In any new home, a roomy bathroom with plenty of amenities is a nearly universal selling point. Large bathtubs are an especially popular option, but surprisingly, we’ve recently seen a trend toward smaller tubs and simple shower stalls. Maybe it’s the economy, although you’d think with all the extra stress people are facing, a relaxing whirlpool tub would be high on most homeowners’ lists.

The trend was reported by Professional Builder magazine, which claimed that hectic lifestyles have left little time for soaking in the tub, as more families opt to put the luxury tub in a guest bathroom – if they choose a luxury tub at all.

Not that luxury has gone completely by the wayside, mind you. Instead of the tub, many new bathroom designs feature larger walk-in showers with multiple showerheads or the popular overhead “raining” showerhead.

Said one source in the Pro Builder article, “I don’t see whirlpool tubs as being a big deal anymore. Everybody who adds one says they never use it.”

The safety of modular homes is well known. Independent tests on homes in hurricane stricken areas have proven that modular dwellings stand up to the forces of Mother Nature better than stick-built homes, mainly because of the additional materials used in modular construction to help the home remain strong during the transport process.

Now, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) is taking steps to make modular homes – actually, all homes – safer by requiring all new homes to be built with fire sprinkler systems beginning in the year 2011.

These safety requirements are nothing new. Over the years, there have been many upgrades in the residential construction process designed to make homes more fire safe. Circuit breakers replaced fuse boxes. Fire separation walls were mandated between garages and homes. All of these requirements are put in place to make families safer.

According to a news release announcing the sprinkler requirement, the new mandate “could prevent more than 3,000 fire-related deaths and 60,000 serious fire-related injuries across the nation each year.” Firefighters are main proponents of the new law, and understandably so. They’re the ones who see, first-hand, the devastating effects of residential fires, and they’re the ones risking their lives to minimize those effects.

But how will these sprinkler systems affect the cost of new homes? That’s the question on the minds of builders and homeowners. Some estimates claim the safety upgrade could cost $5,000 for a 2,000 square foot home and as much as $20,000 for rural homes not connected to public water supplies. For some, it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind and what could be a break in homeowners’ insurance costs.

And for those concerned that a smoking pizza in the oven will set off the sprinkler system the same way it sets off the smoke detector, fear not. Sprinkler systems are triggered by heat, not smoke, which means dinner may be ruined, but your furniture will stay dry.

There are a lot of things modular homes can do, but one of the most exciting ways modular construction is used is as urban infill housing. Put simply, infill housing is the creation of a home in an unoccupied space. In urban infill applications, that unused space is often a narrow lot sandwiched between two existing buildings.

Modular urban infill housing can be used to fill spaces as narrow as 12 feet wide (think townhouses). The benefit of filling this space via modular methods is that occupants of the units on either side of the space won’t be bothered by a lengthy traditional construction process. After all, it’s bad enough when something is being built across the street from your house – imagine construction happening on the other side of your living room wall for six months.

Modular urban infill is also advantageous because, as we all know, it’s not easy to set up a construction site, complete with trucks and cranes, for months at a time in a crowded city environment. We’re sure commuters on that route would have a few choice words for that contractor each morning.

Of course, that’s not the case with modular construction. The modules are built in a factory, without noise or interruption to the area where the home will finally rest. The modules arrive, the crane sets up, and it’s all done by the end of the day. True, there will be some post-delivery work to be done by a building crew, but compared to stick-built urban construction, it’s like a walk in the park.

For a good example of modular urban infill construction at work (at least in design), check out our Excel Drawing Board blog entry on the topic.

Here’s a look at one of our newest and most innovative residential designs…

This design screams elegance and stability. It’s also proof that modular homes can not only look like every other house on the block, they can actually look better.

This Georgian style home offers ample living space and upgrade customization options to suit the most discriminating tastes. The first floor includes 9-foot ceilings, while the second floor offers 8-foot ceilings. The exterior of the home showcases modular’s ability to blend in with other homes with its solid brick front, varying pitched roofs and a side-entry two-car garage.

