Steel Modular Prefabricated Small Homes 790mmx2000mm Eps Door

Manufactured Homes

Manufactured homes and mobile homes are terms commonly used interchangeably. Officially, a mobile home is a factory-built house built before the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) code came into law in 1976.

The HUD code laid out construction and safety standards which these types of homes must adhere to. With the Housing Act of 1980, it was mandated “manufactured” be used in place of “mobile” for newly built homes. Manufactured homes are held to the 1976 code and are often sturdier and safer than the mobile home built before 1976.

As opposed to conventional homes, manufactured homes depreciate in value over time.

Modular Homes

Modular home are homes where pieces, or modules, are built off-site, then delivered to the home site for assembly. Unlike manufactured homes, they have a permanent foundation and are classified as single-family homes.

The cost of modular homes is significantly lower than a site-built home, but like site-built homes, they tend to appreciate in value. In fact, some studies have found modular homes are safer than most site-built homes.

Because modular homes must comply to strict standards in some states, most modular homes are built to these standards. If you live in a state with more lenient standards, a modular home will be built to higher standards than a site-built home.

Modular homes offer a wider variety of styles and floor plans than manufactured homes. Cape Cods, bungalows, ranches and more are available in modular homes. With their high degree of customizability, a modular home could be right for you.

Panelized Homes

Homes built using a panelized building system are often called “panelized homes” or “open-wall homes.” This construction technique uses pre-built panels off-site, then ships them to the site to be assembled.

They’re typically broken down into the three components: the floor system, interior and exterior walls and roof trusses. If being build on a concrete foundation, the foundation is built on-site, then the home is built on top.

Like modular homes, panelized homes are touted as safer and more energy efficient than site-built homes. Also like modular homes, they’re built to the highest national standard, meeting your local building codes before leaving the factory.

Kit Homes

If a modular home is large pieces built off-site and a panelized home is smaller pieces built off-site, a kit home is the next step. Also known as a ready-cut house, kit homes come with premade pieces and are usually assembled by the homeowner.

This may make you think of clunky and cheap furniture, assembled with hard-to-read instructions. While you will need to decipher the instructions, you should be thinking of log cabins instead. Log home kits are the only full-size kit homes currently being built.

If you want to downsize, you can look into a tiny home kit. These cute home kits could make a great project. While they’re affordable, they’re also small, meaning they aren’t for everyone.