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That's an excellent question. I hope you find the answer as
interesting.
Let me go back to the early days of alternatives to the
normal building methods (often referred to as "stick building"). Around the turn
of the last century Sears Roebuck & Co. began to sell pre-cut homes
in an effort to meet the growing housing needs of the burgeoning U.S. population
with an affordable alternative. As pre-cut homes began to catch on and
become an acceptable alternative to stick-built it became evident that a more
complete package of factory built elements could be both efficient, of higher
quality and of greater durability. Pre-cut became panelized, panelized became
modular. This natural progression has led to an almost limitless range of
choices in style, size and material in today's modular
product.
More Efficient
Because there was a reduced
need for long periods of time spent on the job by the experienced high cost
crews, the product could be produced at a known pace by well qualified crews in
a controlled environment without the effects of weather delays, material
delivery delays, theft and the unexpected delays of waiting for one special
tradesman group to finish to make way for the next trade to
follow.
Greater Durability
Because the factory-built
elements had to withstand the rigors of travel/delivery to the site without
excessive damage, construction methods were developed which resulted in a
finished product with greater durability than the traditional "stick-built"
home.
During these early years of development greater efficiency and
higher quality were the positive results of system built homes, but there were
some drawbacks such as a lack of options. Windows couldn't be added or moved,
roof pitches were always low so that the house could pass under the many wires
and bridges that they might encounter enroute to the site. The manufacturers
generally inventoried items such as windows, doors, and cabinets so their
inventoried items were the only ones that could be selected.
Needless to
say, much has changed over the years. Today, Castle Modular Homes can offer a
wide variety of floor plans with most of the elements within the house being
available for change at the whim of the buyer. Modular has become synonymous
with custom.
Today's modular homes can be a simple 800-900 square foot
vacation cottage or a 10,000 square foot mansion. Timeliness of both the
planning and construction phases has become a keystone in modular development.
An important element in this area of timeliness has been the computer aided
design (CAD) programs that allow for quick turnaround on initial design and on
design changes along with the greater accuracy that CAD programs
provide.
Factory construction allows for greater control of the entire
process. There is no time lost for the many reasons mentioned above. The
building materials are never exposed to the damaging aspects of foul weather and
harsh sun. Once the materials are in place in the house only those parts that
are designed to be exposed to the weather will be exposed and those parts that
are often subjected to rain, snow and other damaging elements in stick building
are protected and never become subjected to these damaging effects.
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