One of the biggest benefits of building a modular home is the speed with which the home can be built. But don’t confuse faster with lower quality. Not even close. We already know that modular homes are stronger than stick-built homes and have stricter inspection standards.

So how can we do all of that and still do it faster than other construction methods? For the answer, we’ll turn to Harry Odum, general manager of Excel Homes’ Liverpool, PA plant.

“It’s hard to believe that a modular home contains more materials and is therefore stronger than traditional homes, yet still takes less time to build. Depending on the model and the number of customized options, a typical modular home can be built in the factory, installed on the foundation and made ready for move-in in as fast as five or six weeks. Typically, though, it might take two to three months and larger homes might take five months, but that’s still much faster than a stick-built home.

“There are several reasons for this efficiency. The main reason is because the process we use to build the homes in the factory is much like an assembly line. Each station has staff who are experts in specific tasks, which is one of the reasons modular homes are higher in quality. Our manufacturing process is extremely streamlined, and very little time or materials are wasted. Less material waste also means lower costs for the homeowner.

“The other main reason for the quicker build time is the fact that while the modules of the home are being built in the factory, the foundation can be built at the same time. Obviously, in a stick-built home, the foundation must be built first before the rest of the home can be completed.

“Lastly, because modular homes are built indoors, there are no weather delays and workers can work more efficiently and cleanly.”

In June, we wrote about Sherri Koones’ modular reference “Modular Mansions.” This month, we’re looking at another Koones modular reference, “Prefabulous.”

The books subtitle, “The house of your dreams delivered fresh from the factory,” skims the surface of modular home building’s allure but the rest of the book dives much deeper. Inside, Sherri gives us an up-close-and-personal look at the advantages and disadvantages of several types of modular homes, including custom log homes, concrete and steel-framed homes, and traditional bungalows.

The Cincinnati Enquirer had this to say about Sherri’s book:

“Prefabulous will shatter your misconceptions about small, boxy and modern structures. These prefabs are customized and so rich in detail and style they are hardly distinguishable from “traditionally” built homes. It’s hard to believe after seeing the photos, but each featured home was manufactured partially or completely in a controlled factory environment then moved to the site.”

Like Sherri’s Modular Mansions, Prefabulous is more of a coffee table book than a detailed reference. It’s packed with beautiful photography of several homes, both inside and out, and offers some very compelling reasons to join the modular movement.

As always, we bought a copy and will give it away to one Modular Musings reader chosen at random from this month’s comments. If you don’t want to wait that long and you’d like to pick up a copy for yourself (or as a Christmas gift perhaps?), the book is available on Amazon.com.