ENTERMOD ANNOUNCES
We have secured the contract to rebuild the Penthouse Condominiums in Pass Christian, Mississippi.
Artists renderings are below
Details:
- Approx. 77,000 Sq. Ft.
- Gulf Front
- Will withstand
140 MPH Windspeeds
- 58 - 2 Bedroom Units
- 20 - 1 Bedroom Units
- 4 - 3 Bedroom Units
- Clubhouse
- Pool
- Other
development and Improvements
View our flyer here
Winter 2004 Bonded Builders Newspaper Volume
11, No. 1 Front Page Article
SYSTEM BUILT HOMES STAND UP TO FLORIDA HURRICANES
System Built homes remained virtually unscathed
despite the relentless onslaught of major Hurricanes
that left paths of destruction and despair all
over Florida and other Southern States. One
System Built builder opened his home up as a
safe house to his neighbors who lived in site
built homes. The first Hurricane that brought
winds of over 130 MPH destroyed many of the
neighbors homes while his home stood tall with
no structural damage.
Precision Built off site in a controlled climate
provides for greater quality control and since
they are built to be transported and lifted
by crane the homes are built stronger by necessity.
System Built Homes use the same building material
as site built but more of it. The additional
lumber, nails, and fasteners greatly increase
the homes strength
A Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) study
noted that System Built homes withstood the
155 mph winds of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. FEMA
stated that the homes "provided an inherently
rigid system that performed much better than
conventional residential framing".
Building Homes in a controlled environment gives
system built homes an advantage in strength.
Every home is inspected by an independent third
party before it even leaves the build center.
Some consider the homes to be over built but
the streamlined process allows for the cost
to remain reasonable.
So like the fairy tale of our
childhood "Go ahead big bad wolf, Huff,
and Puff, And Huff and Puff and when you finally
get tired just go on home"
This article was originally printed
in Saturday September 11, 2004 issue of The Huntsville
Times page F11
Modular Housing Offers Luxury, Quality, Efficiency
Dear Jim:
We are planning our dream home and we particularly
want it to be efficient and secure. We thought
about a luxurious modular home model that we
saw at a home show, but is their overall quality
very good?
--Amol D.
Dear Amol:
The overall quality and efficiency of modular
housing is often better than typical stick-built
homes. Once a modular house is completed on
your building site, it is virtually impossible
to distinguish from a stick-built house.
The range of styles and amenities is nearly
endless.
People often confuse modular housing with the
general term “manufactured housing.”
Modular housing is just a small subset of manufactured
housing. Manufactured housing usually refers
to mobile homes and trailers that are towed
to your site by a truck and are not built on
a standard foundation.
In contrast, a modular house is basically a
stick-built house that is built in large sections
in a factory. The sections are delivered to
your building site where they are attached together
over a slab, crawl space or basement. Some of
the standard models are as large as 6,000 square
feet.
The fact that modular houses are built in a
factory makes them energy efficient, strong
and secure. The modules (rooms) must be built
strong enough to withstand the stress of transportation
on a truck. Some are so well-built and air tight,
they include heat recovery fresh air ventilation.
Whereas a typical stick-built house is made
with 2x4 wall studs on 16-inch centers or, at
best, 2x6 wall studs on 16-ich centers. The
2x6 walls make them more rigid resulting in
less settling and more air tightness over its
life. The deeper wall studs also provide space
for two extra inches of wall insulation (R-19.6).
Another advantage of being built in a factory
is quality control. All of the wall, floor and
ceiling components are sized and assembled in
jigs and aligned with laser precision for exact
dimensional and assembly control. You won’t
find some extra nails in one stud and too few
in another.
The lumber used in a modular house has not lain
outdoors in the weather around a building site
so it is more dimensionally true. If you have
ever been to an outdoor lumberyard and tried
to find a straight stud, you will understand
this very well. This results in less settling,
nail pops, etc.
When selecting a modular house, compare building
material and construction specifications among
several manufacturers. You may be able to upgrade
efficiency items such as windows, doors, furnaces,
etc. All interior amenities, such as whirlpools,
real oak cabinets, six panel doors, etc., are
included.
