From: ktong@shannon.jpl.nasa.gov (Kevin Tong)
Subject: SUMMARY: Manufactured (Modular) Housing NOT mobile home
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Section 331
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 19:00:42 GMT


To summarize the response I've received to my post for request on
information and experiences with manufactured (modular) housing.

Thanks to all those that replied.

=========================================
From:  emoki@cco.caltech.edu


The only help I can be is that in 1984 I bought a perfab house that was built
somewhere else and put together on the sight.  It was a two piece structure
built in a split level style.  There were three of them next to each other.

I didn't see them built and there were no problems afterwards when we lived there.
I guess the only thing to make sure if if you are there when they are putting it
together is make sure all the seams are properly closed.

Hope this helps a little bit.
=========================================

From: skip@rosalyn.stat.uga.edu (Skip Gundlach)

Sorry I can't help you with Cal info, but manufactured housing has
several advantages and a couple of disadvantages.

Advantages include less material cost  and labor cost.  That is
because of the volume purchases of material all delivered to one site,
and because you are paying factory labor, not "semi-skilled
construction" labor.  Another is that the homes can be built in jigs
which help ensure accuracy of fit and measure.  Another is that the
sections (for other than single-section usage, such as mobile field
offices and the like) are built from the outside in rather than the
reverse, as in stick-built, because there is no need to hurry up and
get it enclosed for weather protection, and the whole structure can be
pre-wired and plumbed, with intersections planned for where the
sections meet.  In general, the sections can be made entirely (i.e.
sheetrock, carpet, etc., installed) but transportation difficulties
usually mean some compromises in that regard.  Which leads to ...

Disadvantages include the cost of transportation, and the associated
difficulties.  The cost, naturally, goes up as the distance from the
factory increases, and exponetially so if there are challenges such as
height or width problems along the route requiring detours from a
straight line path.  Next, if all is not just exactly level, the
structures will usually deform somewhat along the way.  Depending upon
how much deformation there is, the sections might not line up
properly, or might require cosmetic surgery to make look OK on the
outside, if the siding has been factory applied.  If not, that is a
local labor situation, just as you would have in a site-built.  
The same applies to the interior.  Usually, manufacturerers, if they
are going to apply drywall, will leave a fairly wide seam at the
joints, and usually won't finish it regardless, since the seam will
likely move during transport.  That means local finishing cost, again.
Further, if the carpet is installed, the seaming is easy, but without
a pusher-type stretcher, it won't be tight.  That, combined with the
mess of drywall finishing will usually mean that it is better to get
the structure delivered without the interior touches done.  More local
labor and costs...  Ditto for anything other than monolithic
board-type exterior, which will require only seam molding to finish.
Of course, if you are doing a truly custom home, you will probably
want some other exterior.  Anything which has any danger of
separation during transport (i.e. rock, brick, slate, tile, etc.) will
not work in the house sections.

Finally, if you are doing a CUSTOM design, the factory will work with
you, but the workers will not have had the advantage of building
dozens of them and therefore have a learning curve - which might
result in lower quality.  Additionally, on the quality issue, while
the factory will welcome your viewing of the process and progress of
your home, if you are not nearby, you cannot exert any daily "hands
on" in the quality and execution, as you could with a site built
product.

As a whole, you will probably want to visit several homes that the
factory has produced in their actual installations, both while going
up and after being lived in for a while, to see if you are happy with
the results.  You will also need to do a comparison of costs for teh
design you want.  Unless there is a clear cost savings to you, or you
either don't care to or can't be involved in a site-built home, you
might prefer to do the site built route.

On the other hand, unless you have a general contractor that you have
total confidence in, the nuisance value of being involved in a site
built home might give a heavy cost advantage to the factory built
home.  Either way, there will bve local labor and skills involved, so
factory or site built, you will have some nuisance factor...

For myself, I would be happy with a factory home.  I have built some
with panelized construction, which speeds the "drying in" process and
has the materials and labor advantages mentioned above, but only the
exterior and walls is pre-built.  The rest is a stick-built process.

In either case, you will have site preparation to deal with...

For information in your area, look in the yellow pages under
manufactured housing.  Also, talk to the local homebuilders'
association for both leads and experience with a particular
manufacturer...

Hope this is some help...

=========================================

From: charleen@net.bio.net (Charleen Bunjiovianna)


Unless they have gotten out of the manufactured home business since I
worked for them seven years ago, Kaufman and Broad, Inc. builds
manufactured homes in California, Arizona, New Mexico and other
states.  Their corporate headquarters is in West Los Angeles.

My memory is a bit hazy on this, but when K&B built a development in
Pomona consisting solely of manufactured homes (on very small lots),
I seem to recall that it had to be approved by the local government.
You might want to see what your local laws are with regard to zoning.


