The American dream of owning a home still prevails and the housing industry is experiencing tremendous growth. It’s no wonder that many Americans are jumping at the chance to own a factory-built home as never before. More and more home buyers are becoming aware of the benefits of modular home construction. Modular homes can range from modest starter homes to exclusive custom-built homes. With modern day technology and assembly line techniques the modular housing industry is overcoming the misconception that, “factory made homes are built poorly and don’t measure up to site-built homes.”
A pilot study was conducted by Sovereign Housing Association to evaluate the potential of modular construction to on-site construction methods. In their findings they determined that:
Modular construction had fewer defects compared to on-site construction
Took full advantage of architectural and design flexibility
The ability to continually improve quality and generate on-going efficiency
The modular methodology also embraces the ethics of sustainability through reduced material waste and the opportunities for enhanced recycling
Modular construction provided a high degree of certainty, allowing residents to occupy their homes sooner
Modular construction reduced the level of inconvenience and risk caused to the existing local community in comparison to traditional on-site construction.
For the most part traditional stick-built construction has continued to be the method of choice in building a home. One problem with stick-built construction is it does not take advantage of productivity and efficiency. The other problem is the structure is exposed to the weather, which can cause problems to the materials. A prime example would be the spring of 2003. The East Coast experienced record amounts of rainfall and many stick-built homes sat out in the rain, the lumber becoming waterlogged with no work being preformed. At the same time the modular housing industry was producing homes at a record pace while local contractors were staring out the window hoping the rain would stop.
MODULAR
HOME RESOURCES 
