Modular or stick built?

[HybridVigor]

Since this forum is such a wealth of knowledge I figured I'd ask about home building. Wife and I are ready to build on the farm we bought and I'd be curious what other folk's experiences were.

Should we consider a modular? In poking around for pricing they don't seem any cheaper than stick built but likely they could be done quicker.

How did you pick a builder? Currently we're getting prices on similarly specced homes from 3-4 builders...some big...some small.

Any other advise?

The double wide that was there when we bought is gone (that was an adventure!). It could have been on an episode of "Hoarders."

 

[snowbelt geauga]

Consider the modular. We went with a modular only problem was builder new to module homes. He was high dollar home build hard to deal with. We have been in our home 14 years no regrets. If you deside on a modular tour the factory you will be amazed on how well built they are.

 

[Country Geek]

I agree with snowbelt, modulars are very well built. They have to be, to make the trip to your site on trucks intact. Plus they are built at the factory in controlled conditions under close supervision. By comparison every stick built house is basically a one-off.

The main drawback with modulars, and the reason we didn't go with one, is that there isn't as much design flexibility. Whatever you can design from putting together the modules they offer is what you can do. There are a lot of choices, but none for what we wanted. But if what I wanted could be done modular, I'd have no hesitation about going with one.

 

[jeff9366]

We built a custom home for retirement. Our first experience dealing with a builder. As we wanted an over-spec home as we had enjoyed before, we shopped carefully for builders. The local builders all wanted to talk price, then talk price some more. Not what we were interested in.

Finally found an upscale builder who had built for friends of friends. Looked at two of his homes in progress. Fit, finsih and quality of components what we were looking for. Everything exactly plumb and level. So for 50% more than local builders, we got the beautiful, over-spec home we desired. As one example, our electric bill average $160 per month. Our neighbors, with the same square footage, run $300 - $450 per month.

The builder was pleasant all the way through construction.

The thing that bothered me during construction was the dumpster, in which the subs tossed remnants of expensive building material promiscuously. Unavoidable but it killed me.

With modular construction there is practically no waste in the factory.

 

[NorTracNY]

For us the cost of modular was about 60% of stick built. We found a GC that delta only with modulars. Ours ended up being from Ritz-craft in PA. I was happy with the GC, but VERY impressed with Ritz-craft. Their after the sale support was amazing. They have a guy drive around to all their newly installed houses to make sure they are good. The GC first pointed out a few problems, then the Ritz-craft guy found several others which he fixed.

The one thing we found was that many GCs that work with modular also work on manufactured. They are use to low quality and that's their mindset. Our GC only dealt with modular and they offered lots of options to upgrade.

 

[gregfender]

+1 on the modular. We built ours in 2010 and love it. The finish is superb, the builder was great, and everything worked out wonderfully. Our builder does both modular and stick built houses and told us had we done the same plan as a stick built, he couldn't have come anywhere close in cost per sq, foot; in fact he figured it would have been 20-25% higher.

 

[BWSSR]

MODULAR IS BUILT INSIDE..IN MOST CASES....SO THE DRY WALL FOLKS DON'T ATTACH TO WET STUDS, AS WELL AS THE OUTSIDE SHEETING AND ROOF SHEETING...THESE CAN BE RE-LEVELED EASIER THAN A SLAB BUILT HOME AS WELL.

 

[teg]

What size house are you looking at? We are building a modular now, 1500 sqft. After a rough start with a builder that went out of business. How is the road getting into your place... We had a ***** of a time getting the house onto our property. Tight narrow turns...

 

[hutchman]

We are looking at modular's for the new land we bought. Carolina Building Solutions and Commodore are the two we've pretty much settled on with CBS being the top pick so far.

 

[hutchman]

What size house are you looking at? We are building a modular now, 1500 sqft. After a rough start with a builder that went out of business. How is the road getting into your place... We had a ***** of a time getting the house onto our property. Tight narrow turns...

Nice! Beautiful view!

 

[ZAR2USA]

+1 on the modular. We built ours in 2010 and love it. The finish is superb, the builder was great, and everything worked out wonderfully. Our builder does both modular and stick built houses and told us had we done the same plan as a stick built, he couldn't have come anywhere close in cost per sq, foot; in fact he figured it would have been 20-25% higher.

What a beautiful home, snow pic looks amazing!

 

[Opti-Mist]

We have done both and won't hesitate to do modular again. A friend had put up a modular a couple of years before we did. He was a retired quality vp of a large company and pulled a quality survey on the manufacturer. I used his experience and went with the same dealer, installer and subcontractors, was my own general, and did some of the work myself (including site prep). The bottom line is: place the house on a good foundation with a concrete floor, go full basement if you can, and the house will appraise the same as stick built. I made some floor plan changes which actually reduced the cost. Ours ended up with 2X6 wall framing w/full insulation and R-80 in the attic. When we sold it 15 years later the appraiser placed its apparent age at 5 years. Not a bad outcome.