=========================================

From:  carolyn@bucket.rain.com

From information I picked up during public hearings in our area about
manufactured housing, I think you might be interested in "modular"
housing, instead of manufactured homes.  The manufactured housing is
the current version of a mobile home.  It does have better looking
siding on it now, but you either buy a single wide or a double wide.
It's basically a rectangle, but might have a pullout section someplace
on it.  A covered entry and garage can be added.  It still looks like
a mobile home with an entry and a garage added :-)

Modular housing is constructed in a factory.  You buy the pieces and
put it together at the site.  You can do 2 story homes this way and a
variety of 1 story floor plans.  It's more expensive than manufactured
housing, but has better quality options available, if you want
them--real siding, instead of T111, better roofing, e.

=========================================

From: fredch@phx.mcd.mot.com (Fred Christiansen)

Builder magazine regularly has ads for pre-fab/modular/manufactured
houses.  You could start there for leads.  I imagine there's a trade
association and a trade rag (magazine) for this line of business.

By the way, this question is better posed in the misc.consumers.house group.

=========================================

FROM: Eliot Moore - elmo@netcom.com

Building-quality issues aside, manufactured housing seems like a scam
in CA; most sites are like mobile home parks, and you must RENT the
land under your house for $500 and up monthly.  After you consider the
lack of tax deductability on the rent, plus the seedy location of the
park, it is usually not competetive with other options.

It *might* be reasonable if you have a vacant lot of your own, and are
wishing to build.  Note that municipalities have tried to ban
installation of manufactured homes (therefore supporting union labor
for site-built homes) but there have been a few state laws passed in
recent years that make it somewhat possible for you to override local
zoning restrictions in this regard.

Good luck


=========================================
From @pail.rain.com:carolyn@bucket.rain.com Wed Dec 30 20:00:30 1992

From what I have heard, modular housing has good, consistent quality
in the manufacturing process.  I think it's supposed to be cheaper
than stick built, but don't know how much.  Two families that I know
who have them live in rural areas, where the modular housing was much,
much cheaper due to lack of a construction industry in the area.

Two places you might look into for information about modular homes in
your area:

1) Call the city building deparment.  They should have some idea where

2) Possibly ads in rural oriented magazines--Farm Journal, Country
Living?

c) Also check in the rural newsgroup--misc.rural or something like
that.

Good luck!

=========================================
From: paul@hsh.com

You will want to call or write to:

	Manufactured Housing Institute         
	1745 Jefferson Davis Highway
	Arlington VA 22202
	703-979-6620

It's a trade group, and can answer most of your questions.

------

Paul Havemann, VP        HSH Associates           (201)838-3330 | 1-800-UPDATES
      The Nation's Largest Publisher of Mortgage Information
Internet: paul@hsh.com   Compuserve: 70410,3507   America On-Line: HSH Assoc

=========================================

From: nagle@netcom.com (John Nagle)

      I looked into this once, around 1982, but I don't know who is
still in business.  There are basically three levels of manufactured
houses.  The first kind is one step up from a mobile home, with
two house-halves delivered on big trailers.  These may come with
appliances, carpeting, etc.  These are frowned upon in snotty
jurisdictions, but are common in rural areas.  You need a manufacturer
not too far away, since these are oversized loads and require special
routing for delivery.

      The second kind is panelized construction.  You get a set of flat
panels and assemble on site.  Windows are installed, and interior walls
may be.  Foundation is built on-site.  Geodesic domes are available
in panelized form.  Often used for vacation homes.  Some nice designs
are available.  Common in resort and recreational areas.  

      The third kind is log houses.  There's actually a company called
"Lincoln Logs", and they build log houses that look very much like those
kid's toy log houses.  You get a truckload of precut parts and stack them.
High-end houses can be built this way, with squared-off logs, from
Lindahl Cedar Homes.  If you like solid cedar interior walls, this is the
way to go.  Plumbing and electrical present special problems; they usually
are built into the base slab, and are difficult to modify.  And the seals
between the logs are crucial to weathertightness.  Good soundproofing,
though, with all that mass.

       Even for stick-built houses, factory-built rafter sections
are common.  

       I'd be interested in hearing about the current state of the art.

=========================================

From: broy@vaxa.weeg.uiowa.edu (Barbara Roy)

I checked into this here in the Midwest and found that it is indeed a less
expensive alternative to stick-built houses. Depending on the manufacturer and
site contractor, the quality can be equal to that of a stick-built house -
perhaps better due to the quality control in the manufacturing process. HOWEVER,
the resale value on a stick-built house is MUCH better than that of an 
equivalent manufactured home. If this is a home you'll be living in a long time,
it probably won't matter. But if you intend to move in a few years, you might
be better off with a stick-built home because many buyers won't even consider
a manufactured home. They still perceive them as being inferior to stick-built
homes.

