Tag Archives: Quality of manufactured homes

Why Factory-Built Homes Make Sense Now

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As we move closer to 2025, the housing market continues to struggle with some challenges, including affordability issues, lingering supply shortages and environmental concerns. As a response to these challenges, creative solutions like factory-built housing are giving the housing industry a shot in the arm, so to speak.

Factory-built Manufactured Homes offer a very practical solution to these challenges. They are built in a controlled factory environment, which allows for greater efficiency, cost savings, and quality control in comparison to a traditional stick-built home.

Here are some advantages of Factory-Built Housing:

·       Cost Efficiency: Factory-built homes can be produced at a lower cost due to bulk purchasing of materials, economies of scale and lower labor costs. The McKinsey Global Institute emphasizes that factory-built housing can actually decrease construction costs by 20%. Sometimes even more!

·       Saves you time: Factory-built homes are built much faster than traditional homes, as construction can move ahead without delays due to weather, site prep or even material outages. Factory-built homes can be finished 30-50% faster than a stick-built home!

·       Benefits for the Environment: Factory-built homes create less waste and are often more energy-efficient. The Environmental Protection Agency states that these homes normally have a smaller carbon footprint in comparison to traditional construction processes!

Factory-built housing stands out as a reassuring answer to many of the housing market questions happening currently. With cost efficiency, saving of valuable time, design advancements and benefits for our environment. Factory-built housing is well situated to play a leading role in coping with the current housing shortage and making home ownership an actual reality! By embracing creative ways and supportive strategies, we can generate a more sustainable and affordable housing future.

Contact DeTray’s Custom Housing for more information about how a manufactured home can be an affordable, quality option for your new home.

Tommy Rosamond, DeTray’s Housing Consultant

Building Codes Ensure Quality

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Manufactured Homes are built to strict, national building codes that regulate design, construction, strength, durability, transportability, fire resistance, energy efficiency and quality control.  Performance standards for heating, plumbing, air conditioning, thermal and electrical systems are also set.

This code is the part of the National Manufactured Home Construction and safety Standards Act, otherwise known as the “HUD Code.” The familiar red seal attached to the exterior of the manufactured home is your assurance the home has been built to high standards and passed as many as 200 inspections during its construction.

Congress passed this act for three interrelated reasons:

  • To preserve access to affordable housing for all;
  • To facilitate interstate shipment of homes from factories all over America that would meet or exceed building codes no matter where located; and
  • States were not uniformly regulating home construction

An independent study by the University of Illinois Architecture – Building Research Council concluded that the HUD Code is comparable to – and in some areas exceed – commonly used local building codes. Where the HUD Code differs, results in important benefits to manufactured home buyers.

Local codes will tend to be “prescriptive.”  The Hud Code is performance-based.  The difference can be summarized in this manner:

  • Prescriptive codes tell the builder, “use this material, no matter what;”
  • Performance-based codes tell the builder, “here is the standard the materials you use must reach.”

Unlike local building codes, the HUD Code is specifically designed to be compatible with the factory construction process. Prescriptive codes, the HUD Code is specifically designed to be compatible with the factory construction process. Prescriptive codes often lag years behind materials and technology available to builders.  Performance-based standards allow builders to take advantage of current technology, improved construction methods and superior raw materials.

And just like any other standard, a building code is only as good as its enforcement.  HUD Code enforcement is more uniform and consistent because inspections take place in the factory under controlled conditions, and fewer inspectors have more experience inspecting more homes.

Michelle Dux
DeTray’s Housing Consultant