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Don't
think mobile when building modular homes
Not to be confused with trailers, houses assembled
from prefabricated modules offer quality, style
and savings
By ELIZABETH BETTS HICKMAN
For The Tennessean
If you think the term modular equals mobile
when it comes to homes, think again. It doesn't.
Modular homes take their name from their factory-built
components, which are modules that look like
boxes and are made from wood, insulation and
drywall like any other house. Once set on a
permanent foundation and finished by a builder,
they look just like any other stick-built, or
traditionally built house.
While not common — modulars account for
about 3% of all homes built annually in the
country, or about 42,000 homes in 2004, according
to the National Association of Home Builders
(NAHB) — they're a growing type of construction
that's gaining favor with some Middle Tennessee
builders looking for a way to shorten the building
process (thereby saving money) and maintain
better quality control.
Systems-built housing: A brief history
Modulars are technically a type of systems-built
housing, which includes log homes, panelized
homes and specialized concrete homes.
"All types of systems are growing, and
we estimate account for 30% of the building
industry," says Eric Fulton, communications
manager for The Building Systems Council of
the NAHB. "This doesn't include mobile
homes," he adds, pointing out that the
image of a mobile home is usually the first
thought that pops into the minds of consumers
when they hear the term modular. "It's
just a different building style."
And it's a style, or more accurately a process,
with a long history.
"The Sears kit houses of 100 years ago
are definitely the predecessors of modular homes,"
says Fulton, who adds that those early kits,
which were sold by companies like Sears, Aladdin
and others and delivered by rail, typically
included over 30,000 pieces and a 75-page how-to
booklet. "It was the first instance of
your home and your materials being delivered
to you."
But while that industry was geared toward confident
do-it-yourselfers, modulars are typically built
by professional builders, just like any other
house constructed using traditional methods.
Overall, says Fulton, the modular industry grew
throughout the 20th century, and really took
off in the 1990s.
As the industry has matured, it also has become
more design savvy. Avant-garde contemporary
architecture/design magazine Dwell has extensively
covered modulars (the magazine refers to them
as pre-fabs) designed by architects and has
even sponsored a design competition.
"There are a whole slew of architects
who are designing modular houses," says
Keith Covington, manager of the design studio
of the Metro Planning Department. He notes that
while this form of construction certainly isn't
widespread in Middle Tennessee, it's well-known
in other regions, and he sees its potential.
He also notes that he is not aware of anything
in the Metro zoning or subdivision regulations
that prevent modulars, but that some subdivision
covenants might address building methodology,
so consumers always should research the rules
where they are building.
"There's a lot more design focus now,"
says Massachusetts-based Andrew Gianino, whose
company, The Home Store, has built modular homes
in New England and New York's Hudson Valley
since 1986.
In part because of a shorter building season
and a longer manufacturing history, modular
construction has been most popular in the Northeast.
Gianino also recently authored a comprehensive
book on building using modular elements (at
right).
A common concern from design-savvy consumers
and builders is that the homes will just look
too plain or basic.
"It used to be that 30 years ago, most
modulars were little boxy ranches. Today, we
build chalets, Capes, contemporaries,"
says Gianino. "Most manufacturers are willing
to do some elements of customization. There's
a lot more design flexibility than people realize."
[...more]
top
Questions
and answers about modular homes
For The Tennessean
Q: What
is a modular or systems-built home?
A: A modular
or systems-built home (the terms are used somewhat
interchangeably in the industry) is a house
designed and built from modules (also called
boxes), which are constructed in a factory by
trade professionals (framers, drywallers, electricians,
plumbers). The modules are built with wood framing,
using 4x6 timbers, insulation and drywall just
like a quality, site-built home. The modules
are then set on a foundation and finished by
a professional builder.
Q: What is the process?
A: Once a plan
is chosen, the factory builds the modules as
designed and delivers them by truck to the customer's
prepared building site (the concrete footings
and either a poured or block foundation will
already be in place). The modules are set in
place with a crane, and the house is then finished
by an experienced general contractor —
building a modular house is not a do-it-yourself
project. The contractor will also site-build
other components, such as garages, porches and
other elements, as well as finish the home on
the exterior (adding brick, stone, shingles
or clapboard, for instance) and the interior
(adding custom flooring if it wasn't included,
completing utility hookups and installing appliances.
[...more]
top
 Realtor
Magazine
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