Stick Built vs Modular

[hunterridgefarm]

Does anyone have any experience with the modular homes? I am not talking about doublewides but the modulars that are delivered in sections (two story) and cranes are used to put in place.

We may be building in the next few months and I plan on visiting factroies where the modulars are built. I wanted to compare the construction with stick build homes. I know many of the modulars are 2x6 walls and quality control is very strict. I have seen several modulars built and talked to the owners, these are very nice homes and you would never know they were modulars.

We plan on a full basement and 1800 to 2200 sq. ft. I have always leaned towards the stick built and have several close friends that build houses and they have told me that the modulars are not like the doublewides and the ones they have looked at are build as good or better the alot of stick built homes.

Anyone know the pros and cons of the modular homes?

 

[beenthere]

IMO, it all depends on what you are happy with. Mod's will have tell-tale and visible joints where the mods come together, even though to most 'eyes' they are not visible.
My 'sis has a mod, and while I'm not impressed (it is much like the double-wide concept with some variations) they like it and that is all that counts, IMO.

You are wise to visit the factory's where they are built. I think the construction of the walls and mod's are top-notch. But there are limitations, i.e. as to where the kitchen plumbing is going to be relative to the bathroom plumbing, and so forth through the house. Not a biggee, but still may not be something you want in your house design.

Another factor, is keeping your money in your community paying the local builders, and not the 'builders' in a factory in another community. May not be a consideration for you, but I like to keep my money spent at 'home' as much as possible. That helps the local families, the local businesses if people support them, and the community benefits in many ways.

It's your call. Have fun.

 

[dmccarty]

Hunterridgefarm,

We looked real hard at modulars a few years ago. We talked with at least four builders. Some of the homes are pieces of scat. Others are very well build. The only way to tell is to visit the factory and the homes that your builder built.

We finally settled on one company. However as we worked through the numbers on the house it became obvious that we could built a stick house for the same dollar. We wanted to modify the house, more windows, etc. As we did this the builder kept adding on some big dollars. For instance to add more telephone or Cat 5 connections was $40 per box. Well eventually he priced himself out of the market. By the time he was done with the pricing he was at $77 per square foot. A friend of ours built across the street from use a stick built house with some nice features for $77 a square foot.

The strength of modulars is that they are a box. The problem is that they are a box. With the right design/room/wall placement you can hide the fact that the house is modular aka a box. But it still is a box. NC in some areas opened up some roads to trailers/modulars 16 feet wide. This was after we stopped looking. For us the limit was 14 feet wide. A two foot difference does not sound like much but it is a huge amount when trying to design bedrooms and halls. That 16 feet allows you to have a hallway and 12'x12' bedrooms in one box.

So for us, modular would have required us to compromize on what we wanted in the house BUT for the same price we could build a stick house. So we built stick.

There have been some horror stories on TBN about modular houses.

I think you are on the right path. Its going to come down to finding the right design, build and price.

Later,
Dan

 

[billbill1]

This is my opinion so take for what its worth. A home that has to travel at 70 mph down the road has to be well built. I owned a modular 20 years ago and it was very well built. The window and the ceilings in the one I had were not of the highest quality but it had a 4-12 pitch roof and looked like a stick built ranch style house. The floor joists were 18" beams that were built out of 2x4 lumber. I would own another, if I needed to.

 

[BubbaJr]

Before we built our house, we went to a modular house "open house" that was still under construction. Everything that we looked at seemed to be quality construction. Then I happened to look up at a second story outside wall that hadn't been wrapped in tyvek yet. In order to get the wall sections up there, they took a hammer and beat holes through the outer OSB, through the 6" foam insulation, and on through the inner OSB. Then they were able to hook a chain through the holes and hoist them in position with their crane. I asked the contractor about it and he said the holes are covered up with the tyvek and drywall, and you'll never know they are there. Now I'm talking about a hole big enough to stick your arm through. That killed it right there for us.

