Modular Home Construction

Modular Home Construction

Modular construction has significant design flexibility and can offer the same beauty and charm of traditional homes.

Modular homes are constructed in a climate-controlled factory and then transported to a designated building site. Homes built with modular construction must adhere to all local building codes, which ensure that all homes are built to last while meeting and often exceeding these codes.

Buyers appreciate the many advantages that modular construction provides to homeowners. These include benefits such as greater energy efficiency, building strength, speed of construction, and building flexibility. Other benefits of a custom prefab home include reduced construction waste and impact on the environment. The disruption to the construction site is minimal, which translates to fewer cleanups after the home is in place.

The current industry trend in modular construction is to meet new Energy Star guidelines on modular homes from the production stage to assembly. This is achieved by using extra sealing components and insulation materials. The overall strength of a custom prefab home is considerably better than an on-site built home, which makes it a good fit for areas where strong storms are the norm.

A modular home can be custom built to the buyer’s specifications or can be chosen from pre-designed standard models and even then, each house is carefully built with the home buyer in mind. These attractive houses are the modern way to begin home ownership or upgrade an existing home. Home buyers can see all the advantages that a custom modular home has to offer by contacting a modular home builder.

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Multi-Family Modular Homes

Multi-Family Modular Homes

Although modular homes have been around for decades, contemporary multi-family projects are relatively new. In the past, emergency housing and relocating developments were the only major category of multi-family housing that incorporated modular construction. However, a new niche in the residential housing industry is emerging: the design and construction of multi-family living spaces that are prefabricated.

Modular construction takes place in a climate-controlled factory setting, ensuring the time frame for completion is shortened by 40 percent. Concerns over the building season and slowdowns due to inclement weather are reduced.

Duplexes and 4-plexes are a real space saver when it comes to purchasing land. These units are carefully designed to maximize floor space while at the same time achieving a desired interior layout. Much like a 4-plex condo, a prefabricated multi-family residential structure makes the most out of the allotted square footage.

Design and construction of this type of residential structure can be completed as a turnkey operation. The contractor/builder can handle everything from site work and landscaping to the layout and completion of parking areas, driveways, and utility connections.

Contemporary designs include exteriors covered in fine-quality paneling or shake, faux stone, and even brick. Many of the multi-family prefabricated designs now available have numerous options for interior decorating such as natural stone flooring, double-strength storm windows, and custom fireplaces.

Modular construction is well geared toward energy efficiency, and this is seen in the modern heating and air conditioning systems, the programmable HVAC units, and the weather-resistant paint and stains used on the exterior. All this is possible on a shortened construction time frame, something that is very appealing to both the builder and the end-user.

Special multi-family modular residential units can be designed specifically for projects in remote areas. A sudden boom in a particular industry - such as oil or natural gas- can make great use of the fast construction of livable units for families being relocated for job purposes. The ability to construct beautiful, energy-efficient multi-family residential structures quickly and efficiently makes modular construction a great option for any housing need.

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What are Prefabricated Homes?

What are Prefabricated Homes?

Prefabricated homes are constructed differently from traditional homes. These homes are created in sections within a factory and then assembled on site. These types of houses are sometimes also referred to as modular homes.

Construction

Prefabricated homes are constructed on an assembly line in a climate-controlled factory. Each module is constructed individually and has its own basic blueprint. Each module is fully constructed before it is shipped to the construction site. Once the foundation is complete, the modules arrive on-site and are assembled on the foundation. After each module is in place, the wiring and plumbing are connected inside and out of the building. Lastly, the finishing work begins on both the interior and exterior of the building and decorative accents and landscaping are added.

Safety

A main concern people have about modular homes is the safety and durability of the structure. Although these homes are built quickly, there is no sacrifice in quality. These prefabricated homes are constructed in a factory by highly trained specialized workers and meet or exceed building codes and standards.

Time

There are many benefits to having a prefabricated home. The most popular benefit is the shortened construction timeline. Building one a modular home takes a fraction of the time a traditional home takes to build. Some people are able to have their prefabricated home in about three months compared to a traditional home that can take anywhere from six months to one year.

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Modular Student Housing is now Greener, Faster, and Smarter

Modular Student Housing

The innovative way of modular construction, has been steadily gaining popularity in different business sectors in the past decades. Specifically, an increasing number of higher education institutions have discovered the multiple advantages of modular buildings. Campuses are now able to add the needed classrooms and student housing in a fast and efficient way.

For instance, the construction of modular dorms allows colleges to complete construction about 40 percent faster than traditional construction because a majority of the building process is off-site in a climate controlled factory. Compared with traditional on-site construction methods, the modular process produces less waste and more repurposed material in less time by using higher quality materials.

