| Want to shift from Boston to California and | | | | same as stick-framed houses." Since the |
| worried to death because you do not want to | | | | houses are inspected at every phase of |
| abandon the home that took every drop of your | | | | construction, there are no cost overruns |
| sweat to build and neither do you want to | | | | because the number of contractors are less |
| rent it to a faceless stranger? What about | | | | and most of the costs are fixed. What comes |
| packing it and taking it with you? Yes sir!! | | | | as an added advantage is that a well- built |
| You heard me correctly. That's the modular | | | | modular home has almost the same longevity as |
| home for you | | | | it's site-built counterpart - something that |
| | | | raises its value over time. |
| A Modular home is the distant, less-tainted | | | | |
| cousin of the mobile house. The mobile house, | | | | However, the modular home has had a difficult |
| though considered as the answer to America's | | | | journey towards widespread acceptance because |
| "affordable-housing" void, faced a head-on | | | | buyers have often had to sacrifice quality |
| blow when it was categorized as 'low class' | | | | for affordability. |
| and 'trailer-park'. | | | | |
| | | | Such trivial issues have found their solution |
| Modular means design based on a module (unit | | | | in Douglas Cutler, principal of Douglas |
| of measurement) which is repeated throughout | | | | Cutler Architects in Wilton. It always struck |
| the building. Thus a modular home is a house, | | | | Cutler that manufacturers never sought out |
| the sections of which are transported to the | | | | talented architects to "jazz up the design" - |
| building site and then joined together by | | | | an initiative that he took in collaboration |
| local contractors. | | | | with manufacturers like Goscobec Modular |
| | | | Homes, SUN Building Systems and Haven Homes. |
| This kind of a house has it's own advantages. | | | | As a result, we today have modular homes with |
| To begin with, modular homes are built in | | | | an architectural flair. |
| such a way that they conform to any kind of | | | | |
| geographical territory. So if one wants to | | | | And still, the best is yet to come. MIT |
| shift from Bristol to Brunei, there would be | | | | researchers are 'studying ways' to reduce the |
| no worries about the reconstruction of a | | | | brittleness and reinforce the cement with |
| house. And then, there is the question of | | | | microspheres. Innovative metallic and |
| economic viability. To test which, a two-unit | | | | adhesive bonding techniques are being worked |
| modular townhouse was built in Cambridge by | | | | upon to join the panels into a weather-tight |
| Epoch and the Hickory Consortium - a | | | | shell. Combining metal fasteners with |
| Cambridge Massachusetts based group. With the | | | | structural plastic tapes are also under |
| aim of constructing environmentally | | | | consideration. |
| sustainable and economical houses, the group | | | | |
| found that modular homes cost a whooping 15% | | | | The modular home is yet to see its best days |
| less than site-built construction. | | | | when the completed design will be sent via |
| | | | computer network to an automated factory |
| As Steve Snyder, the executive director of | | | | where the components would be prefabricated |
| Modular Building Systems Association in | | | | and the entire house with roof, floor and |
| Harrisburg puts it, "A lot of people find out | | | | walls would be erected - all in one day!! |
| that it can be inexpensive and also look the | | | | |