Why Do We Build Modular?
Very simply, building modular gives us three main advantages:
Higher Build Quality
Faster Build Times
Lower Build Cost
One of the many perils of building conventionally!
Look familiar? When you build conventionally, you are at the mercy of the weather. This impacts speed and quality. What are the chances that your contractor takes the time and effort to dry this out? If the moisture content of the wood is above 19%, you’re asking for problems down the line. The house is going to dry out as it’s being built - that leads to shrinkage, wonky drywall, squeaky stairs etc etc
Now, say the contractor does take the time to dry it out, that’s great, but you’ve lost time and knocked your trades out of their schedule. And it’s not only rain that can delay you - too hot and you can’t work on the roof. Then there’s wind, snow, plagues of locusts (OK this one is rare!).
With modular, you are building inside. The lumber is stored inside, the work is done inside and, when it’s finished, the modules are wrapped up and trucked to you at 60mph which is some good quality control testing! If that wasn’t enough, standards for modular building in NY State are higher than for conventional construction.
“While nearly every other industry has become more productive since 1968, productivity in home-building — the amount of work done by one worker in one hour, essentially — has declined by half.”
Labor is the single, biggest component of any build. When productivity declines by half, build times and prices (even before inflation) double. Designing a more efficient process reduces project time and cost.
Building modular massively streamlines the process. Every material and every trade is present in the factory. When the framing is complete, it’s inspected and then goes for the wiring and plumbing, drywalling, tiling etc. The process never gets held up because a trade isn’t available and because the work is inspected at each stage, it’s not handed over incomplete.
The next time you are in Home Depot, look how many trades are there buying one thing (and usually with a couple of employees). Then work out how much that $20 piece of pipe is actually costing.
To find out more about why we’re building modular in Ellicottville, send me an email.