Modular construction can be used to build structures that meet leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) requirements as well as local codes. With this building process, campuses gain energy efficient units that they can easily take apart and reused according to their changing needs. In repetitive projects, such as building dorms or campus apartments, the off-site construction makes it possible to reduce production time and increase efficiency. In fact, using modular units is a smart way to capitalize on space-saver designs by utilizing multilevel buildings.

With all things considered, modular student housing provides colleges, universities, and other higher education institutions with an opportunity to start capitalizing on their infrastructural investment within a short period of time. These modular structures are energy efficient, innovative in functionality, environmentally friendly, suitable for all climates, and can be designed and implemented to fit all campus styles from classical to contemporary.

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North Dakota - Fastest Growing Housing Market in the U.S.

Fastest Growing Housing Market in the U.S.

With the economy booming in North Dakota, there is an extremely low unemployment rate due to the plenty of oil fields. The increase of employment has resulted in a housing shortage and workers often have difficulty finding a place to live.

As a result, housing construction is a booming industry in the North DakotaBakken region.

Construction companies are having an issue keeping up with the growing demand for more homes and the inclement weather. Not only is it difficult to pour concrete or start projects in the winter, it is also difficult to ship supplies or have a construction crew work in cold conditions.

With modular construction, prefabricated homes are built in a climate-controlled factory off-site, ensuring high quality construction while protecting materials and workers from the outdoor elements. This allows modular homes in North Dakota to be built 40 percent faster than traditionally built homes.

Although prefabricated homes are built quickly, there is no sacrifice in quality. Building codes and standards are often met and exceeded. This allows modular homes to withstand the transportation to the site but also the harsh weather in North Dakota.

As North Dakota grows, local politicians and business leaders will need to worry about the influx of people and the lack of affordable Bakken housing. Without a doubt, the problem is not going to disappear; fortunately, with modular housing, one may enjoy a modern and updated home with all the amenities and benefits of a typical house in record time.

Contact us today for more information on our Modular Home Solutions in the North Dakota Baken region.

Would You Live in a Hexagonal House?

The geometry of a house is an architectural puzzle that can be solved any number of ways. But apart from occasional experiments like the bubble house, most people still live in some version of a box.


UK-based designer Barry Jackson has come up with an innovative new concept in housing inspired by the elegant structure of honeycomb. HIVEHAUS is a modular hexagonal living space composed of six-sided self-contained 100-square-foot modules that can be combined in a variety of ways to suit individual needs. The units are transportable by flatpack, easy to assemble with 2-3 people, and stand on adjustable legs to accommodate uneven ground.

Originally designed to be a garden room that could be erected without planning permission, the concept grew into a flexible housing concept that allows users to add on modules in a variety of combinations to create a bespoke product. "I see the whole concept as DIY architecture allowing individuals to configure and build their own unique structures based on a selection of uniformly sized components," Jackson wrote in an email, "a little like a child's construction kit."

Starting with a single bedroom cell, the design becomes a hive once you add on a bathroom cell, a kitchen cell or a living room cell. Baby on the way? Just add another module and the hive expands to meet your changing lifestyle. The simple, clever design means that the uniformity of the building components reduce cost while the range of options for configuration and finishes makes each hive unique.

Each module has a circular skylight and includes options like hexagonal decks, various window configurations and interior partition walls with or without pocket doors, plus innovative features like a clever fold-out kitchenette designed in collaboration with Michael Culshaw that smartly conforms to the shape of the room.

"We wanted to create a fully functioning kitchen that followed the lines of the HIVEHAUS cell but which would also allow the user to have a stylish uncluttered multi-functional space when not in use," Jackson told me. "We are currently in the process of creating additional multi-functional furniture designs with the same aesthetic to complement the HIVEHAUS—such as the three-legged hexagonal table which can also be seen in the photos."

The units start at around $15,900 but the cost of single cells is reduced as the hive expands, since individual wall units are reused and shared. Made from a lightweight steel frame and timber panels, HIVEHAUS can accommodate a range of plumbing, heating and electrical options, from underfloor heating to wood-burning stoves, air conditioning and off-grid options like solar panels, rainwater harvesting and composting toilets.

The HIVEHAUS can also be used as a garden shed, a detached home office, gym, yoga studio or guest cottage. And its portable, lightweight flatpack design means it can be adapted for use as a pop up shop or market stall.

The idea of a hexagonal house isn't new, as this video from 1964 demonstrates. But it seems like the affordable hexagonal housing concept might be getting ready to have its 21st-century moment. A prototype for another hexagonal housing concept for affordable temporary housing for displaced victims, Hexi-House, is being developed for release in 2014. And Dezeen recently featured an add-on hexagonal living room on a Tokyo residence.

Source: Kristin Hohenadel. (2013, November 13). Would You Live in a Hexagonal House? [Web log]. Retrieved November 13, 2013, from http://www.slate.com