Modular Construction is Faster, Better, Stronger – New Jersey

The construction crew arrived at the building site at 8 a.m.  By 2 p.m. that same day, a new three-story modular house was standing. The kitchen and bathroom cabinets were in place, each sink had its faucet, all the interior trim was finished.

This house had arrived in six pieces, with many of its interior components in place. Before its trip of more than 200 miles on five flatbed trailers, another team of builders — working in a massive house-making factory — constructed the modular parts that became a three-bedroom, three-bathroom house.

A crane lifted and placed each module, weighing as much as 25,000 pounds, and the crew bolted the parts together, making sure the 2,400-square-foot house was tight and waterproof.
 
Over the next few weeks, the finishing work will be done. That includes putting in utility connections and installing the exterior siding that will cover the connection points. Builders who work with modular, say it’s the future of construction.

With modular construction, there is much less waste, fewer truck visits to the site, more recycling of materials, making modular homes efficient and cost-effective.

Modular homes are indistinguishable from their site-built neighbors.

The fact that the modules have to be made for transport — and lifted by cranes — also gives them a unique advantage. They have to withstand the transportation, so they are engineered to much higher specifications. There is a lot of steel in these houses — up to 20% more framing, which makes them very safe in hurricane force winds.

Modular homes will have the same kind of finish, the same (or better) level of quality. And because they are built indoors, construction will never be delayed by weather. There are no unknowns with modular construction. All of these factors make modular construction an invaluable option for those rebuilding homes ravaged by Hurricane Sandy.

For more information on modular construction in New York and New Jersey, contact Avalon Building Systems. Recently we have also begun working with two new modular home manufacturers, Excel Homes and Professional Building Systems, so we can offer more options and work with even more homeowners in New Jersey and New York.

Excerpts – NJ.com