BOOK REVIEW: THE MODULAR HOME

August 8th, 2008 by Excel Team
File Under: General

Last week, we wrote about the research phase of the modular home buying process. It’s one of the most important steps. Luckily, there’s no shortage of information available online, but if you’re a more traditional learner, you’ll be happy to know that there are several books available that will shed some more light on the modular home buying process.

One of those books is “The Modular Home” by Andy Gianino. Andrew is the president of The Home Store, which is the largest modular home builder in New England. (Many of the homes they build are Excel Homes, but that’s not why we love this book!) 

The best thing about The Modular Home, aside from the wealth of information included in it, is how the information is presented. Andrew goes into an incredible amount of detail in each chapter, but he does it in a way that is clear and understandable for those who might not know much about modular homes or the building industry in general. To make his point, Andrew uses checklists, sketches, hints and even throws in some “what not to do” case studies.

The book includes 11 chapters, such as “Why Build Modular,” “Selecting a Dealer,” “Finding and Preparing a Building Lot,” and “Financing a Modular Home.”

We’ve read a lot of books about modular homes over the years, and whether you’re a home builder or a potential home owner, Andrew’s is by far one of the best resources out there. In fact, we like the book so much, we’re going to purchase three copies and give them away here on Modular Musings to three commenters chosen at random. If you can’t wait to get your hands on a copy, they’re also available on Amazon.com.


3 Responses

  1. Mike Zenga said on August 12th, 2008 at 12:22 am

    I read Andy’s book and it is very good. I also wrote a pretty thorough book: Modular Homes: The Future Has Arrived. Please give that one a read too:

  2. Excel Team said on August 13th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
    Thanks for the head’s up, Mike. We’ve actually seen your book (which presents a very nice view of the modular industry) and we plan to give it a review in November!
  3. Jay @ Innovative Dwellings said on September 5th, 2008 at 6:49 pm

    I would like to see modular evolve into the old “Sears” type kit form house that can be replicated easily, and cost effective. Second, I have not read this book, but I will sometime in the future.

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