If you are thinking of building your own home, a prefab cabin may be the way to go. It’s economical and fast, so if your interest is piqued, you should know the top things about prefab homes.
They are pre-manufactured
Number one, prefab homes are manufactured off-site in advance. And then assembled on-site, they are built in a factory, in components, modules, or transportable sections, thus reducing both the cost and length of time it takes to complete the overall structure.
Prefab home can mean different things
Prefab is an umbrella term and can cover several different kinds of homes. The most common kind of prefab home is a manufactured home. However, I will note that manufactured homes are often classified as their typology and are usually not called prefab homes, even though they are prefabricated.
I’m sure you are familiar with manufactured homes already. Still, these are homes that are fully constructed and assembled off-site and then are transported to the site, where they are placed on foundations and connected to utilities. Modular homes are an increasingly common type of prefabricated home.
These are homes with built-in pieces, also known as modules, which are symbols on a factory off-site and delivered to the home site for assembly. There are also panelized homes. These are homes built from panels constructed in a factory and then sent to the site. Thus a panelized home is not a full prefab house but a construction system using prefabricated elements.
And finally, there are kit homes. These were fairly common back in the 50s and 60s, and you may remember or have heard of serious homes, which is one of the famous examples. But kit homes are still very much around today. These sorts of homes are exactly what they sound like. They’re ready-cut houses composed of pre-made pieces shipped to the site for assembly by the homeowner.
They have many benefits
If you do a quick Google search, you’ll find that there is a lot of buzz around prefab homes, and this is because they have several benefits. They are generally more affordable than site-built homes because the factory production process reduces the amount of labor and material required to build all the home pieces.
The factory production process also allows the entire home to be built faster than a standard site-built home. This also helps to reduce the cost. Prefab homes are often considered more energy-efficient than site-built homes because the oversight of the factory allows every component to generally have very tight joints and seems more energy efficient.
Prefab homes do have flexible design options because they are built-in standard components. They’re a bit like a plug-and-play design where you can move around the different components to get different layouts and sizes. As I mentioned earlier, the factory process allows for consistent quality in the craftsmanship.
The entire prefab construction process can reduce waste. And finally, some reports show that prefab homes have better quality ventilation systems. Many companies choose to use materials that emit less VOCs, improving indoor air quality.
They are considered a construction
If you are buying a new prefab home, you may need to finance it with a construction loan, and this is because the prefab home is going to be considered a construction process. You’ll have to buy a parcel of land, have the materials shipped to the land, and finally assemble the home on site.
I’m not going to go into too much detail about construction loans, but they do require a higher down payment and may also have more stringent credit score requirements, so keep this in mind if you are buying land to put a prefab home on it. If you are purchasing an existing prefab home, you will likely be able to obtain a regular residential mortgage.
The prices can vary significantly
Number 5 prefab home prices vary widely. As I mentioned, they do tend to be cheaper than site-built homes. However, if you do a quick search, you will see that there are many high-end options these days.
Also, keep in mind that if you are buying a new prefab home, you are not just paying for the home itself but the cost of the land utility connections, site prep permits, and often also the site-built foundation.
Pre-planned packages & customized plans
Most providers will sell packages for prefab homes that are fixed dimensions. But as I mentioned earlier, prefab is a bit of a plug-in place system. So you do have some flexibility and can modify the floor plan layout and fixtures to meet your needs. But you want to discuss all this with the company that you select.
In addition, if you have a larger budget and are looking for a high-end house. You can craft a bespoke prefab home from scratch using much the same process you would with a standard home.
In this case, you would simply hire an architect, and they will then coordinate with the modular or prefab panel company to obtain all the materials necessary for construction. Learn more about this here.
They are a good investment
Just being prefabricated doesn’t mean that they are worthless than a site-built home. But whether this is the case depends on the specifics of the home in question.
In addition to that, if a home looks like you could pick it up and move it, then it is likely that how it is going to appreciate or have the same kind of long term value as a home that seems to be permanent, will be hard to predict, but keep in mind that sometimes that can be a good sign.
Conclusion
To sum it up, a prefab cabin features a ton of advantages. The foundations are pre-established, the wiring, and the sanitation system are also installed.
All that remains is to connect to the utilities, the insulation, and the varnish are exceptionally efficient and are made to save costs on heating and hydroelectric power supply.
The finishes are custom-made in a factory setting, resulting in significantly less waste. These were some of the things to consider when deciding whether or not to get a prefab cabin.
