the lot dragged on and stalled, I took a break from the process for a while. When the wheels of bureaocracy started to grind again, I decided to widen my search for a manufacturer and builder, and found my third prospective builder, who represented a manufacturer in Central PA which offered a more upscale product in the square foot range I was looking for. He also had a nearby project, a modular addition to an older house, which was literally right under my nose, and I got a chance to tour a more upscale project he was in the middle of and I was impressed. In the end I ended up going with him, as the upgrades that I wanted in the other houses were either included, or priced more reasonably in his quote. The manufacturer is also able to do more in-factory customization, and in fact my house will be a hybrid of one exterior, with the floorplan based on a somewhat different model.
So far things seem to be going very well, and the foundation work went very smoothly. For now there are some minor foundation jobs to complete, but the next big event is the delivery and set of the house itself in about a month. My main concern there is the weather, which can turn ugly that time of year, but as long as he gets a decent dry day for the set, most of the rest of the work can be done inside in heated comfort the builder assured me.