By Michael Zenga
Yes, it is a novel concept to imagine your soon-to-be mansion being built inside a warehouse and then shipped to your building site. Who would have thought this would make such great sense? Factories offer tremendous advantages in the home building process. They are sheltered from the effects of weather; they provide a single environment where construction personnel can work on multiple houses without leaving a job site; tools are always in the same place and never lost; and third party inspectors are on hand to approve the construction on the spot. Most sizeable factories produce on average a complete home every day. How long did it take for your friend's home to be built on-site?
In a modular home factory, there is ample space for many projects to be taking place simultaneously. A huge warehouse allows a crew to be framing wall panels and roof trusses in one area, while another crew to be hanging drywall and mudding in another. Despite the multiple areas, the process is extremely organized and streamline, similar to an automobile manufacturing plant. Your design plans are made available to each work area and your home is identified as it is constructed. After wall frames, roof trusses, and flooring structures are constructed individually and then assembled into modules. "Marriage" walls (where two modules will connect) are labeled and the structure moves onto the next section.
Licensed electricians and plumbing professionals then identify studs in the walls and frames where conduit and wires will need to travel. Necessary holes are drilled and outlets and piping is installed. Subsequently, drywall is attached to the frame, and a rapid process of taping, mudding and texturing is completed. Because the factory allows indoor construction, drying time for drywall texturing is cut to a few hours which can save tremendous time. Also, because these construction specialists repetitively perform the same tasks every day, their efficiency becomes remarkable.
After the drywall is applied, spray insulation and subsequently spray painting is applied, and your module is now beginning to look like a recognizable dwelling. Once the basic construction and assembly is done, specialists then begin their detail work. This usually includes cabinetry, plumbing fixtures, tubs and sinks, electrical fixtures, heating and air conduits, flooring, trim carpentry work, and even stairs. Roofing shingles along with hingeable soffits are also applied in many cases when roofing structures are provided.
At each step of the assembly process, third party inspectors evaluate the building, electrical, plumbing, and heating and air facets of your home. This eliminates any unexpected surprises on its arrival to the site. Once finished, transport materials are applied to the modules to ensure protection from the weather and secure travels. It needs to be mentioned as well that reinforced drywall screws with glue are used for extra strength in assembly as is extra bracing for framing. This is mainly for increased stability for traveling, but once it arrives to your site, this stability is an added bonus. As you can see, the factory setting allows not only greater efficiency in building your modular home, but also provides added bonuses along the way.
Michael Zenga is a Modular Home Builder in the Boston, MA area. He founded ZN Custom Building, in 2002, which specializes in modular home construction. Known as the Modular Building Specialist, Michael Zenga can tell you why modular housing is right for you!
Source:www.isnare.com |
