Like any good company, a good website is a work in progress. Excel’s website is no different. Over the years, we’ve made more additions and updates to our website than most people make to their homes.

One of the most recent changes is to the model browser section of our site, which allows consumers and builders to view the many homes and floor plans Excel has to offer. It’s understandable why we’d choose to keep the model browser up to date and working efficiently, since it’s the section of our website that displays the fruits of our labor.

Several changes were made, but the most significant was the addition of a search function to the main page of the browser (photo above). The change resulted, in part, from the feedback we regularly receive from our builder partners. It’s also the product of our ongoing commitment to turn our website into a better tool for every person who uses it. And when you’re in the business of building houses, having the right tools at your fingertips is more important than ever.

And we aren’t done yet. We are continuously making updates to our website. Check back regularly.

Today’s entry is a simple reminder to mark your calendar for Saturday, October 8. That’s the date of Excel’s next Second Saturday factory tour at our plant in Liverpool, PA.

As we’ve mentioned previously, each installment of this popular tour takes place on the second Saturday of every month, when we open our doors for tours of our 200,000-square-foot facility and our model home. Each home buyer who takes our Second Saturday factory tour will also receive $1,000 in complimentary credit toward the purchase of any new-home options available in our custom home product catalog.

For those keeping track at home, that’s roughly $250 for every hour you spend with us on Second Saturday. Since most people are happy to hang out with us for free, that’s not a bad deal! If the hourly rate sounds like a good deal, we should point out that you don’t even need to stay for the whole four hours. You also don’t need to make an appointment. This deal keeps getting better, doesn’t it?

This month, while we’re on the subject of natural disasters and the various ways modular construction stands up to natural forces better than stick-built homes, we thought we’d take a look at some past attempts to create stronger, storm-resistant homes.

The unusual design below was proposed in a 1939 issue of Popular Science magazine. The home, which rotates on a track, “turns itself to point its rounded end into the wind, defying even gales of hurricane force.” When not spinning like a top in a tropical storm, the dial-like home can be turned to “face in the best direction with reference to sun and breeze.”

According to the article, “electricity enters the building through the inner track, while the water-supply and sewage pipes come in underground at the axis on which the house turns, swivel joints being provided to connect the stationary exterior pipes with those which are attached to the dwelling.”

This design might be unusual, but it’s certainly not practical. We’re also not sure we’d want to live there without a steady stockpile of motion-sickness medication. Of course, the benefits of modular construction and it’s durability in a hurricane is well known and something we’ve discussed here on Modular Musings before. (link “we’ve discussed” to previous entry on the topic) Modular construction is also a much more practical option for those looking for a little extra stability in a hurricane.

The American Dream used to mean landing a good job, getting married, having a few kids and then buying the largest house you could reasonably afford (and a few nice-sized cars for the garage). So it’s ironic that Baby Boomers – the same generation that bought into that bigger-is-better mindset in the 70s and 80s – are now leading the movement toward smaller, more sensible homes like the Excel Homes Linden model above.

Of course, part of the reason they’re downsizing their living quarters is because the kids have all grown up and moved out, but it’s still an interesting trend. For the Boomers (and anyone else opting for a smaller home), outsized dimensions might be taking a back seat, but quality is still number one on the list of expectations.

Said one source: “It isn’t necessary to sacrifice the amenities just because you are buying small.”

The quality over quantity benefit is a good lesson, and one the Boomer generation also knows a lot about.

The banner in the image above hangs from the rafters in Excel’s Liverpool, PA , plant. For us, it’s a constant reminder that everything we do at Excel Homes must meet a high standard of quality.

The idea of “quality” is brought to bear in many different areas. It means hiring quality employees. After all, they’re the ones whose hard work and expertise go into every home we build. “Quality” also describes the materials we use to build those homes. That includes everything from the lumber found in the frame to the wiring supplying power to the home’s smoke detectors. Excel’s many vendors and builder partners all adhere to our standards of quality as well.

The end result is quality work, and that results in a quality home. If it were our own home we were building, we know we wouldn’t want it any other way.

