Frequently Asked Questions
Why choose an off-site constructed home?
How much time and hassle does off-site construction save?
How much money can off-site construction save?
Does the financing work the same as with site-built housing?
How far will DETAILS ship their homes?
Are off-site constructed homes the future of the housing industry?
What is the difference between a manufactured home and an off-site constructed or modular home?
I am an individual who would like to place a DETAILS home on a lot that I own. Can I purchase a home direct from you? What will the total price be?
Are DETAILS’s homes covered by a warranty?
Why choose an off-site constructed home?
Off-site home construction (also known as modular, prefab or factory-built) allows the client to save time and money compared to the site-built process. These savings are due to a better economy of scale and a more streamlined construction process. Perhaps more importantly, off-site construction is a far more environmentally way to build, allowing the use of greener materials and construction technologies and producing far less construction waste then on-site construction.
Off-site home construction is simply our chosen means to an end. It is the one home construction method that allows us to achieve our goal of creating thoughtful, sustainable design that is accessible to more people while still maintaining high quality.
How much time and hassle does off-site construction save?
Consider a common example--a 2500-square-foot home on a site that doesn’t require any added site engineering. Although the design and pricing of the project will take considerably less time with the factory-built method, we will give the site-built method the benefit of the doubt. Assuming that the developer was able to get a design, receive competitive bids, choose a contractor, and receive approvals from their local building department within a three- to four-month period, this would put them on par with the factory-built method.
This is, however, a generous assumption considering the streamlined process that DETAILS offers. In California, plans for DETAILS homes are approved by the State of California through licensed approval agencies. With DETAILS, all of the home plans we offer will already be approved so no local approvals are needed. In addition, inspections for everything built in the house occur at the DETAILS facility during the building process. Foundation layouts and dimensions will be supplied by DETAILS. The owner or his agent is responsible for submission of a structural foundation design that is specific to the site and stamped by a licensed engineer. This must be submitted to the local building department along with any site-specific plans.
With preparations out of the way, let’s look a typical construction schedule. Of course, each builder’s schedule will vary depending on the type of job, size, complexity, unique conditions and preferences.
|
Factory Built |
Site Built |
1st Month |
Excavate and install foundation |
Excavate and install foundation |
2nd Month |
Deliver and set home sections |
Rough Frame |
3rd Month |
Flat work |
Install windows |
4th Month |
|
Exterior trim |
5th Month |
|
Drywall |
6th Month |
|
Interior finish: |
7th Month |
|
Flooring |
|
|
Delays for weather, material delivery and scheduling of subcontractors |
How much money can off-site construction save?
The amount of money saved by using off-site construction varies with each project. Some of the variables include:
Pre-construction services, planning, and architecture. DETAILS has invested considerable time and expense working with a number of well known architects to design and get State of California approval on the collection of homes we offer. So rather then starting from scratch and investing considerable time and money in generating a design, a homeowner or developer can choose from superior designs that are already finished and approved. Details can help in the planning and site design phases by providing a direct service or referring a qualified firm which can.
Site development difficulties. Some sites are too tight for material storage, parking, etc. (e.g., urban or mixed use settings), or too remote or steep to be easily developed with site-built methods.
Construction labor prices in the local area. In areas where combined labor and insurance costs are high, the modular (off-site) construction method will consistently out-perform site-built. Labor and insurance costs are high throughout the state of California, where DETAILS’s facilities and primary markets are located.
Availability of competent and competitive general contracting community. On many in-fill projects, in certain urban zones, and in most rural areas, a broad and qualified contractor base is not available. This will make site-built development much more expensive. With DETAILS, you are assured of both a timeline and cost before committing to a project.
Custom finishes. On-site custom finishes are likely to be expensive, and even then you’ll never be sure of reliable quality. DETAILS, however, consistently delivers quality, specialized finishes which can be performed on our assembly line with an efficiency that is impossible to replicate in site building.
Material loss due to weather damage and theft. You never know what might happen to building materials left outdoors at a building site. DETAILS removes this worry for good because we deliver home sections which are sealed and protected from the elements for shipping. These sections are normally set on the foundation and made weather-tight and lockable within a day or two of their arrival.
