In July, the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) stopped by our Liverpool facility to shoot an episode of the behind-the-scenes factory show, PCN Tours. The episode aired in August, but it’s available online for the first time and we’re happy to offer that video on our website.

Highlights from the first half of the video  include:

• 3:42 – Excel Homes director of architectural design and innovation, Steven Saffell, discussing the critical role that our builder partners play in the modular home construction process and how they work with the customer to create the home they want.
• 6:28 – Excel Homes Sales Manager Dave Reed offering a glimpse of the raw materials that go into building a modular home.
• 8:09 – Using an automated four-head saw to create precisely cut floor joists.
• 9:27 – Making floors, including the use of floor glue (in addition to nails) to add strength to the floors.
• 11:26 – Building interior walls, which includes mounting drywall with both glue and screws.
• 16:00 – The advantages of building indoors, including the ability to caulk and seal all plumbing penetrations
• 16:50 – Using lags to keep interior walls square and true and using spare sheeting behind drywall to provide support for shelving and reinforce drywall seams to make the walls stronger.

The following was posted here on Modular Musings back in 2009, but it’s good insight, and good insight is always worth a second look.

Builder magazine gets passed around a lot here at the Excel offices, and for good reason. It’s chock full of insight into the things builders need to know about how to succeed (or at least stay above water) in today’s tumultuous economic climate. Excel Homes works with more than 600 builder partners throughout the U.S., so any nugget of information we can absorb and pass along is good for both us and them.

Recently, Builder magazine published an article entitled “6 Lessons For Builders From the Housing Bust.” It contained suggestions for ways builders can change the way they work in order to maximize profits and make better homes.

Though all the tips are valuable (feel free to read them here on the ProSales website), the first tip was perhaps the most relevant to today’s climate (no pun intended). It was called “Build Smarter,” and it talked about the need for builders to create homes that are more energy efficient, especially as regulations on new homes becomes stricter.

As the builder of modular homes, we couldn’t agree more. In fact, we’ve been shouting this advice from the roof tops for the past decade or more. Modular homes are among the most energy efficient homes available, and much more efficient than comparable stick-built homes.

The same “Build Smarter” tip also suggested building smaller homes (yet still energy efficient) to lower pricing and remain competitive. This again falls right in line with the teachings of modular construction. Modular homes can be purchased in various sizes, from smaller two-person dwellings to massive mansions capable of housing a small army. The good news about small modular homes: They’re easy to upgrade later on.

It’s almost as if Builder magazine was reading our minds.

The following was posted earlier this year, but we thought it deserved another look. A full set of photos from the construction of the project can be seen here.

Last year, Excel delivered five custom-designed cottages to The Madeira School, an independent all-girls boarding and day school, grades 9–12, located 12 miles outside Washington, D.C., in McLean, Virginia.

Known as the “Griffith Cottages,” the energy-efficient one-story, 3-bedroom / 2-bath homes were designed to blend into the existing rural setting and have been designated as housing for Madeira faculty and their families. The cottages feature energy efficient design, small footprints, standing seam metal roofs and hardwood floors throughout.

The project was made possible through a grant from the Mary Mae Foundation, a private foundation with the goal of rewarding academic excellence at secondary, independent schools. The grant funds, secured by Headmistress Dr. Elisabeth Griffith, must be used to provide faculty housing, and periodically one school is selected to receive a $500,000 grant for construction. The $2.1 million project fulfills Dr. Griffith’s vision of The Madeira School as “a residential learning community in which adults live on campus and act as teachers, advisors, coaches, role models and friends and are committed to educating girls.” The remainder of the funding was provided by the school’s capital campaign, “Cottages for Community.”

According to Excel sales representative Andy Scholz, the company was introduced to the Mary Mae Foundation directors through a referral from Mary Gaiski, executive vice president of the Pennsylvania Manufactured Housing Association (PMHA). “They became convinced that modular construction offered the most cost-effective, time-efficient solution – without sacrificing quality or design options,” says Scholz. The Foundation’s funding requirements now mandates that, while the housing design may change to fit an individual school’s needs, the housing itself must be built via modular construction.

Excel worked in tandem with the Mary Mae Foundation, general contractor Great Falls Construction and project manager Advanced Project Management, which dealt exclusively with the school.

Recently, The Madeira School held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Griffith Cottages. “Everyone from the Foundation and The Madeira School is absolutely delighted with the outcome,” says Scholz. “The general contractor, Great Falls Construction, did an excellent job with the project, and more importantly, they were all extremely pleased with the quality of the design and workmanship from Excel. The one comment that was consistent from just about every official who had anything to do with this project was, ‘We would do another project with this team anytime.‘”

Scholz also notes that the Madeira project can be easily replicated at almost any location. “Projects of this nature and size are generally small enough that all the parties can stay involved and make sure everything flows smoothly,” he says. “We’re ready to do this again.”