Because although both modular and manufactured homes are less expensive alternatives to traditionally built houses, you may be allowed to build only one kind in your location.
The Manufactured Home
If you knew the phrase “manufactured home” was synonymous with the phrase “prefab home,” you’d know exactly what a manufactured home is, wouldn’t you? A manufactured home is completely factory-built, with all its components connected in a single unit and towed to its location completely finished. While the concept of manufactured homes was one of homes which could be moved at their owner’s will, the manufactured home of today is almost always put in the spot where it will remain permanently.
The manufactured home may be set on a foundation, or put on blocks to keep it above the ground. The owners of manufactured homes, nonetheless, can hang onto the towing axles of their houses just in case they get hit with a touch of wanderlust and decide to take to the road again.
The Modular Home
The modular home, like the manufactured home, is factory produced, but as its name suggests, a major difference between a modular home and a manufactured one is that the modular home is produced and shipped in sections known as modules, and not as a single completed unit. The modules will make up the home’s walls, floor, roof, and ceilings, and will contain all the home’s permanent plumbing, wiring, air ducts, insulation, and cutouts.
When the completed modules are shipped to a building site, they are crane lifted into position on a pre poured foundation and fastened together with special adhesives and fasteners. Nearly 870% of the labor involved in constructing a modular home has been done at the factory, and the remaining 20% of the labor done on the building site seldom takes more than a couple of weeks.
The lender who provided the construction loan for a modular home will have each phase of the work inspected before the subcontractor is paid, and the completed house will undergo a final building inspection to make sure it meets with all municipal and state building codes. Modular homes are ideal for people who want a permanent home but can’t with the six to twelve months it takes to build a traditional one.
There are some states and municipalities which do not consider manufactured home to be regular houses, and in those areas the modular home is the only alternative. The small size and portability of manufactured homes makes it much more likely that they will be restricted in some areas than modular homes. So before you make a modular/manufactured home choice, check with your local zoning board and see which, if either of them, will not be permitted.