I'm not saying all contractors use such lousy techniques, but it would pay to look very carefully at how the house is put together on site, in addition to how they are made at the factory.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

I am leaning more towards stick built, but the wife wants to look at modulars. I know with modulars you are limited to their design and to change or add could greatly increase price.
I have drawn house plans for several people and have drawn my own. So as a price comparison I wanted to see the difference in both. The problem is my plans are not for the standard square or rectangle ranch which may be a problem for modular builders. May also decide against two story since I don't know how hard it will be to climb steps in our later years.
Time-frame for the builders I want to use may play a roll in the decision also.

My wife and I are 46 years old and plan to build on a 42 acre tract. This will most likely be the last house we own and just want to look at all the options. We were looking at log homes very seriously last year, went to shows and visited several being built. I could see future problems I did not want to deal with so we started looking at stick build again.

TBN is a very diversified group and spread out through many states so I felt this would be a good place to come for opinions. So far so good...keep em coming.

 

[TBrown]

My wife and I faced the same decision ten years ago. We decided to go with a modular, and we don't regret that decision one bit. But...

As others have stated, quality varies wildly between different factories/builders. We went with the largest, most established modular home dealer in my area. We could have purchased the same house for less from a smaller or newer outfit, but we'd toured the homes and talked with other customers and knew what we were getting with the big boys. To get the level of quality we wanted, we may have actually paid more than if we'd had it stick-built. It certainly wasn't any less.

The work done on our home at the factory was top notch. The crew who set the house was professional, honest, and efficient. The contractors who came in to do all the detail work (sheetrock the mating seams inside, finish the vinyl siding,etc...) were the biggest bunch of cob-jobbing, corner-cutting imbeciles on the face of the earth. I've had to go through and redo all their work. After we'd moved in for a month or so a factory rep came by to check up on the home and see if we had any problems/criticisms, and he was as disgusted with their work as we were. My advice would be to talk to other homeowners who've bought homes from your dealer and find out who the GOOD contractors they use are (they'll most likely use several different ones), and insist on them.

Good luck whichever way you go.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I'm a carpenter by trade (and farmer by love of the job) My father and his father were carpenters. We,ve built literally HUNDREDS of houses in our collective lifetimes. Both dad and grand-dad are probably rotating at speed in their graves when I say this, but there are some VERY high quality modulars today. (There are some real junkers too)

Recently, I had the opportunity to look over a couple "high end modulars". To even a trained eye, there was little evidence that they weren't stick-framed homes. Like so many things today, the technology has improved by leaps and bounds. And so has the price.

A top-of-the-line modular will cost as much (and in some cases more) than a conventional stick-framed home of the same size. The biggest advantage is the speed at which one can be "built" on site.

A recent discussion with a mortgage banker led me to an interesting finding. Some of these modulars now have the same "loan value" (per sq. ft.) as a comparable conventional home. That wasn't always the case.

So, like everything else in this world, you can get a good modular, IF you're willing to pay the price.

 

[PhilNH5]

Hunterridge,
Our first home was a single wide trailer. Our second home was a modular ranch. The difference was night and day. The only way to tell the modular was not stick built was to go in the basement and look up. The center beam was bolted together.

Our single wide did not have a deed it had a title from the DMV!
Our modular house had a deed.

We now live in a log cabin. I love the log cabin but I don't think our next house will be a log cabin. There is just to much air infiltration. You can't feel a breeze but the house is colder on windy days than on still days. This is not good in snowy and cold NH.

We have been looking at modular houses for our retirement place. Our favorite is a ski chalet with a loft. You'd be hard pressed to tell it is a modular. It is wide open and spacious. The ranches and capes are open as well. Not boxy at all.

Phil

 

[billbill1]

An older couple that my wife and I are/were (he passed away) friends with told me how they wished that they didn't have any stairs to deal with. When we built our home 5 years ago, we made everything on one level. Not one step up or down anywhere, my thinking was if either of us ever were wheelchair bound or had to use a walker, we wouldn't be forced into another home. Probably the taxes will drive us out after retirement though. We built a berm home, with 2 sides underground, the south side is mainly glass to allow for the sun warmth and the west is a 30x30 garage. Very efficent, only one month this summer with over $100 electric bill and we use the air conditioner constantly. Works well for us.