Angie’s List: Prefabricated Homes

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – When many people hear “prefabricated” or “modular” in relation to houses, they picture trailers or hastily built tract homes. But as Angie’s List reports, today’s prefab housing embraces flexible and modern design with all the amenities.

Prefabricated homes have come a long way in recent years.

Angie Hicks, Angie’s List Founder, says, “When many people think about prefab homes, they think cheap, but with today’s prefabricated houses, there are many options, high-quality materials, and great construction.”

Pre-fab once meant that you had a limited menu to work with, but Brian Caldwell, director of engineering for Unibilt Industries in Dayton, Ohio, says that’s evolving to meet people’s needs.

Brian Caldwell, director of engineering at Unibilt Industries says,“As we over time started to give people more and more options to change things, to the point where we’re at now, where people can come in with a plan they drew up on a napkin and we just figure out, how can we work that into a modular construction? And we can do just about anything people are looking for.”

Inside Unibilt’s warehouses is where workers complete the construction, which keeps the materials out of bad weather and keeps laborers in a safe work environment.

“On average, we’re running about a three-week turn process from site to out the door”, said Caldwell

Ursula David, the owner of Indy Mod Homes, builds custom homes in the Indianapolis area, and she says the process is much more environmentally efficient and safe.

Ursula David, Owner of Indy Mod Homes, says, “They recycle all of their unused lumber. I end up with much less trash on site than I would if I was building it on site.”

A customized trailer and rigging system transports the prefab home and sets it up. The delivery and setting process can all be done in just one to two days.

Angie says homeowners who buy prefab homes notice higher efficiency and lower utility bills.