Construction loan financing costs. Less time means less money. On-site construction will often take double the time required by off-site construction, and DETAILS’s quicker turnaround means faster profit and reduced financing costs.
Does the financing work the same as with site-built housing?
Yes. Our homes are construction financed (albeit over a shorter time frame) in the same way that a site-built project would be and our homes qualify for all mortgage programs. Please feel free to ask for some assistance or referrals if you need some help.
How far will DETAILS ship their homes?
Detail’s facility is located in Sacramento, California with shipping access to both the I-5 and the I- 80 corridors. This accessibility makes the entire West Coast, from San Diego to Seattle, our effective service area. Shipping costs will vary depending on how far the site is from our facility. Freight quotes, which normally run between $7 and $10 per mile per truck, can be obtained in advance of your order. For example, the estimated cost to ship a 1,600 square foot home on two trucks from our facility to the following locations at an estimated $9 per mile per truck would run as follows –
- Oakland $1,700
- Lake Tahoe $1,900
- San Luis Obispo $5,400
- San Diego $9,000
- Portland $10,500
- Seattle $13,500
This service can be coordinated by DETAILS and added to our invoice.
Are off-site constructed homes the future of the housing industry?
Not only is the answer yes, but the future is already here. Ninety percent of Finland’s housing is now prefabricated and this trend is spreading across Europe, where IKEA, for example has built more than 2,000 homes. In Japan, Toyota has entered the market, having constructed 4,600 homes in 2005 and expecting to build 7,000 homes by 2010.
Prefabricated home construction has been taking off in the United States as well. Though it is still relatively new in the west, in many Eastern states from Maine to the Carolinas, builders have been using this method for over 20 years, and in some of those states up to 25% of the new homes are off-site constructed or modular. The method’s clear advantages have been the engine behind its recent growth down the eastern seaboard, into southern states like Florida, and out west into Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Arizona.
Like the automobile industry, where companies at one time built their own components but now contract out whole packages such as the dash or the entire interior, the housing industry has rapidly adopted off-site construction. In fact, 95% of U.S. housing construction (excluding high-rise housing) is now considered “industrialized,” meaning that homes are built with factory-made components like trusses, pre-framed and plywood-sheeted walls, roof and floor panels, or entirely finished modules. Off-site construction is simply easier, faster, and more efficient. Its rapid adoption is also partially a response to the steady decline in qualified labor—a recent National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) survey found that two-thirds of builders are now forced to hire workers with skill levels below those expected for their jobs.
Numerous small innovations and the interest of the architectural community have given factory-built housing its proven design flexibility and performance. In 50 years, will we see a load of lumber dumped in a muddy field, left for drive-by subcontractors to assemble over the ensuing six months? No doubt there will still be a few homes built this way, because like a factory-built truss, modular design cannot be suited to every possible situation. But it does work for most situations, and architects have even changed their designs to accommodate them.
What is the difference between a manufactured home and an off-site constructed or modular home?
In the early 1970s, Housing and Urban Development officially changed the name for mobile homes to “manufactured homes.” They are built according to a special HUD code on a permanent steel chassis.The HUD code allows the use of lower quality materials and methods in order to achieve affordability
An off-site constructed (modular, factory-built or pre-fab) home is also constructed in an assembly-line fashion, but it is built to the local code required in jurisdiction it will be set in, and is set on a permanent foundation. Off-site constructed homes encompass a much wider range of designs and possibilities than manufactured homes. Off-site constructed homes can be designed in almost any size and can be appointed with amenities that are only seen in the most exclusive custom homes.
I am an individual who would like to place a DETAILS home on a lot that I own. Can I purchase a home direct from you? What will the total price be?
Because a qualified contractor must set and finish our homes, we only sell our homes to Details approved and state licensed builders. Since our homes are customized, the price will be determined by the specifications you select for your new home and by the work completed by your builder. Your builder’s responsibilities include such things as preparing the foundation, laying and connecting water/sewer/electric hookups, and joining together the completed sections of your new home when it arrives. Therefore, the final pricing of your new home will be determined by the builder. If you would like to be referred to a DETAILS affiliate builder in your area, please fill out our Consumer contact form.
Are DETAILS’s homes covered by a warranty?
Every new DETAILS home is covered by a comprehensive one-year warranty on construction. An additional 10-year warranty is available as an option.