Modular Homes - Good/Bad experiences... I am considering this pretty seriously...

[teg]

Take a look... F l a m i n g o - F a r m - H i l l s v i l l e, V a I have not followed up with the quality as of yet on that website but bottom line, it's not the greatest but stick built can be just as bad. You need to get Eddie there for quality work We were looking for something cheaper that I could improve later on.

So this is our retirement home, someday. What people have said above, I agree. Not the greatest quality but the house is sound. We plan on redoing a lot of it - master bath is number one. BUT I knew I was planning to do that and even more work before making it our "home". It's a vacation house now... The house plan was drawn up by me, I like simply things... I know several architects, including my dad, but this is what I like.

Number one problem we had was a crappy road to get in and out. Unless you have good access for a modular unit to travel down your road... think twice. Our road was narrow, a few cattle guards and getting off the main road had a dip that proved to be a challenge.

Number two, IN THEORY, you could be in your home in 30 days... reality, your builder most likely has a few of these going on and subs are working on other houses. IF the builder is NOT busy these days... I would ask why NOT?? We got screwed (lost a year+ $$) with another builder that went bankrupt.

Number three, it's still a factory job and you don't get the best workers. Granted my builder didn't have the best workers either and some were fired... It's liveable and pretty nice right now without doing upgrades... beats the old 128 sq.ft. trailer!


PS. The modular is from Nationwide in Martinsville, Va., cabinets and windows were also built in the same town. We were able to get better windows on the east and west facing walls, didn't really care about getting better cabinets.

 

[ohmyback]

My cousin has a modular on a foundation. He has upgraded alot of the interior, but dont we all even in our stick builts. Exterior framing and insulation are top notch. For me to insulate as well on my home I would never get my ROI.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I could be wrong, but I thought Clayton homes built the trailer type of manufactured homes, where they put 2 trailer halves together, not the better built modular that are stick built in a factory. There was a thread on here recently discussing modular homes and several people had recommendations. My neighbor has one, looks and build very nice.

 

[JerryK]

I have a modular on a 7 block crawl up in Northern lower Michigan.. Well insulated, double pane vinyl windows, easy to heat. About 400 gallons of propane a year with a 90+% forced air furnace. Not stick built, but needed something fairly fast... works for me.

 

[boggen]

my grandpa lived in a modular double. the biggest issue i remember him stating is phone lines, cable tv lines, eletrical outlets, and internet outlets. the walls were thin to point of once built you had to drill through floors / ceilings and run stuff across floors and like. other wise he seemed happy.

personally i would like to have a metal building / pole barn as a home. as long as i could insure when ever it rained i could not hear the pounding in the living spacing.

other side of family grand parents lived in a motor home while log cabin was built. and then when they moved i think they got another motor home or maybe a 5th wheel trailer and i don't remember if 1 or both sides of it slide out for more space inside, i don't remember anymore. and live in it till house was built.

as long as you have access to something cheap for laundry (arghs) motor homes to trailers are not that bad. kinda of extend vacation. but work.

 

[moriboy]

In our area, property with anything but a stick built home tends to not appreciate in value as much.

 

[teejk]

We went with "panelized" construction (modular just doesn't seem to handle the rough roads around here). Same concept as stick built other than it is done in a factory and "assembled" on-site. Was a rather complicated design...2 story "cape" type and the concrete guy bitched about having 40 corners on the 9' foundation walls but the framing was done in 2 days and we were "tight to weather" in less than a week. I took it from there.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

We went with "panelized" construction (modular just doesn't seem to handle the rough roads around here). Same concept as stick built other than it is done in a factory and "assembled" on-site. Was a rather complicated design...2 story "cape" type and the concrete guy bitched about having 40 corners on the 9' foundation walls but the framing was done in 2 days and we were "tight to weather" in less than a week. I took it from there.

Teejk, That is what we are planning. SIP panels. Get the foundation built, then assemble the weather tight shell and do most of the interior myself. Do you have a basement?

 

[Turbys_1700]

Lots of modular homes in my area. Local modular plant is located 5 miles from my house. Nothing wrong at all with one. My two neighbors have them. Resell is an issue though. Like many have said once you upgrade windows, doors, fixtures, etc... the cost savings over a stick built are not as great. My neighbor who lives across the road is in the process of selling his. He wants to go to a retirement center. So far no luck. I don't know how long it will take him to sell it but typically those homes have to be discounted to sell.

 

[Ed of all trades]

I just went through the same thing you are but chose to wait on the economy. To me the clayton homes looked cheep and trailery, I went up to exit 5 in Pa and looked a formost homes and was very impressed. You can choose any plan and customize it to suit. We were looking at a 1700 sq ft house and by the time we finished it was over 2000 and they drew up plans at no charge. Ed