Who knew modular homes could be luxurious? NECN’s Beth Shelburne witnesses the lightning fast construction of one New England family’s home. Keep Reading…

Comments(0)

People confuse modular with manufactured housing - mobile homes - and that’s not what it is. “That perception is 100 percent inaccurate. Industrialized modular homes are built to the same building codes as traditional site-built housing.

Building Systems Network’s newest luxury, 8000 square foot modular home, “the Homestead,” being established in Atlanta Ga with an appraisal value of $1,105,000. BSN CEO Grant Smereczynsky invites city and county officials and the community to observe the process as part of his efforts to educate the public on the newest home construction technologies and trends.

The blending of hand-craftsmanship and heritage materials with the industrialized building process of this “systems-built” home is a significant example of how home construction technology has evolved in general. Not only is the Homestead one of the largest and highest-appraised homes built by BSN, but it represents the trend in American homebuilding as an example of what can be accomplished through the advanced technologies of the modular building process combined with custom finishes.

BSN describes the Homestead as a “blend of mountain retreat-American heritage-Craftsman design” with an elegantly rustic, boldly square styling, and details borrowed from the past. Set against the historic backdrop of Highway 60’s Squirrel Creek area, the site of the Homestead was the home of an early 1900s oak barn. In keeping with the Craftsman-style motive—to design and construct in honest handcrafted traditions—BSN crews carefully disassembled the barn’s oak timbers and preserved them for use in the Homestead’s interior as well as exterior trims.

“The Homestead” is a fitting name for this luxury retreat, a true homestead in the fullest sense of the word. Behind the main house is a matching garden house, complete with an oak-trimmed front porch, children’s playroom, garden room, and woodworking shop.

The main house offers a retreat-type lifestyle throughout its 8000 square feet of rooms infused with luxury finishes and handcrafted details. Natural materials suggesting “heritage” are found throughout, including hand-hewn Amish hardwood floors, and handcrafted oak trims. The Homestead features granite kitchen counters, two fireplaces, a state-of-the-art theatre room, craft room, teen suite, cozy finished porches, and a three-car garage with a 1,100 square foot guest apartment. The homeowner’s suite is a highlight of this retreat with a 600 square foot master bedroom, and elegant marble finishes throughout the master bath.

Smereczynsky is an award-winning builder, honored with three first-place awards in the national Building Systems Council 2003 Excellence in Marketing & Model Home Design Awards for his commitment and contributions to the systems-built industry. He encourages homebuyers and consumers in general to “keep current with the trends in home construction, and to not let their thinking or education become obsolete.” Smereczynsky said, “Take advantage of the fact that systems-built construction projects are being implemented here in the Gainesville area and across Atlanta. Find out about the process. Don’t lose out by letting technology pass you by. Instead, take advantage of the benefits and opportunities that come from being informed about new industries and trends.”

Industrialized, or systems-built, homes are constructed under optimum building conditions within controlled environments, at fractions of the cost and time of traditional site-built or “stick-built” homes. Unlike systems-built homes, site-built homes are exposed to unfavorable weather conditions during the construction process. The interior of a systems-built home will never be rained on during construction unlike site-built homes whose interior framing, insulation, flooring, electrical, and even finishes are subject to rain or weather damage.

The Homestead and other BSN homes represent a significant development in home construction technologies, and a brighter future for homebuyers. Homebuyers of systems-built homes like the Homestead will reap the benefits of the cost savings provided by the systems-built process. This includes significantly reduced construction time, which saves interest on construction loans, as well as considerable savings in materials costs due to the high-volume purchasing abilities of systems-built production facilities.

“See for yourself why systems-built homes are so sensible, that the future of homebuilding has arrived,” Smereczynsky said.

