When you buy a car, the manufacturer doesn’t send all the parts to your driveway, let them sit in the rain for a year, and send whatever mechanics they can find to work on it when its convenient, just to deliver a car that still needs work when you move in it, right? Then why is this the way we build our even more valuable homes?’ Modular could be the right choice for many reasons.
Modular construction is less wasteful than on-site construction with less trash generated and more items recycled. Large, efficient factories are able to buy products to exact specifications, reducing cutting waste.
For the homeowner, modular homes are much more efficient because they have significantly less air-infiltration than normal site-built homes. Reducing air infiltration also reduces unwanted moisture in the house, and it blocks bugs and rodents from gaining entry.
Modular builders can build from the inside out, using bigger machines and better tools to build a tighter, stronger house. Modular builders buy in bulk, getting both a better price than site-builders and are more selective in choosing only the best, un-warped pieces of lumber. Building inside means the lumber never gets wet, and the house is plum and square. (and stays that way!)
With each floor independent of one another, modular homes have more insulation and less noise transmission between floors and outside walls. Most modular builders take efforts to stabilize pipes in walls so they don’t rattle or shake down the line.
DTV Partners supports small town manufacturers who provide good jobs in places that have seen their manufacturing base collapse. Modular factories are much safer than typical construction worksites, with no floors slick with rain, no tools lying around, and fewer workers on elevated surfaces or at risk of falling. Plus, with more predictable schedules and more benefits, modular builders tend to hire more women and minority tradespeople than the construction industry at large.
Factory construction is more efficient with more tools, more specialized tradespeople, and better quality-monitoring.
Modular construction does not need to wait for site work to wrap up to begin building. Site grading and utilities proceed at the same time as the livable areas, thus cutting waiting time.
With a dedicated labor force, modular builders are able to actually execute on the schedule that they promise you. Most site-builders have seen schedules drag out recently as they struggle to find the labor to wrap projects up.
Modular homes follow all the same codes and zoning rules as site-built homes, so they appraise the same and are financed the same as site-built homes. DTV Partners has several lenders who are already familiar with modular and would be happy to speak with you more. For investors, banks are particularly happy to make the same fee on a project that takes half as much time, and is unlikely to incur large cost overruns.
Because modular is so fast, the neighbors of a modular construction site are much less impacted by truck deliveries, loud hammering, and projects that seem to never end. We want to be invited back to the neighborhoods that we work in!
Depending on your site’s location, modular construction may not always be the cheaper option compared to site building on Day 1. However, modular construction has much better cost visibility, with better planning, and significantly fewer change orders. This difference typically means your ‘End of Project’ costs is much lower with modular.
DTV Partners can take away many of the painful decision points in building a new home with simplified sets of options. Don’t let the dizzying array of decisions slow down your building process. Modular construction lets you build your dream house and then sit back and relax.