 

[doxford jim]

We have just been looking into what we will do when we sell our current home. Looked at traditional construction, monolithic domes and modular homes. Of the three types, for us, the order of preference was:

1) modular - better value, quicker construction times, better construction control and better materials
2) monolithic dome - better control, quick construction and better disaster protection.
3) traditional construction - most expensive, subject to weather hold ups, often shoddy work etc.

Whilst the above is not absolute, it does give a good comparison of each type of build. The modular come in around 40% cheaper in central Canada, over the cost of site built. Depending on the company, turnkey construction methods available where the company looks after the foundations construction, placement, installation, hookups etc. - and they are still cheaper than the site built equivalent home. For specialist construction and where the owner can contribute to the building, onsite is probably the better route.
For us, when the time comes (after selling current home), we will go the modular route - quicker, cheaper etc. In the meantime we can live in a rented apartment for a year and get properly organized.
Of course everyone's needs are different, but for us the modular homes offer the better solution.

 

[snowbelt geauga]

We also have a Ritz-Craft home it was built in their Michigan plant. Very organized and clean. They told us they generated a10 yard dumpster a month.

 

[truckdiagnostics]

We built modular 14 years ago, contracted whole thing myself, full foundation saved a fortune. At least the mistakes are mine. Only issue we had is when we refinanced mortgage had modular on it. Had to do some explaining to the appraiser. Now as hungry as the builders are I might consider stick built. The modular was easy. It would be a ruff call. If I stick built i would skip the foundation, put footings in, fill it full of sand, put in, in-floor heat, pour concrete on top. Then I would have nice floor for the hard wood flooring and tile. Then i'd Use geothermal it will give you the hot water for the floor and chilled water for your air exchanger/AC If i didn't do the above, I would go modular in a heart beat!

 

[dmccarty]

We looked at modular 15 years ago. Back then the price for modular vs stick built was about the same. The other issue is design. Can you live with the design limitations due to the "box"? In NC, some areas can have 16 foot wide modules vs 14 feet. That extra two feet makes a difference design wise. We did see on modular home that had damage to a module due to the module being driven into a deep ditch during delivery. The damage we saw looked to be only drywall but I always wondered if there was deeper, hidden damage. Having access without tight turns, especially was the module length increases, is important.

The quality in module's is there or should be. It then is a question of build time, cost vs stick and can you get a floor plan you like with modules.

Later,
Dan

 

[oosik]

I have what you would call a stick built home. Its a pre-cut cedar timber home - Pan Abode. Manufactured in Redmond, WA. It is double wall with urethane insulation between the walls. It is put together just like a Lincoln log house. The wife & I built it ourselves - it took us three months to complete. Its been here 33 years now and is still as sound the the year we built it.

My friend bought and had erected a modular home. There was no savings in cost - the savings came in the speed of completion. It is an exceptionally nice house.

 

[jrclark]

My wife and I are building a stick framed home right now. We live in a relatively expensive area in SE Pa and had a difficult time getting through the appraisal process, despite adequate comps, near perfect credit and plenty of cash. I'd be willing to bet we would never have gotten through the appraisal process with a modular home, at least not without a lot more cash down.

To get a modular home with a more custom appearance, it would cost almost as much to construct. We were also not terribly thrilled with the floor plans. There was only one out of the hundreds of possibilities that we were willing to consider. We did not get a great sense of flexibility with the interior finishings, which was a huge thing for the wife.

Our home is being constructed by the company that employs 2 of her brothers and her father. Her brother Chris is running the project, with help from brother Tim, both of which are immensely capable carpenters. Needless to say, we're being very well treated throughout this process. I cannot overstate the value that brings, since my stress level was through the roof leading up to the first shovel in the ground. No matter which method you choose, make sure you're totally comfortable with the builder and process. Good luck!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

One of my neighbors did a modular a few yrs back, nice house. I'd consider either if it has a good floor plan.

New framed house going up down the road from me, basement done late last week.1st deck thursday, walls friday/sat, trusses and roof sheathing sunday, and had paper on it monday morning before a small rain/snow came. Went up quick, but is a small house.

 

[ksluy]

I just recently did both. First we did a modular home for my daughter 1200sq ft for about 60k thats with fencing, storm shelter and all. The we just finished my sons house that we contracted or built ourselves. Its 2000sq ft and it came in at 130k. I could do two modular homes at 2200sq ft for less. Now the house is hands down better built. If i had to choose which one i would want to lay down in tonight it would be the stick built house.