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Modular homes growing in popularity
(Virginian-Pilot, The (Norfolk, VA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Jun. 5--The house has had several addresses in its short life.
From a factory in Rocky Mount, Va., to a strip of grass outside Scope for a housing conference, to 177 Evans St. in Norfolk -- all in the course of two weeks.
This home is definitely mobile, but its builder would probably rather not label it as such. Not that there's anything wrong with a mobile home.
"Modular" is the preferred name in the home-building industry, where the practice of houses being prefabricated in a plant and delivered to a site is growing in popularity, statistics show. The product has drawn the attention of builders who market to buyers at all income levels.
The builders tout their ability to deliver a home that, because of technological advances, can match or even surpass the quality of a traditional "stick-built" home. In many cases, builders say they can deliver such homes in far less time -- often 50 percent faster -- for less money.
"Innovation is happening at a quicker rate than in the site-building process," said Charles Bevier, editor of Building Systems Magazine, a Denver-based publication that covers technological advances in the residential real estate industry.
"Site builders tend to stick with proven ways of construction," Bevier said. "With the factory situation, they are always looking for ways to improve performance. That goes back to the bottom line. Their profit margins are very slim. They are looking for ways to increase productivity and improve the house."
Bevier listed some of the most recent technological advances in the modular home industry that have made the product more appealing. The most notable include:
uF06E The use of computer simulation programs that allow buyers to customize the design of the home with the help of sales representatives.
uF06E The creation of a hinged roof design that gives buyers the option of having a home with high ceilings and a pitched roof. Until recently, such features weren't available on modular homes because the size of the roof made it impossible to be transported by truck. The hinged design allows the roof to be folded during transportation from the factory to the home site.
uF06E The ability for homes to be pre-wired for high speed Internet and other advanced technology -- offerings that previously had been available only in site construction.
Statistics show the demand for modular construction in Virginia has increased dramatically over the past five years, said Curtis McIver, a state building code administrator.
The number of permits issued for modular construction increased from 3,303 in 2002 to 5,734 in 2005, McIver said. Those permits include some office and school construction that used the process, but McIver estimated that roughly 55 percent of the permits were for residences.
The modular home building industry is regulated by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. The department oversees the independent inspectors who check the quality of the work done in the factories. Code officials for the municipality where the home will be located conduct their own inspections at the site.
There are a number of modular home manufacturers throughout the country that are represented by contractors who work with prospective home buyers on a design for the house. Once the buyer and the contractor settle on a design, the design is submitted to the manufacturer, which begins work on it at a production facility.
There are no limitations on the size, design or features of the home, Bevier said. Over the years, customization has become increasingly popular in modular home construction, he said, because of consumer-automated design.
Traditional "builders are trying to minimize design because that slows down the process of building. In a typical community, they may offer three or four models and you can make five or six changes," he said. "With a modular manufacturer, there are few limitations. There are only a few manufacturers who still build out of a catalog. Some specialize in high-end properties, in upwards of $5 million and $10 million."
Transportation of the completed modules is the industry's only limitation, Bevier said. They are shipped to the site via tractor-trailer, and in many cases, it takes several trailers to deliver a home. The shipment process is overseen by a state's department of transportation, which regulates the size and weight and the route taken to ensure safety.
The Norfolk house was constructed for the Tidewater Builders Association's New Home & Remodeling Show & Tour, held May 4-7 at Scope. The home, manufactured by Mod-U-Kraf, a company based in Rocky Mount, near Blacksburg, was assembled by A-Plus Builders of Norfolk.
Martia West, a Bayview resident who lost her previous home in a fire, is purchasing the Cape Cod-style home, which has an estimated 2,200 square feet of living space. She is purchasing it for $160,000, said Dennis McCall, owner of A-Plus.
McCall has been in the construction industry for 30 years but began delivering modular homes just 18 months ago. He was sold on the process after visiting the Mod-U-Kraf factory.
"I liked how the houses were put together," McCall said. "Everything is straight and squared. I think it is a better product than what you can get most of the time in the field. The strength is better. It has to be to be able to travel down the interstate at 75 miles an hour."
The houses are completed quicker because work can be done concurrently. While the plant is constructing the walls and other interior pieces, the builder is working on the foundation.
The factory construction process reduces the amount of time the house is exposed to the outdoors -- including inclement weather. It also prevents the theft of materials from the job site. The result, McCall said, is a home that was constructed for less money than a typical home.
"The average house, right now, conventional, is $110 and up per square foot," McCall said. "It costs between $95 and $100 per square foot to do it this way."
McCall said he is fielding requests for homes in the range of 4,400 square feet. He sees that as a sign of a change in the industry.
"I think the market is going to turn this way," he said.
Other experts in the construction industry have taken notice of the quality of modular homes. "They have gotten a lot better as time has gone by," said Lynn Underwood, code official for the city of Norfolk. "They had a bad name a number of years ago, but now the structural integrity is just as good or better."
The modular process has allowed Richard Biemiller to go from a rehabilitation contractor to a builder of new homes.
"I had done renovation work for probably 10 years," said Biemiller, president of Premier Property Sales, based in Virginia Beach. "It became difficult to find good investment properties. I wanted to build. I researched the modular concept. I found that it would not take much of my time to do that sort of business."
Biemiller, who completes houses manufactured by Cardinal Homes, has assembled six modular homes in Hampton Roads and expects to complete a few more soon.
Such demand suggests that the previous reputation of modular homes -- one of an inferior product with vanilla designs -- has changed.
Cardinal Homes, based outside Clarksville, manufactures homes for sale in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Kelly Devin, spokeswoman for the 35-year-old company, said reputation and awareness are key factors for growth of the industry.
"Our biggest hurdle is the mindset," Devin said. "We are not mobile homes. If someone could go into our finished product and look around, they will not believe it is modular."
* Reach Battinto Batts Jr. at (757) 446-2642 or battinto.batts@pilotonline.com.
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