With there being literally 1000′s of different modular home designs from well over 150 different modular home manufacturers on the market today it can be almost impossible to compare two different modular home manufacturers properly -  side by side in a true features and benefits comparison. This post explores some of the comparison criteria that you might consider in your review process.

Lets being by looking at some of the major “components” that are going to be common to all modular homes and explore the various options for each.

Available Floorplans

Most new home buyers would consider the “floorplan” as the first and perhaps most important factor when comparing homes, but somewhat counter intuitively it is just not that big an issue with today’s modular construction.

Most established modular home manufacturers will have literally hundreds of standard floorplan for you to choose from and if you decide that you really like a particular manufacturer but they dont offer a floorplan you like they can usually have a custom plan designed specifically for your needs.

And keep in mind that general contractor will be able to perform some complimentary site built construction eg add a garage or porch if it is not included with the modular home.

Modular Home Foundation Requirements

Every home needs good foundation, modular homes are no exception. The foundation for your modular home will generally be constructed by the builder you select as your general contractor and may be of the following configurations – crawl space, full basement, or raft raft slab

As a general rule of thumb a finished full basement will significantly increase your available square footage and therefore your final appraisal value.

The Roof

The first step in roof selection is to determine the roof pitch you require.  The roof pitch will affect many aspects of the house design – If you plan to use the roof area for storage, then you will need to specify that to the manufacturer who will in all likelyhood use a special storage truss configuration as opposed to the standard web truss which does not lend itself to usable storage space.

Modular Home Walls

Most modular home manufacturers use wooden 2  x 6  studs in the wall construction.  2 x6 studs are quickly becoming an unofficial industry standard as they are significantly stronger than 2 x 4 studs.

These larger stud sizes also provide for more room to include extra insulation and allow the use of thicker drywall used generally it ranges from 1/2 inch to 7/8 inches.

Many modular manufacturers have also recently switched to a relatively new “manufactured” wood product called  OSB (oriented strand board) in place of plywood.

OSB is similar to plywood in that is uses alternating wood veeners but it is formed under high pressure and used a waterproof glue adhesive to create a durable and cost effective product.

Modular Home Floors

Most modular home manufacturers use wooden 2 x 8 or 2 x 10 studs for floor construction. The floors can be created using traditional floor joists or more recently we have been seeing an increase in the construction of floor “trusses”

These floor trusses are not only cheaper to build but with the associated increase in strength are able to provide for larger room sizes.

Windows

There are four main options when it comes to house windows for you to consider –   they are aluminum framed, vinyl framed, wooden framed and the new “energy efficient” windows.

Wooden window frames are generally considered more attractive by home owners however using either aluminum or vinyl windows provides you with the advantage that the window frames are effectively maintenance free over the life of the building – ie they will never need painting.

The top of the line in windows today are offering a dual pane of glass ( similar to double glassing ) but the space in between the panes is filled with argon gas ( or similar ) these windows are know as low e – for their energy efficient properties.

Energy Efficiency

Building an energy efficient home will increase the cost of your home. There is no denying that. It will also more than cover the expense in a few years with its cost savings. Be smart and make sure your builder offers all of these upgrades. The attic should be very well insulated with R-38 insulation or better. It is also very useful to install an attic fan. The attic fan will help remove the hot air that is trapped in the attic during summer, greatly reducing your air conditioning costs. The exterior walls should have R-19 or higher insulation and be surrounded by a housewrap. The housewrap will protect the home from rainwater leaking through the siding. More importantly, it will prevent air infiltration. The type of housewrap is not very significant; don’t worry about the brand. Worry about making sure they use a housewrap. Reducing air infiltration will make it easier to keep the warmth inside during cold winters and keep the air conditioning inside during hot summers. The interior walls do not need insulation, but premium modular builders add it to help soundproof the rooms. This is very useful if you have small children that you want to be asleep as you are downstairs entertaining in the dining room. It is even more important if you have noisy teenagers and you want to watch tv undisturbed in your room. The windows should be the new low ?e? windows. These windows are double paned to provide energy efficiency. They are more expensive but well worth it. Another good treat for you is a tankless water heater. A tankless water heater uses electricity to instantly heat the water on demand to the exact temperature desired. You no longer need to heat a 20 gallon tank of water 24 hours a day. You can better control the water temperature with a tankless system.

Guarantees and Warranties

Since you are making one of the biggest investments of your life, it is very reassuring to know it comes with a solid warranty. Many of the individual products such as shingles, siding and faucets will have warranties from their manufacturers. But what you want is a warranty on the workmanship and structural stability of the home. This is commonly provided by modular manufacturers because it is a very safe bet by the manufacturer. Since the home was constructed in a factory with quality control teams making sure it was built properly, the modular home manufacturer feels very comfortable offering warranties. Not all warranties are the same. Some are offered directly by the manufacturer. This is acceptable if the manufacturer is backed by a large corporation that is not likely to go out of business. But if the manufacturer is a smaller, family-owned business, it is safer to have a third party back the warranty. Also, find out how many years the workmanship is covered (usually 1-5 years) and how long the structural warranty is (usually 5-10 years). This will help you be able to sleep better.

Transportation Requirements

An often overlooked consideration is the distance from the factory to the building site that your modular home must be transported.

All modular home components will be placed under stressed during this  transportation, and despite being “overengineered” to account for these stresses it is best to minimize the travel distance.