Top Modular Home Advantages

November 21st, 2011

Modular homes are gaining popularity in these recent modern times for a number of reasons. In this article, we’ll explore the many advantages of modular homes. When most people hear the term “modular home,” they think that it automatically implies a cheaply built, or manufactured home that is more temporary than permanent. This is far from the truth, as a genuine modular home must have all the characteristics of a traditional, permanent frame home. This is because the same code requirements must be applied to any residential structure.

One of the greatest modular home characteristics are that they have a greater range of flexibility in comparison to traditional on-frame homes. The steel undercarriage that supports floors, for example, are not needed in modular homes. On the other hand, the entire structure of modular homes are pre-constructed and fabricated in a controlled, industrial environment or factory, and then transported to the job site. Most of the time, this process makes up for the entire 90% to 95% of all building processes that need to be done. Essentially, you are signing up for fast production of your home.

Sometimes referred as “System-built” homes, the unique engineering that goes into producing these structures is very efficient and even better, cost-efficient. There are many economic advantages due to the efficiency of pre-fabricated parts. Assembling the parts on site cuts down on the building time, which with traditional homes, may take anywhere from half a year to several years. The process of modular homes makes it possibly to fully construct a home in as little as 2 weeks, depending on the difficulty, and floor plan of the home.

Another very advantageous characteristic of modular homes is the fact that you can pretty much design a home and have it built according to your specific needs, and personal tastes. Pre-ordering various building materials is up to you and even some major detailing in the interior of your home can be customized. Looking at it from another perspective, perhaps you have no idea what you’d like your home to look like. You can pick from a variety of custom plans generated by architects as a starting template while you can really personalize other components of the house. Another thing is that all producers and manufacturers of all modular homes must use computer generated plans in order to meet all the national, state, and local building standards and regulations. So you will have peace in mind that your home is safe and certain times must follow stricter codes.

The economical advantages of these modular structures give you the greatest upper hand when it comes to paying your monthly mortgage bills. Since you are saving money on the initial costs of the home and cutting costs on the actual manufacturing and building of your residence, your mortgage rate will definitely be less of a burden. Whatever home you do decide to buy and invest in though, comparing mortgage rates from multiple providers will give you the best rate for your policy. This is crucial in avoiding foreclosures and going into a home that will be too expensive to maintain.

Construction Plans – Products Of Conceptualization

November 18th, 2011

Good planners devote long hours of studies during the process of conceptualization of the home construction project. They conduct research and consult several technical people on the ground to aid them in order to produce the best building plans. A perfect blueprint is a complete plan depicting all the wishes and needs of the homeowner with supporting details presented in the form of drawings and technical specification manuals. Generally, these documents are prepared by an engineer or architect hired by the owner.

There are some ready made construction plans available on the market. Those who prefer to use these plans must carefully examine them as to their adoptability to their needs, site location and budgets. However, it is still more preferable to draft your own plans (through your architect if you are not capable) as you know perfectly your detailed requirements for your home construction.

What compose a construction plan?

A typical home construction plan includes but not limited to the following documents as tagged per page; to wit:

  • Site development plan. On this page, you will see your home building perspective and site location together with the proposed developments on the site as it would appear after project completion.
  • Civil works pages. You will see here your home building lay-out plans, foundation plans, designs of the columns, beams, walls, trusses, roofing and other items of work to complete your building structure. The drawings are complete with dimensions so that you could visualize the sizes of your rooms and other areas of the home building project.
  • Electrical plans. These plans will show you the location of the switches, lighting fixtures, outlets, panel boards and sources of your electrical power supply.
  • Sanitary and Plumbing plans. These will show you the clean water lines as well as your sewer system. The faucets, showers, lavatories, water closets and other plumbing fixtures are identified.
  • Mechanical plans- These plans will show you all the mechanical items like air conditioning units, water heaters, water pumps and other similar mechanical gadgets attached to your home.
  • Architectural plans- these plans will show you all the carpentry works for cabinets, ceiling, finishes on walls, ceiling and floor. The designs on baseboards, chair guards, cornices, doors, windows and other finishing items are shown here in details.

Technical specifications, what are they?

There are plans where the technical specifications are incorporated on the building plans. However, it is best appreciated when a narrative summary is prepared where all technical specifications are clearly discussed and with corresponding cross references on the plans. The technical specifications manual will guide the homeowner regarding the kind of materials that will be used on the project. It also includes quality control guidelines for the faithful compliance of the construction plans.

The homeowner needs not be an engineer or architect to understand the construction plans. A diligent research and attention is sufficient in order to read and comprehend the construction plans and technical specifications. Try surfing the Internet and start a good lesson on how to read home construction plans.