SPECIFICATIONS:

SQ FOOTAGE: 2,619 sq. ft.
# BEDROOMS: 3
# BATHROOMS: 2.5
SPECIAL FEATURES: Two-car garage, sizable formal two-story foyer, separate family room, formal dining room and a large professionally designed kitchen with separate cooktop and wall oven.
MISC: ENERGY STAR certification option available.

Like it? Don’t like it? Think something should be changed or added?
Please feel free to comment on this design by leaving a comment below.

The Sisters of St. Francis aren’t getting any younger. The Colorado-based group of nuns found it increasingly difficult to go up and down the stairs of their aging and outsized convent in Denver, so they hired a designer and builder to create a campus of modular homes (rendering above) in which the sisters could live and carry out their holy work.

According to Fast Company magazine, the Sisters of St. Francis are self-described “green nuns” – a rapidly growing sector of the sisterhood who believe that ecology and spirituality are inextricably linked. That’s one of the reasons they chose modular as their construction method of choice and why the 16 homes are designed to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

The project is called Aria Denver and includes, in addition to the nuns’ residences, 160 homes, 110 rental apartments, and 80,000 square feet of retail and office space. Designer Michelle Kaufmann offers some details on her blog, including her admission to being a “junky” when it comes to watching the modular process in action.

“It never ceases to be thrilling seeing the modules get set,” said Kaufmann on her blog. “Especially when they make it look so easy, when I know first hand that it is anything but easy.”

Amen to that.

The very modern and cool design on the right is the product of a Norwegian “innovation company” called Lovetann. Using a series of eight modular cubes, one can design a custom made Lovetann home in no time at all.

According to the Lovetann website, their homes are designed to be fully energy independent, fully customizable, extremely affordable, and fully recycled. Green construction is a big part of the Lovetann formula, which is not unlike Excel Homes and many other modular home manufacturers.

At left is a photo of a Lovetann structure being built in Norway. The house is modular only in the sense that it uses modules or blocks during the design process. It doesn’t use modules that are made in a factory and then shipped to the final location. Instead, the structure is built on-site, but like traditional modular construction, it takes very little time to complete a home. The photo on the left shows day three of the construction process. The home was completed (bottom) in just 10 days.

The kid in all of us has always dreamed of living in a tree house. Now that dream can come true, even in an urban environment.

Designed originally as urban infill housing, the urban treehouse can also be set on an open lot in multiples to create a larger complex of homes with minimal modifications. Controlled grade level views from the first floor are intended to give the effect of the home emerging from the soil. The high windows direct your view upward, but still flood the space with natural light.

The fireplace and kitchen cabinets have a twisting helix design, emulating the roots of a large tree. The second floor allows the structure to be exposed like supporting branches. Non-traditional window placements on this level give the impression of light filtering though a tree. The floors give way to a large wrap-around balcony and rooftop garden with grand views. A green roof and central shaft combine with specific window combinations to provide passive cooling.

The structure of this design is celebrated rather than hidden. Like the branches of a tree, the support structure on the second floor (the engineered timber supports) is exposed and part of the space.

NOTES FROM THE DESIGNER: As a child, I spent considerable time climbing trees. I loved to climb high into the canopy and view the world from a different perspective. It was not just the view from the top that excited me, but the glimpses of what was to come as the leaves and branches gave way to views beyond my backyard.

I can still feel the solidness of the trunk underfoot and the graceful sway of the upper branches as I clung tight to them in the breeze. I built many “tree houses” as a child, but that was only a means to stay in the tree longer. It was the tree that I loved and that is the essence I wanted to capture in this design.

The central fireplace on the first floor provides warmth and a special design element when combined with the climbing helix design of the kitchen cabinetry. High windows on the first floor provide light, but restrict views from the street level. As one climbs to the upper levels, the windows open up first with glimpses, but eventually yield unrestricted views like those of a tree.

