Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire School me on mobile homes

gophergunner;
Good morning to you from the north side of the medicine line, I hope all is well with you and your family on what will be a clear but cool Remembrance Day up here.

Please understand before I launch into this long answer that I'm coming at this from a Canuck background, so for sure there's local and state building codes which will apply for us that don't for you and vice versa.

My background in this is as follows, for 27 years I worked in a cabinet shop which supplied a couple local modular home plants with kitchen cabinets and cabinet doors. After that, I worked for more than 5 years for a local construction company which did stick framing, pre-built panel construction and for the final 2 years modular home construction.

Oh, as well my late parents lived in a modular home made up the valley, our son in law works for one of the modular home plant I used to supply cabinets to, our daughter works in a plumbing and electrical supply dealership who supply contractors of all types and lastly my good wife has worked for one of the larger local construction companies for more than 30 years.

The advantages of pre-building either a modular or panelized structure in a factory are as follows:

One isn't dependent on weather to keep production going, so everyone from the rough in plumbers to the roofers can go full out regardless of whether it's 105° outside or -25° and snowing.

When one is stick framing, the crew battle the elements enough of the time that it does affect the bottom line of the contractor. We always took weather variables into account when stick framing projects as opposed to showing up with pre-built panels and a crane truck which resulted in a house ready for lockup in 2-3 days.

Typically a factory will have purchasing power that only the largest local contractors will approach, so they'll get volume pricing on everything from light switches to hot water heaters and IF THEY CHOOSE can pass that savings onto the purchaser.

Here in BC, we're required to insulate the floor and seal it, we used a blown in, two part foam type insulation which was put in after the HVac, plumbing and electrical was installed - we built the floor upside down, the insulated it and then flipped it for walls. The entire floor then was sheeted top and bottom of the TGI joists.

We found it easier to get trades, especially younger trades folks, to work inside rather than on site in all conditions. They'd often work for less of an hourly rate because of the working conditions and again IF THEY CHOOSE the manufacturer can pass those savings onto the consumer.

Up here, we're allowed to take the consumer through the factory to view their house on the line too, which is something that I'd ask for up front before putting in a down payment. That way it keeps everybody honest, no?

The cons in my view are mainly that the structure is somewhat limited in options because of the construction method. Better said perhaps if you want a tri-floor with odd angles, lots of dormers and such, then perhaps a stick frame is the way to go.

We did a few triple wides too, they're reasonably common up here and they end up being not too bad of a floor plan - again not as many options as as stick built, but workable for most purposes.

Some factories won't give the buyer a lot of trim package options too, so if you're looking for a steam shower, all oak baseboard and wainscoting, that might mean you're going to have to sub that all out and plan for the electrical and mechanical beforehand to do so.

The overall build quality of a modular should be no different from a stick frame build from what I've seen locally. The same tradesmen will work on both types, that is to say will work for a stick builder for a few years, then go to modular or vice versa.

The inspection of the homes is identical for all intents and purposes - up here.

If the foundation is poured incorrectly and/or out of spec, then it doesn't really matter what type of construction goes onto it, the finishing carpenters and cabinet guys are going to pull the remainder of their respective hair out trying to make it look even half ways decent. Been there, wrote the book and used the tshirt for a crying towel after the fiasco was done.....

Anyway sir, that's all I can conjure up for the first volley on the subject. Hopefully it was useful for you or someone else out there in ether space this morning. Good luck whichever way you decide and all the best to you folks as we head into the cold time of year.

Dwayne

Barndominium would be the way I'd built for damned sure. There's some great ones around here.

For lack of knowledge of the correct term a former coworker bought what I'll just call a sectional home, a two story Cape Cod style with dormers, and had it assembled on some rural acreage he'd bought.

First level was transported to site via semi in two half sections on wheels same as "double-wides" and assembled on a block foundation.

Second level (roof in half sections) also transported the same, a crane brought in that lifted each half from semi trailers and placed on top of corresponding 1st floor sections.

A full length front porch was added, too, but I can't recall now if he said if it was included in the initial package, an extra add-on option, or done independent.

When finished and landscaped most wouldn't have guessed it wasn't completely stick built on site unless seen it as assembly was in progress.

The mobile homes of today are a lot better built that they were years ago.

If they are set up right at the start they will last a long time.

Very true. They do have some deficiencies and the building code is different than with stick built houses but they do very well for the money.

More and more people are building shop/houses (shouse) like you describe. Some of them are pretty dang nice too. If I had to do it over again, that is what I would do.

If'n I wasn't so busy doing nothing, I'd picture up some barndominiums around here. Might get to it in a while...

Things happen. ...and it all stays here when you croak anyway.

They have those over there?

Fancy!

Several years back the father and mother of a local divorced young woman with two boys had a large metal outbuilding with skylights and power built up close to their house on their farm, bought a used, good condition and fairly good size single wide mobile home for daughter and kids to live in and had it set up inside said outbuilding.

Don't know if there were any farm related tax breaks or incentives for her parents per the outbuilding but their grand-kids could play outside the house but still inside the building, daughter could park her car and entertain friends and family as well, rain or shine 365. and no doubt helped with heating and cooling bills versus a mobile home outside in the weather exposed to direct summer sun and winter winds.

Yeppers. Pretty high fuluting out here at the Lake of the Upper Missouri Resort and Retirement Village aka Windswept Flat.

Or you and your wife can both get college degrees, work 2-3 jobs each. Run two business at once, each of us work a state govt job. Run your side business in the afternoons, nights and weekends, work on your birthday, work on kids' birthdays.

pay off a $250k home at age 29. Haven't had a car payment in 24 years.

It's all about hittin it and gettin it.

Some of the new high-end mobile homes are quite nice.
The biggest downside I see to mobile homes is that they depreciate in value.

Like others have mentioned, barndominium is a lot better idea.

There's an old style gambrel roof type barn down the road from me that's been overhauled. From the outside, it looks like they converted the entire top to an apartment. The big problem is that there's a BUNCH of steps getting up to it. It's not for old folks. There must be a half acre of space up there.

Standard.


One of the fanciest around here. Built in 2018 by a young couple.



Only one I have insight to. Apparently built for $95K,

no of years back the navajo and the hopi were having some disagreemts which resulted in relocation for some.
doublewides were provided by the gooberment to sweeten the deal.
few years later they were perfectly suited sheep barns.

A cousin did that, too.

He had been partners in a body and paint shop for a good number of years, but partnership broke up. He then had a big, nice looking new outbuilding/shop with efficiency apartment and full plumbing built on some rural acreage he already owned where he and wife planned to eventually build their dream house on.

While their new house was being planned and then built he and wife lived in the efficiency apartment and he continued to do wreck repair and paint jobs in main shop portion.

Now the shop is devoted entirely to his wreck repair and paint business and they live in their new dream house just a few steps away.

For the more modest of means.


One thing here on the 'Fire I despise are guys giving other guys crap for what they have or such when that person has not challenged a cock measuring. It's despicable really...

The Crow and N Cheyenne rezs are littered with such. EZ come EZ go....

That's impressive sir. Good job. 'Wish I could say the same.