Go Green! Go Modular!

It’s no surprise that with the sudden interest in Going Green, Americans have started to adopt the practice of building modular homes rather than stick built. Not only do modular homes tend to be less expensive but also more earth friendly. This Web Wire article reports,

“Modular homes are now being made from materials like reused shipping containers, recycled steel, recycled plastic and certified sustainably-harvested wood.”

I also came across the great website, “Green Made Simple” while reading the Schiavi Modular Home Blog. The site provides information about incentives and rebates associated with going green, which is a great resource for anyone looking to go green by building a modular home.

Chalet Style Modular Home

Advantages of Modular Homes

As a avid modular home evangelist, I was happy to come across an article on the Next Gen Mod blog. It basically details the advantages of building a modular home.

Here are some of the highlights:

1. Building a modular home can save you money. Big money. Purchases made in bulk by the custom home manufacturer can save you quite a bit of money over a traditional site built home.
2. Save time – while the manufactured home is being built, you have time to set up the land/site.
3. Faster construction - Because manufactured homes are usually built in a facility, there are no environmental delays to worry about and substantially less efficiency concerns.
4. Better Quality – Because modular homes are constructed to be moved out of the facility and hauled to the site, they are built with 20% more structural material.

If you still need convincing be sure to check out one of the premiere modular home associations, MBSA for more info.

Cottage Style Modular Home Design

Thinking about building a Cottage Style Home? Today we will discuss the building of a cottage modular home, contemporary cottage design and modern shelving pieces.

I’ve included a virtual tour of a cottage modular home, courtesy of Schiavi Home Builders. As you can see this cottage home is adorable and completely customizable to suit your needs. It features an open floor plan, which you can turn into a home office, game room or master suite.

When designing your new home, true cottage traditionalists would encourage you to use lots of white and bead board throughout the house. However, using bold color accents in your furniture and wall color can greatly enhance the overall coziness of your traditional cottage home.

Modern shelving, like those available from Amore Designs, can be utilized to showcase traditional cottage decor like sea glass, jars of shells and beach sand. When decorating your new cottage home, the opportunities are literally endless.

10 Point Checklist to Ensure you have a Good Construction Contract:

1.  It should be written on company letterhead. Any established construction firm should have their own company letterhead. Preferably typed up rather than handwritten.

2. It should contain the company’s name, address and phone number. It is essential that the contract have the business name, physical address and phone number where the foreman can be reached.

3. It should contain the consumer’s name, address (where the work is to be performed) and phone number. Make sure your personal information is on the document as well. This will let all legal parties know that the contract involves YOU and the construction firm are involved.

4. It should be dated the day it is written. The document should be dated on the day it was drawn up an signed.

5. It should include a detailed description of the work that is to be performed. This is the most vital part of the construction contract make sure every little item that you discussed with the contractor is in writing. Even down to who will install the door knobs..get it in writing.
6. It should provide a dollar amount associated with each task included in the project.
An amount of hours or price should be attached to each individual task associated with the project, this will allow you, if need be, to budget the project accordingly.
7. It should include an estimated time line. A time line, very important. Signing a contract without a timeline could mean that you project is put on hold while higher paying projects are complete first.
8. It should provide a paymend schedule. An established pay schedule is necessary to keep the project moving along. No one wants surprises.

9. It should clearly state whether permits will be pulled and who will be responsible for pulling them. If this is your first time building a home, camp or cottage, better to have your contractor take over which permits need to be pulled for the project. They are more familiar with the processes and may have some pull especially if they are well known around town.
10. Make sure there is a provision for all changes to the original contract to be in writing, and signed by both parties. Changes happen, design changes, material changes, just make sure that there are provisions in the contract which protect you against those changes.

Top 10 Courtesy of Schiavi Homes

Commentary Courtesy of Modularhouse.wordpress.com

Aloha! Modular Homes Find their Way to Hawaii

Hawaii’s expensive housing market has prompted many home builders and construction companies to seek out alternative building methods to cut costs and appeal to the average home buying consumer. Aloha Aina Homes, located on the Big Island of Hawaii, has managed to devise such a plan, modular housing. The development company is now building entire sections of homes in a 40,000 square foot manufacturing facility. These sections are built with complete wiring, plumbing and finished cabinetry.

While the modular home designs are not ground breaking they are incredibly cost effective for consumers on a budget. While the average home in Hawaii is right around $400,000, the modular homes built by Aloha Aina Homes are priced under $300,000.

Cape Cod Style Modular Home Virtual Tour

Welcome to the Modular Home News, Information and Virtual Tours first blog post. In this blog we hope to demystify the manufactured home industry by posting modular home floor plans, virtual tours and industry news.