You’ve probably heard all about how building modular homes is faster, but is it really? Yes, yes it is. Let’s find out why. Take a look at the image below:
This diagram shows us a side-by-side comparison of a timeline for a site-built home vs. a timeline for a modular home. You’ll notice that the first two stages of construction are the same. Designing and engineering a modular home would be significantly faster if you decide to build a standard modular floor plan that your builder and manufacturer are already familiar with or have built in the past. But, in the spirit of fairness, we assume that you’re building a completely custom modular home, so designing and engineering will take the same amount of time for modular as for site-built.
The first major difference in our timelines comes when the actual construction begins. With site-built construction, all site prep and foundation work must be completed before the actual house can be built since the framing for the house must be built on top of a finished foundation. Using modular construction on the other hand, work on the house can take place at the same time as the foundation is being prepared.
Since modular homes are constructed in a controlled factory environment, they are not susceptible to delays due to weather or insufficient, sub-par, damaged, or stolen building materials. Even assuming not a single unexpected delay takes place on a site-built home, it will still take longer to construct than if it was built using modular construction.
Finally the modular home gets set on the foundation and your builder connects the utilities and does all of the on-site work necessary to get you moved in! All while the site-built home builders is still twiddling their thumbs, waiting for it to stop raining.