Comments(0)

Showcasing exciting new directions in sustainable living and environmentally friendly technology, the Smart Home: Green + Wired exhibit will offer guests a view into the latest innovations in reusable resources, smart energy consumption and clean, healthy-living environments in a contemporary setting within the 2,500 square-foot home and surrounding gardens and grounds. Michelle Kaufmann Designs conceived the home and worked closely with the engineering and manufacturing team at the All American Homes manufacturing facility in Decatur, Ind. to complete this custom home. The design, called the mkSolaire™, was built for an urban environment and features inviting, family-friendly interior architecture. The home will demonstrate the benefits of energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and earth-friendly building components to create a healthy living environment.

The seven modules, five comprising the house and two modules making up the garage, were manufactured and construction facility in Decatur, Ind. On February 11, the custom house was “test fit” or “soft set” at the factory prior to being transported to the Museum site where it will be set on its foundation. After the home is set in place using a crane, a process that can take one to two days depending on the weather, the finish interior work, furnishing and landscaping will be completed in preparation for the opening of the Smart Home: Green + Wired exhibit on May 8, 2008.

This has been an exciting project in that many of the environmentally friendly materials and vendors specified by Michelle Kaufmann Designs to build this home were new to us. From roofing, to rain shield barriers, to tile flooring materials composed of recycled goods and even uniquely engineered floor joist systems, this project has provided us with a better understanding of what it really means to engineer and build an environmentally friendly home.

“We are honored to be the builder of the Smart Home: Green + Wired exhibit. We are in the midst of evolving as a company towards designing and building more environmentally friendly, energy efficient and sustainable products. We will continue these efforts throughout our company with the philosophy that being green is good for the environment and good for business.”

Tickets for the Smart Home: Green + Wired exhibit, which opens May 8, 2008, are now on sale at www.msichicago.org.

About the Museum of Science and Industry

The Museum of Science and Industry’s mission is to inspire the inventive genius in everyone by presenting captivating and compelling experiences that are real and educational. The Museum first opened its doors on June 19, 1933. In 2008—more than 175 million guests later—the Museum commemorates its 75th Anniversary with a year-long celebration. Located at 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive, the Museum is open every day of the year except December 25. Regular Museum hours are 9:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. The Museum offers indoor parking and is accessible by CTA and Metra. The Museum is supported in part through the generosity of the people of Chicago through the Chicago Park District. For more information, visit the Museum’s Web site at www.msichicago.org or call (773) 684-1414 or (800) GO-TO-MSI outside of the Chicago area.

Comments(0)

Mice, rats and other lovely critters tend to prefer living indoors, but with a good modular home design, they`ll have a real tough time getting in. No rodents means no poisons, which are decidedly un-green!

Since modular homes are factory built, they are well sealed from the inside out. Even the spaces around the light sockets and electrical outlets have been carefully sealed against drafts and pests. This makes your home even safer. There won´t be any diseases brought in by small animals and you won´t have to put out poisons or pesticides that can be quite harmful to the environment.

This specialty sealing of modular homes also lends itself to major savings. You´ll be able to save quite a bit on electricity bills since a home without drafts is also an energy safe home. Modular homes are automatically properly sealed, so you can be environmentally friendly in two ways, saving on energy and lowering your carbon footprint, as well as

Comments(0)

Green home building is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. It´s just one way that you can ensure you are doing your part for the environment. But having a lower carbon footprint gives you another advantage that even the non-green can enjoy . . . major savings in energy bills!

Turning your new home into a green home building project really isn´t that difficult. To start with, you might want to choose a modular home, which is built in a factory and offers many benefits. You´ll also be able to get your home up faster and more efficiently, using higher quality tools, technology and procedures.

In addition, having extra insulation put in, particularly in the attic of your home, will help conserve energy and lower your carbon footprint. To add to this, you will want to caulk and weatherstrip your home, as well. Green home building should include little details such as this to ensure maximum savings in energy.

Using the latest green home building techniques (talk to your builder about these), you´ll find that you not only save money, but also the environment.