Integrated balconies, passageways and decks blur the line between indoor and outdoor spaces, making the compact design feel much larger than the 2,205 square feet of conditioned space it holds.

A view a PDF containing all features of this plan, click here.

SPECIFICATIONS:

SQ FOOTAGE: 2772 sq. ft. plus auxiliary spaces
MAX FOOTPRINT: 30’-0” x 35’-0”
# BEDROOMS: 3
# BATHROOMS: 3
SPECIAL FEATURES: “Green” design, open stair tower, helix configuration cabinetry, modern “themed” design
OPTIONS: Stand alone design or multiple unit configurations
MISC: Themed design is that of a tree; level 1 is the trunk, 2 is the branches, 3 is the canopy and the roof is the treetop

Like it? Don’t like it? Think something should be changed or added?
Please feel free to comment on this design by leaving a comment below.

Some of you may get the reference made in the title of this post. 100 percent of those in real estate sales should get it, because it’s a classic bit of advice offered by the cut- throat motivational salesman, Blake (played by Alec Baldwin), brought in to fire up a group of underperforming real estate salesmen in the movie Glengarry Glen Ross.

While selling homes isn’t always the bleak, do-or-die lifestyle portrayed in the movie (some sales people might disagree), it is a high pressure environment and one that requires lots of training and people skills.

The May 2009 issue of Professional Builder included a great article on the importance of sales training. To uncover salesperson flaws, Pro Builder asked three secret shoppers to pose as potential home buyers and report their feedback on what the sales teams could be doing better.

Some of the best insight (you can read the entire article here) revealed that many sales pros have lost some of their skills now that the housing market has slowed down. The reasoning is, they’re not using the skills as much, so they’re not staying sharp. It’s ironic, considering now is precisely when your sales team should be at its sharpest.

Pro Builder also points out the need for increased oversight and involvement by sales managers and the need for sales staffers to come right out and ask potential buyers for the sale. In other words, plainly asking customers if they’d like to buy the home. 19.6 percent of sales people observed by one secret shopper did that in 2005, compared to just 13.2 percent in 2008.

Of course, we believe a strong sales staff is the key to the success of any home builder (followed closely, or tied with, a strong product). We’re sure Alec Baldwin would agree.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently published a story about a growing crisis involving American families who are having a difficult time keeping up with house payments. The following are some excerpts from the article. For obvious reasons, we like the ending.

One of the primary causes of the housing bust was that homes cost too much to begin with, […] forcing Americans to take desperate measures to obtain financing.

Now they are struggling to keep those homes, which often requires two incomes and the loss of family and community life due to being constantly on the road while their children are spending 10 to 12 hours a day in day care. With unemployment rising and commuting costs up, many families can’t make it work anymore.

Whereas the American dream became an obsession with ever-bigger homes, [John] Wasik, author of a recently released book that examines the housing crisis, “The Cul-De-Sac Syndrome: Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream.” said that in the future, people need to think of ways to build homes and cities that are more suitable for the global environment.

“Homes shouldn’t be energy hogs in the future,” he said. “We can go to modular homes built in factories. Think of all the people we could put back to work and make homes more affordable.”

We might be a bit biased, but we couldn’t agree more!

If you want news and views about modular home building, you can stop by Modular Musings. Everyone knows that. But Excel’s architects – in particular, Excel’s new Director of Architectural Design and Innovation, Steven Saffell – come up with outside-the-box designs all the time, but many of them never see the light of day.

That’s why we created another blog, called The Excel Drawing Board. On the Drawing Board, we’ll feature some of these innovative designs and allow readers to comment on them. If it gets positive reviews, it might join the Excel catalogue. If not, it’s back to the drawing board.

The blog features everything from single-family residential designs to commercial residential designs to office space concepts. Feel free to check it out, and don’t be afraid to tell us what you really think of some of those designs!