Sunday, August 31, 2003
by Dan Brown -Advertorial Editor


All you have to do is read the words and you get this involuntary twitch in your lower gut.

Let's try it again.

Systems built housing.

There it goes again.

That little squeeze in your lower gut.

You know why?

Two words: Mobile home.

This has long been the misconception of systems built homes, that they are manufactured homes.

Its all symantics.

If you get down to basics, all homes are manufactured homes as they are built by someone.

The American Heritage Dictionary says that manufacture means to make a process a raw material (in this case wood) into a finished product (in this case, ahome).

So, why all the fuss?

The public misconception about what systems built housing means has been our biggest challenge in bringing this new state-of-the-art form of home construction to the market, said Grant Smereczynsky, CEO of Building Systems Network. One of our biggest goals critical to our success is educating the public about the inherent advantages of building your new home this
way.

Stick built homes, is the term given to the traditional mode of home construction you see every time you drive past a new subdivision in North Georgia. The overwhelming majority of single-family homes built in the United States are still built on site, the old fashioned way, as it were.

Of all new housing built in 2002, according to an article appearing in Building Systems Magazine citing U.S. Bureau of Census annual Characteristics of New Housing report, 94 percent was site built, and only 3 percent was modular.

Despite what look like staggering odds, Smereczynsky sees this as an opportunity instead.

We are not the first company to try systems building in this market, but I do think we bring a bit more marketing savvy to the table, he said. Due to Building Systems Network efforts the designation of what constitutes manufactured housing has changed in North Georgia.

Launching a carefully orchestrated marketing campaign to educate home buyers about the advantages of building their home the systems built way, Smereczynsky hosted home-buying seminars, developed a national Web site, blanketed the media with a public awareness campaign, and formed alliances
with lenders and other real estate professionals. This helped eradicate any lingering misconceptions among consumers that modular homes were little more than exotic doublewides.

Building Systems Network's efforts began paying off with double-digit increases in home sales with Building Systems Network being named Top Performing Builder for
Handcrafted Homes in 2002.

Building systems actually pre-date traditional site or "stick" building, which got its start in 1833 with the invention of the circular mill saw and mass-produced nails. Back in the 17th century, the lack of usable timber in the northern areas of Russia lead to builders producing post and beam wall panels and shipping them north by horse-drawn wagons.

In the United States, the first systems built homes were constructed in factories in the 1890's by companies such Alladin Homes, The Hodgson Company and Montgomery Ward. These companies sold their homes through mail-order catalogs between 1895 and 1920.

So, what is a systems-built home?

Simply put, a building system is a highly engineered method of producing building or building components in an efficient and cost effect manner. The use of building systems is common in many different types of residential and commercial construction.

Systems built housing is a fast-growing modern form of construction gaining a growing recognition of its increased efficiency and ability to apply modern technology to the needs of the market place.

Smereczynsky believes that once people see the product actually set on the foundation, they will understand why modular homes are superior to today's site-built home.

Systems built and site-built homes are constructed to the same building code required to your state, county and specific locality and therefore are not restricted by building or zoning regulations. A quality control process provides 100 percent assurance that your home has been inspected at the plant during each phase of construction. Evidence of this inspection is normally shown by the application of a State or inspection agency label of approval.

Building Systems Network is based out of Gainesville, GA and is a member of the National Association of Home Builders.

If you are interested in obtaining more information about this innovative process in new home construction, call Grant Smereczynsky with Building Systems Network at 1-770-888-BSN1.