The speed at which a modular home can be built is no secret. What can take six months to a year to build via stick-built methods can often take two or three months (sometimes less) using modular construction. While the foundation and basement are being created, the modules can be built. The delivery and setting of the modules follow, which usually takes only a day or two.

Below is a time-lapse video of Seattle’s first LEED Platinum modular home being set over a period of one day. At about 1,800 square feet, it’s not a small home, which makes the process much more amazing to watch. Because we use an expert set crew to set each house we build (an added bonus not all modular builders provide), we witness this process all the time. Still, no matter how many times you see it, it’s a marvel to watch.

Builder magazine is pretty much required reading for anyone in the residential or commercial construction industry. Sort of the way Pizza Today is the go-to source of news and insight for pizza shop owners (yes, it’s a real magazine).

And while Pizza Today tackles topics such as hot trends in calzones, how to get the most out of your crusts, and highlights from the International Pizza Expo (coming up in March, by the way), Builder magazine delivers everything you need to know to do your job well as a builder.

The magazine’s web edition recently listed the most popular Builder magazine online articles for 2010, and as they noted in the intro to the list, the articles focused mainly on the turbulent building industry and “stories that focused on making the most of a dollar.” What caught our attention, however, was that the number one story of 2010 was a feature of Excel Homes’ Starting Line Up series of homes. The article highlights the benefits of this ultra-value home design series and even has a quote from our own Steven Saffell, director of architectural design and innovation.

Feel free to check out the article here. We like to think the article would have been popular regardless of the economic climate. After all, saving money without sacrificing design is something that never goes out of style.

One of the most common questions we get from builders involves their share of the building responsibilities when working with a modular manufacturer like Excel Homes. After all, if virtually all of the house is built in modules at one of our plants, what’s left for our builder partners to do?

It’s a good question, and one we’d like to address here on Modular Musings with a series of blog entries this year called “80/20” (a reference to the 80 percent of the construction process that takes place at the Excel plant and the other 20 percent that happens with the help of the builder when the modules are delivered to their final location).

Below we’ve highlighted some of the topics in the 20 percent that we’ll devote entire blog entries to.

• Getting Set .. How Boxes are Actually Placed
• The Best Foundation
• Exterior Finishes
• The “Marriage Point” of the Modules

Look for the first entry in the 80/20 series in early February. As always, if you’re a builder and there’s a topic you’d like to see included in the series, let us know and we’ll be happy to address it.

Above is a picture of some floors being assembled in Excel’s manufacturing plant in Liverpool, PA. The floors are made using the same assembly line process that goes into creating the larger modules. As we’ve talked about before, this process is not only efficient, but it also results in better craftsmanship because the men and women doing the work are able to hone their technique and expertise in whichever aspect of construction they may be assigned to.

In the image above, the floors for modular homes are built on giant, flat, level platforms in the Excel Homes plant. While one floor is being completed, another waits to be lowered into place.

The following was posted previously on Modular Musings, but since educating consumers about the benefits of modular construction and dispelling misconceptions about modular homes is an ongoing goal, we thought this lesson deserved a second look.

Most people understand what a site-built home is (a house built on-site and outdoors using traditional methods), but when it comes to the differences between a manufactured home and a modular home (like the one above), well, that’s where some people have a little trouble. It’s okay though. It’s something the modular home industry has been working on for many years. The good news is, we’re making progress!

Like a modular home, a manufactured home (sometimes known as a “mobile home” or “trailer”) is built in the controlled environment of a factory, sometimes in pieces, and delivered to its final destination. Other than that, the two residences are actually quite different.

1. CODES – Manufactured homes conform to federal HUD building codes while modular homes are built to the same state and local standards as traditional site-built homes (state and local codes often hold new houses to higher standards than federal codes).

2. VALUE – Manufactured homes may decrease in value over time, while modular homes follow the same housing market value trends as site-built homes.

3. APPEARANCE – Manufactured homes – though they’ve come a long way in recent years in terms of options and design – have a distinct appearance (often a single story). Modular homes, available in single- or two-story varieties, are often indistinguishable from site-built homes.

4. INSPECTIONS – In manufactured homes, building inspectors check the home but aren’t required to approve it. Modular homes, however, are held to much higher standards, with inspections in the factory and by local inspectors on-site. Modular homes are also built using the same materials as site-built homes.

5. QUALITY – Modular homes typically use 20 to 30 percent more materials (and are therefore even stronger than site-built homes) in order to ensure a safe trip to their final location. FEMA studies conducted after Hurricane Andrew have confirmed that modular homes are indeed stronger than manufactured or site-built homes.

Those are just a few of the ways manufactured homes and modular homes differ. We’ll discuss other dissimilarities in part two of this entry next month.

A new Pennsylvania law requiring the installation of sprinkler systems in all new one- and two-family homes took effect last week. Pennsylvania is the first state in the nation to make the fire safety feature mandatory, and it’s been an uphill battle persuading builders to comply with the new requirement.

Excel Homes has been onboard with the new law for a while now. In fact, we started installing sprinkler systems more than a year ago. In a December 2009 blog entry, we outlined our many reasons for supporting the law, which center around studies showing how homes with sprinkler systems have been proven to save money and lives.

Opponents of the law claim the sprinkler systems will raise housing costs which, in turn, will discourage home sales in an already struggling housing market. While it’s true that any new feature, including sprinkler systems, can impact a home’s price tag, we argue that it’s a small price to pay for the benefits a sprinkler system provides. We’d also point out, as we did in a Builder Online article last year, that the new sprinkler systems will translate to no additional cost to our builder partners, and installation is simple because most of the plumbing is done in the Excel factory.

Although the law is still being contended at various levels, it appears for now the mandate is here to stay. And that, depending upon whom you ask, is a good thing.

We’d like to kick off the New Year with a poll. Specifically, we’re curious about readers’ opinions of the housing market in 2011. We’ve all seen the reports of increasing foreclosure rates and declining sales of new and existing homes in 2010, but surely there must be an end in sight, right?

Which leads us to our poll question. What’s your personal opinion of the 2011 housing market? Sound off with an answer in the poll on the right and with some detailed input with a comment below.