In light of last Tuesday’s “home for the holidays” entry, we thought we’d give the “Ask the Experts” entry below a second look. It was posted here on Modular Musings back in 2008, but it’s a good question…and a good answer.

PAUL M. ASKS: “How long does it take to build a modular home?”

Good question, Paul. It’s well known that a modular home can be built in about half the time it takes to build a standard home.

Compared to site-built homes, a modular home can be built, installed on a foundation and made ready for move-in only five or six weeks after the home owner has secured financing and the building permit. That is, of course, the “fast end” of the modular home building scale. Larger, more customized modular options can take up to 20 weeks to complete, but that’s still several months faster than it would take to erect a comparable site-built home.

The reasons for this efficiency are simple. First, the modular construction process is refined and streamlined, thanks to a highly trained, specialized crew and advanced manufacturing processes. Second, while the modular crew is busy building the home at Excel, work on the site and foundation – a process that can itself take four weeks or more – can occur simultaneously. Finally, because the modules are built indoors, there are no weather delays and work can proceed more
efficiently.

One of the well-known benefits of modular construction is its considerably quicker build time compared with stick-built homes. How much quicker, you ask? We’ll answer that question in a blog entry on Monday. Your follow-up question might concern why it’s quicker. We’ll get to that
in Monday’s entry as well.

So why even mention this time-saving perk today if we’re not going to shed some light on it until next week? That’s a question we can answer.

The reason we bring it up now is to remind everyone that there’s still enough time to select the modular home of your dreams (like Excel Homes’ Afton Villa ranch in the image above) and be moved in before the holidays. We could be talking Thanksgiving- if you know exactly what you
want, you’ve got financing in place and are ready to greenlight the project next week. If you need another week or two to iron out the details, we can still have you moved into your dream home in plenty of time to unwrap Christmas gifts and ring in the new year.

Who says achieving your dreams requires long, tedious timelines and schedules? Certainly not us.

Frank Lloyd Wright would be thrilled to see this week’s trend, which heralds a return of the clean and simple architecture of the mid-20^th century. Among the Wright-like themes enjoying a resurgence in the 21^st century are integrations with nature and floor plans with plenty of natural light.

Excel Homes architects who have been onto the trend for a few years now, have echoed Wright’s designs in our Starting Line-up Prairie View model (pictured above). We should point out that the return to mid-century themes, in both the design of the home and the décor, isn’t a new development. It’s been happening for years, but the convergence of trends involving green building practices and the downsizing of modern homes has pushed this design trend to the forefront.

If you’d like to test your knowledge of mid-century interior design, feel free to check out the quiz over on the TLC website. Score a 9 out of 12 or better and you’re well on your way to channeling your inner Frank Lloyd from the comfort of your Eames chair in the den.

We’ll be the first to admit that part of the reason we chose this trend was to have an excuse to feature some cool cars here on Modular Musings. We’re also highlighting it because it ties in nicely with the larger trend toward smaller homes (and smaller garages).

An increasing number of home owners – and not just the car enthusiast type – are installing parking lifts (or parking elevators) in their garages in an effort to create more space for things like the ’58 Corvette in the photo above. As HGTVpro.com noted, “Not only do parking lifts look awesome, but their purpose is pretty smart, too. By building up, you don’t need to build out, meaning you use less land.”

A set up like the one above will require 10 to 12 foot ceilings – a perk not found in most garages – but it costs a lot less than you might think. For somewhere around $3,000, you too can be the proud owner of a parking lift. Porsche not included.

It’s no secret that modular construction is a lifesaver – literally and figuratively – when it comes to natural disasters. It literally saves lives because modular construction is a stronger, more durable construction method which has been proven to stand up to hurricanes, tornados and other natural disasters better than stick built homes.

The reasons for this strength include the fact that modular homes are built with 20 to 30 percent more materials than standard construction methods. Also adding to the strength is the factory environment and the use of precision tools to create the modules.

Module construction is also a lifesaver in the figurative sense because it’s a faster, more efficient construction method should you ever need to rebuild a home (or 100 homes) after a natural disaster.

With these benefits in mind, Excel Homes has created a Disaster Relief Program, which is available to anyone who has lost a home to a natural disaster. You can read more about the program on our website.