Bad news... But. + package homes?

[WantedWolf]

I had hoped to start a thread named "all conditions met" or "Shows on the road". However when my wife and I returned from a moving trip to the farm, our realtor informed us that the buyers couldnt obtain financing. So the deal fell and were back on the market.

But, Looking for the good in it, I might need the extra time for planning a second residence. My inlaws will be returning from singapore this summer and are considering retiring to the new farm.

So what do I do now, the wife and I were planing on roughing it in the existing house while we update the barn and repair fences etc. Then when I felt my construction skills were sufficient and we obtained some materials we would attempt to build ourselves a small cabin/home.

The inlaws come with 2 more dogs and alot of furniture, currently there is no suitable quarters to put them up. of course Cost and time are the most important when considering a dwelling, We see alot of snow and cold, and I want it to be their final home and have them settled, so RV's are out. I am very nervous even considering moving a park model or existing home to the property, (On the ride home we saw a nice looking home that had fallen sideways off the trailer onto the road).

This leads me to building a house ourselves, way sooner then we had planned. Any experiences with design/material packages?
Aprox. 1000sqft, very simple, no stairs. and a screened porch.

We are in an often wet area near a lake, my neigbour firmly suggested I build whatever home on a basement, but I would prefer some other footing or crawlspace if it would still have the same drying and ventilation qualitys of a basement.

Any advice would be great, I thought I had things under control but it seems lately like every task I take on is completly new and the first time doing it is a little scary.

 

[MotorSeven]

Cheap, solid, dry, warm(with blown on foam insulation) & you can have the shell done in a week. We have been living in ours 'temporarily" for 2 years....no complaints.

RD

 

[WantedWolf]

Thats a nice looking building, thanks for sharing MotorSeven
How thick are the walls?
How are you heating it?

Was that a very expensive door? it looks like it seals very well.
I love the large door idea, i would place the utility room so as to have easy access to the water tank etc. with still enough room to eaisly bring furniture/appliences thru.

do you have any windows? / could some be added easily.

My wife and I considered living in our barn but the costs would be to great for a building we need for animal purposes anyway.

It would shed snow well.

 

[charlz]

What about a home using Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) construction? Supposed to be very energy efficient and quick to frame out. Here is one site:

Structural insulated panel home sip construction

 

[CurlyDave]

Given the time constraints, I would buy a manufactured home & have it set up.

The problem of the home falling off the trailer is easily solved with a piece of paper -- you contract for a home delivered and set up on your property. If it falls off the trailer, either the seller or the transporter is stuck for a new one.

I have built a home and it will take much longer than from now until the end of summer for a novice to get something built. Heck, it would take longer than that for a contractor moving at warp speed to get even a 1000 sq foot house built.

Plan out how you are going to site both your home and your in-law's so you get the right configuration ahead of time.

 

[DieselPower]

I'll second Daves idea about manufactured homes. When my father passed away my brother and I wanted to take care of our mother so she wasn't on her own. We found it was not only very competitively priced but a lot easier to just have a partially pre-manufactured extension put on the house to enlarge the living space. I'm very happy with it and the contractor we chose to do the job had no problems letting us pitch in on the work which reduced the cost even more.

 

[Egon]

The manufactured may be the quickest way to go. Lots of options as to layout and interior finishes. They may even look after building the basement.

Don't worry about it falling off a truck.

On your own I'd suggest a slab on grade type construction with in floor heating and shell built to standards and designs that greatly help reduce heating /cooling costs. This could also apply to the manufactured as to window types and placement etc.

Remember the design should be such that heating /cooling requirements are minimized and then pick a suitable heating/cooling system.

 

[Bird]

I have owned and lived in mobile/manufacturered homes, both single wide and double wide, both new and used. In fact, my parents had a nearly new, small single wide near the Texas coast when I bought 10 acres with a shop building, barn, and old ragged single wide in December, 1994, and had my parents' home moved onto the property, also. After a couple of years, we replaced our old ragged manufactured home with a new double wide that we ordered built exactly as we wanted.

There's just one thing I'd do differently if I ever bought another one and that is to pour a concrete slab to park it on. If you have soil that contracts and expands with changing moisture content, it can be hard to keep them levelled. Of course, I guess many parts of the world may not have the same problem we have in Texas.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm confused on a few things.

Is this home to be permanent for you to live in? Or is it a temporary place to live in until you sell another place? Is this for the in laws to live in? Or is it more for storage for their stuff?

For temporary living, it's really hard to beat an RV. Buy used with the goal of selling it down the road. If you buy new, expect to lose quite a bit when selling it. RV's drop allot in value after the leave the dealers lot.

If you want a permanent structure, it's really hard to beat the price of a cement slab and wood stud walls. It will add value to your land and it's pretty simple to do yourself if you keep it basic.

The only thing that I like about mobile homes are the use of space. A rectangle is the cheapest shape for a home to build. Look at the floor plans for mobile homes and you'll see how much though went into them. Copy it and you'll save money in a clean, simple home design that's extremely functional.

Like Bird mentioned, one of many problems with mobile homes are the soil they sit on. If that soil moves, the mobile homes starts to come apart. They are famous for inferior quality materials and rapid deteriation. While I don't specialize in mobile home repairs, I am a contractor that makes a living working on houses, and sometimes mobile homes. Everything that I've seen in them is always the cheaper version of what could have been used.

The last option is to buy a metal shop, build it or have it built, and then finish out all of it or part of it as a living space. The good part to this is that you get an enclosed area to work in very quickly. I'm going to be doing this for a client later on this year, and it's something that I think works very well for some people. Half will be a living space of 36x25 and the other half will be a shop. It will be one bedroom, but that's all they need and we'll be finishing it off pretty nicely. At 900 sq ft, it's going to be plenty of room for two people.

I'm not a fan of SIPS due to their cost. I think the advantage to modular design, or pre built sections is the speed in assembly. Look at Extreme Home Makeover. It's all done in a week, but it's taken months for them to pre build each part of the house, transport it to the site and have a crew assemble it. From what I've heard, they are well build, but it's extremely expensive.

How much time do you have? What is your budget? and what are your long term goals?

Eddie

 

[Tig]

My current home is also in an area where moisture is a concern. We will knock it down and rebuild next fall. One of the biggest "worry free liviability" improvements that I plan to make is to fill the existing basement. A basement in a damp area beside a lake has proven to be bad idea. The scenario is repeated all over this area. Sump pumps and dehumidifiers are a pain in the butt and they always need power. A basement like that is really not suitable for much since anything you try to put down there will block airflow and breed mould. I built an oversized garage last year to give me some room instead.
The new home will be built over a 3' heated crawlspace. Just high enough for service access to plumbing and heating etc. The floor of the crawlspace will be cement poured close to existing grade level. That will keep things clean and dry. I will backfill around the house to improve drainage and avoid steps at the entry. I want the house to be able to sail through a power outage or extended vacation away without any upkeep or concern.
The suggetion of building on a heated slab you be checked out. It would make a cozy, compact, worry free home with some cost savings in materials.
Whether you go for prefab or build it yourself pay close attention to the house wrap and insulation. Nothing will cost you more in heat and comfort than the wind blowing through the cracks.
Good luck.