=========================================
From eliot@dg-rtp.dg.com Mon Jan  4 13:17:49 1993

No, I don't have much info.  I know there have been articles mentioning it
in Fine Homebuilding over the years, but I can't remember any specifically.
I would, however, be grateful to get a copy of whatever useful info you may
get.

-- 
Topher Eliot             Data General DG/UX Systems Administration Development
(919) 248-6371                                             eliot@dg-rtp.dg.com
Obviously, I speak for myself, not for DG.
misc.consumers.house archivist.  Send mail to house-archive@dg-rtp.dg.com
"Ask me about my vow of silence."

=========================================
From bailey@butyng.bu.edu Mon Jan  4 13:57:48 1993

You still have to deal with contractors, unless you are BIG on DIY!!

A while back we investigated Miles Homes, one of the companies that makes
kit homes of several kinds.  They have a toll free number (call 1-800-
555-1212 to get it.)  You can sign up for a free seminar ("sales pitch")
given by their closest local/regional sales person.  They give you their
catalogs, explain their design services and other custom features, tell
about their financing services and the sweat-equity program, and like that.
Probably a lot of the bigger kit home companies do that.  The more you
are exposed to the more you will know, eh?!  Miles is interesting because they
have a lot of passive solar designs, you can modify any plan if you stick
build it (they send the mostly pre-cut lumber in time for each next step), 
and they also have factory built ("Panelized") designs where the studwork is 
assembled in factories (better built than on site) so site work is minimized
and faster. They also have their own financing program (or used to anyway)
where, if you qualify, they finance the project (with interest, of course)
until completion -- about nine months, as I recall -- then they assist in
locating an acceptable mortgage for you at closing.  

We ended up not getting the land that would have made a project like this
possible -- you DO need that first -- but I'd certainly consider them 
if we wanted to build in the future.  Their panelized houses seemed to
be an especially good value.  (No modifications to those though -- the
savings come from explicit designs.)

=========================================
From: chrz@tellabs.com (Peter Chrzanowski)

My wife and I went to the Wassau (WI) factory, where they make
houses like this.  Apparently the phrase "manufactured housing"
covers quite a bit of territory.  What Wassau builds is really
modular housing; that is, the pieces are really big and travel
to your site on the back of large flatbed trucks.  The cheapest
and simplest model is two pieces stapled together along the
long dimension to form a small (~900 sq. ft) "ranch" style
house; these look not all that different from a double-wide
trailer.  For more money they offered a variety of more elaborate
styles, most of which would not be recognizeable from the
outside as manufactured housing.

We were not terribly impressed with Wassau's quality.  The basic
frame was 2x4s on 24 inch centers; the walls were made of panelling
made to look like wallpaper, and they were thin.  The houses
were very "springy" to walk through and had poor sound insulation.
The quality appeared to be better than I've seen in trailers
('scuze me, Imean "mobile homes") but not as good as I'm used to
seeing even in low-cost, site-built "tract" housing.

These houses are normally made to order, and upgrades are available.
The end-user normally contracts with a local builder, who builds
the foundation, brings in utilities, etc.  The manufacturer
wouldn't talk price with us; the customer is supposed to haggle
with the builder.  Builders told us the cost was typically
about $55/sq.ft, significantly less than custom houses.

There are also "kit houses" which come in smaller pieces (i.e., the
largest piece might be a preassembled wall).  These cost more,
are more versatile, and may use better quality materials then
modular-type houses.  We didn't look at these.

In the end we would up buying an existing house rather than building.

Manufactured housing certainly seemed like a viable option to us
for building where there are no suitable existing houses while
keeping the cost reasonable.  This is a regional business; due to
the cost of shipping you wouldn't want to have a house shipped
(trucked) from, say, WI to CA.

Public libraries should have some useful info.  And be sure to
visit the factories so you can look at the models and ask questions.
=========================================

From gnh@sunsrvr2.cci.com Tue Jan  5 12:00:29 1993

Something to consider..

In general, modular homes tend to be well built and
very cost effective, but, in some areas, they fall within
the shadow of scepticism surrounding mobile homes.  The
issue is not "real" quality but rather "perceived" quality.
A real estate agent can tell you how they are viewed
in your area.

=========================================

SENT 1/7/93
-- 
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Kevin Tong, (818) 354-0657      Jet Propulsion Laboratory, MS 238-420
ktong@shannon.jpl.nasa.gov       Pasadena, California  91109
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Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house