You might be in the market to purchase a new manufactured home for a couple of reasons: maybe you are thinking of upgrading your current manufactured home with a brand new structure; or, you might be looking to purchase an existing manufactured home yet not be familiar with this type of factory-built dwellings.

Manufactured homes, as with all prefab homes, are built in a factory environment.

This setting creates conditions that can make manufactured homes better, cheaper, with faster and more environmentally-friendly construction than stick-built (on-site-built) homes.

Let’s look at why this could be the case:

Better. If you ever get the chance to visit a factory, go – it is a cool experience.  You will notice that there are different stations throughout the production line. Each station in the factory is specialized and does the same thing over and over. For example, you will see a place where they build the subfloor, another for the exterior walls, another for the roof, etc. The workers in these areas are experts at each task, therefore increasing the quality of the work.

These houses have a stronger structure – tighter joints, more accurate application of fasteners, etc. – because they are transported to the final location and need to withstand winds and the stress of being pulled by a truck.

Greener. I know, this is a total buzz word, but I’m really not trying to be cool. The fact is that manufactured and modular homes have been greener than stick-built construction before “green building” was hip. Prefab homes produce less building waste, so they are greener by design. Why less waste? Because factory construction means that materials can be cut to more exact sizes, and less leftovers end up in landfills.

Our line of homes also include high insulation ratings, thicker studs, and a heat barrier on the roof. I always recommend Energy Efficient appliances, water heaters, and furnaces.

Also, due to the more precise measurements achieved on the production line, these homes have a tighter seal and building envelope, making them even better at conserving energy. That can translate to a ton of future savings for homeowners, not to mention less use of energy, which helps the environment.

All of these contribute to making your house more environmentally-friendly.

Faster. Before the house can be added to the production line, all engineering calculations and construction plans will be completed. This means that once the home enters the production line, every single specification for the house is known. The workers on the line will know exactly how much material is needed, the client options selected, roof load required, location of walls, etc.

There are no changes allowed after the order is submitted. This, in addition to the houses being built in specialized areas down the line, makes the construction of your home much faster than a stick-built home.

Also, while the house is in production, you can begin pouring of foundation so that it is ready for your new home. Once your house is ready and transported to the location, set up is completed in a few hours.

All of these factors make factory-built housing a much faster process than stick-built housing.

Cheaper. Due factory’s ability to leverage their specialized staff, machinery, and materials, plus less waste and ability to build faster, the prices of manufactured and modular homes are less per square foot than stick-built homes.

I hope this was helpful. Let me know if you have any questions, or leave me a comment!