Comments(0)

It can be time consuming and expensive to have your own custom home plans drawn up from scratch by an architect. Though you´ll have a completely unique house, that isn´t always worth the hassle. Especially when there are stock plans out there that fit most of your ideas!

Custom home plans that are done from stock plans have quite a few good points and there are a lot of reasons that homeowners use them.

• Faster than doing custom home plans from scratch.
• The basics are already in place, you just need to add your special features.
• You can use plans that are designed by architects . . . without the high fees.
• Custom home plans are often designed to your specifications by the builder, so they can advise you on any features that need special materials or support, etc.
• You get exactly the house of your dreams, not someone else´s rendition of a dream house.

If you are wanting to build your dream home, then it is definitely worth looking into custom home plans that are adapted from existing ones. You´ll find that it is faster, cheaper and just what you wanted. Talk to your builder about custom home plans.

Comments(0)

There is really a lot to like about modular homes and they are being used to create housing in areas that have been damaged by a natural disasters like flooding, hurricanes and tornadoes. However, that´s not the only use for a modular home, they are built to the same, if not better, standards as a regular site built home, so you they are also great for new homebuilders who want a customized layout for their house.

• Fast construction. This means if you lost your home to fire, flood or anything else, you can have it replaced in just a few short months.

• Cheaper building. Being able to build a home for less is always a bonus and modular homes offer you just that option.

• Completely customizable. Custom home plans allow you to turn a plain old house plan into something that is just what you want, set up to your specifications.

Modular homes will only get better with time. The problems that modular home builders encounter are mostly solved now and modular homes are becoming quite a popular way to build.

Comments(0)

There´s no doubt that the building process can be quite stressful for homeowners and the long building times required for a site built home adds to the stress. On top of that, there is the frequent issue of builders running over budget . . . yet another unpleasant situation. All of this is avoided by choosing a modular home instead.

The speed with which a modular home can be built is very reassuring for homeowners, as is the fixed budget. You decide ahead of time what special features you want and then the price is given for the house you´ve designed and there is no reason for it to change for the duration of the building project, something that really helps homeowners with their budgeting.

Modular homes are usually finished in a fraction of the time that it takes for a site built home to be done. Homeowners can expect to move in within 3-6 months, as opposed to a year or more for a site built home. And, of course, the smaller and simpler the home, the faster it will be built and assembled. That means that some modular homes are ready to live in just a month after beginning the building process in the factory.

For homeowners who want a quick turnaround, either to live in the house or to sell it once it´s done, modular homes offer a great alternative to regular site built houses.

Comments(0)

Many people who wonder if modular homes are inferior to site built homes don´t realize that modular homes are inspected every step of the way. Site built homes, on the other hand, are submitted to a home inspection upon completion . . . when many issues will have already been hidden.

When it comes to modular homes, quality is key. As they are built in the factory, each stage needs to be inspected before the home can continue on down the assembly line. This means that everything is checked, from the beams to the insulation and everything in between, and has to pass inspection before the building can resume.

Once your modular home reaches the building site, it will need to be assembled before the final inspection. With so much care taken to ensure that the home is completely safe and well built, you can rest assured that you have the absolute best modular home possible and chances are very high that it´s a lot better and safer than a site built home would have been!

Comments(0)

Custom home plans allow you to choose what you want to add into your home. If you have a specific request for a special feature room, then it´s easy enough to add it into your custom home plans long before your house is actually built. Some examples of special rooms.

Studio: Whether a music studio or a painting one, you can make it just the way you like, with sound proof walls, extra windows or skylights, etc. It´s completely up to you.

Activity room: Add a fun climbing wall or create a private gym with a sauna. All this will require custom home plans, but it works very well to give you just what you want.

Extra bathrooms: If you know that you´ll need extra bathrooms, these can be added to your custom home plans, too.

Custom home plans allow you to create a great house, one that is your own personal paradise. Most home plans are completely adjustable. This means you can personalize the entire design of your home and create the perfect dream home.

Comments(0)