Another month, another book. This one is written by Rich Binsacca, a journalist who’s written several books on homes. “Kit Homes” takes a look at, well, kit homes. Modular homes are sometimes called kit homes, though most traditional kit homes are typically smaller one-story homes, whereas modular homes can be sprawling, two-story mansions.

According to the book’s back cover, Rich’s latest effort “introduces you to the full range of kit home choices. This hands-on and accessible guide offers advice and guidance, provides essential tools, suggests additional resources, and walks you through the process of planning for and purchasing a kit home. Kit homes include houses derived from catalogs as well as modular, manufactured, and factory-built homes. These houses can provide greater design flexibility, cost and time efficiencies, and, often, a higher-quality finished product.”

What we like most about this book (besides the stellar photography) is the rich history it uncovers when it comes to kit and modular homes. All of chapter one is dedicated to history, while chapter two covers steps to take before you build your home, including “financing options” and “finding and developing land.” Later chapters are dedicated entirely to “homes in a catalog” and “homes in a factory.”

Either way, this book is a valuable resource for anyone considering the purchase of a kit or modular home or anyone who’s simply a fan of housing history!

Michael Zenga knows a thing or two about modular homes. After all, he’s a licensed construction supervisor and the founder of ZN Custom Building in Boston, MA. We’ve long been fans of his website and its wealth of useful modular information, which is why we were glad to learn that Michael teamed with ZN Vice President Attila Javor to write “Modular Homes: The Future Has Arrived.”

We like the book mainly for its ability to take a sometimes complicated subject like home buying and make it simple and understandable for readers of all backgrounds. Michael and Attila do a great job of explaining what modular homes are, their benefits, and how they differ from traditional stick-built homes.

Said one Amazon reviewer:

Michael and Atilla do a fantastic job of giving the “30,000 foot view” of the industry, and they do it in a way that clearly conveys their status as subject-matter experts, without ever lapsing into jargon or insider-speak that would make the message harder to understand.

Bottom line: If you’re thinking about building a new home – even if it’s not a modular home – you owe it to yourself to read this book. We purchased a copy for ourselves, but we also bought an extra copy, which we’ll give away as this month’s prize to one commenter chosen at random.

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.