What is a manufactured home?
What is a modular home?
What is the difference between an “on-frame” and “off-frame” modular?
What is the difference between a manufactured home, a modular home and a site-built home?
What is the difference between a factory-built home and a site-built home?
What is the cost of a home?
Are factory-built homes built as well as other forms of housing?
What is a manufactured home?
One of the common misconceptions of manufactured homes is that they are similar to the recreational vehicles that we often see traveling on the road, with possibly a car towed behind. Manufactured homes, however, do not typically travel except from the factory to the site.
There are two types of manufactured homes. The single section home is built to completion within the factory. It is constructed in various lengths with usual widths of 14 to 16 feet. When completed, the single-section home is transported to the site and placed on the chosen foundation.
The Multi-Section home is also built in the factory, but it is transported to the home site in two or more sections. Some developers, contractors and consumers prefer multi-section homes because their style fits perfectly with neighboring site-built homes.
What is a modular home?
A modular home is built to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Uniform Statewide Building Code, just like a site-built home. The state building code is enforced at the factory level because the home is being built there rather than on the building site. While a modular home is built to the same code as a site-built home, it also enjoys all of the building condition advantages that factory construction offers. Modular homes are typically constructed in multiple sections.
What is the difference between an “on-frame” and “off-frame” modular?
In Virginia, there is no legal distinction between an off-frame and on-frame modular. They are both built to the Uniform Statewide Building Code. They are transported to the building site via different modes of transportation, but other than that, they are the same home.
What is the difference between a manufactured home, a modular home and a site-built home?
The simple answer is the code to which the home is built. Manufactured homes are built to the National HUD Code promulgated by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Modular homes and site-built homes are built to the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code. Today, both codes are very similar. The differences come via how much, if any, a builder wants to build above the minimum specifications.
The Code of Virginia defines manufactured homes and modular homes as follows:
A manufactured home is defined as “a structure subject to federal regulation, which is transportable in one or more sections; is eight body feet or more in width and forty body feet or in in length in the traveling mode, or is 320 or more square feet when erected on site; is built on a permanent chassis; is designed to be used as a single-family dwelling, with or without a permanent foundation, when connected to the required utilities; and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical systems contained in the structure.”
Modular building (know in the State Code as an “industrialized building”) means “a combination of one or more sections or modules, subject to state regulations and including the necessary electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilating and other service systems, manufactured off-site and transported to the point of use for installation or erection, with or without other specified components, to comprise a finished dwelling.”
What is the difference between a factory-built home and a site-built home?
Site-built homes are comprised mostly of factory-built components. Modular and manufactured homes are factory-built homes. They are built using the same materials and are ordered from the same sources. The difference between the two types of home is that a home built in a factory is delivered already constructed and ready to set on the foundation. A site-built home is delivered in pieces which are then assembled over several months. Both types offer quality, safety, comfort, beauty, and value.
There are distinct advantages, however, that are offered by the factory process. In a factory, skilled craftsman work under quality-controlled conditions to meet strict government standards. By working indoors, costly weather damage, pilferage and theft are eliminated. And, there are virtually no interruptions in the construction process, no weather delays and no contractor or crew scheduling problems. Plumbing, electrical systems, furnaces, hot water heaters and other components are installed at a building stage when easy access allows precise placement. The inspection process occurs in the factory.
What is the cost of a home?
The cost of manufactured and modular homes varies greatly based on the manufacturer and the features selected. Generally, the cost of construction per square foot for manufactured and modular homes is significantly less that of site-built homes. Factory-built homes generally save consumers money and — more importantly– time.
Are factory-built homes built as well as other forms of housing?
In a word, yes. Factory-built homes are built with virtually the same construction materials and techniques as site-built homes. The only difference is that factory-built homes are built in a factory environment, where building materials are protected from weather and vandalism.
