Anyone have opinions on / recommendations for kit house / modular house, preferably from a company in the southeast? What are the options? I know there is steel, there are SIPs, I suppose there must also be wood frame.
First of all . . . full disclosure . . . I am TOTALLY biased, but I think you should check out https://CruxHomes.com (which is my website).
I hope you're interested in buying a CruxHome kit from me, but if you're not, there are other options and I would be happy to give you what guidance I can. Please, please, please let me know if you have any questions.
My wife and I are looking at some modular homes and found several very nice ones.
Here in Maine they have to be built to Northern standards so they are fairly good. I say "fairly" because my own home is super insulated and they do not quite meet that, but are pretty good for off-the-shelf.
As for cost? I am not sure. I was once told that a person could build the same exact home stick built for a lot less than a modular, but I am not sure. I know after 23 years of building my current home, I am tired of carpentry. Some are really nice looking, but what are they like 10 years from now? I currently do not have enough information to answer that question.
Now, my parents built a pre-made home and had some issues with it. The first issue was actually getting here, the truck was in an accident and their first house was demolished along about a mile of highway. The second issue was the lack of engineering. Their home is huge (I remember the square footage because it is exactly a mile in size, 5,280 sq ft). Because their house is barn shape, their 2 story barn shape garage being perpendicular to the main part of the home, the roofline angles were crazy with multi-angles. The company just said, "we can't figure it out, you make the two buildings match", despite having all the computers to do so. Finally, the concrete guy doing the foundation sucked, and so the floor was so out of level that the panels had to be ripped apart and then set back together after parts were cut. This all lengthened the build time a lot.
I have been researching this topic from a perspective of efficiency and total life-cycle energy expenditure (mine and dead dinosaurs). I'm leaning strongly toward MGO SIP construction for it's simplicity, flexibility and durability. MGO SIPs are virtually waterproof, rot-proof, insect proof and can be ordered as a 'kit house' with almost everything included to rise from a foundation to weather-tight on a single truck load. Why this, because Carpenter bees and termites have decimated my original site-sourced cabin in only a few years. You can investigate this option at: (I have no affiliation)
They are located in Miami Florida, ship mainly to Central and South America, are aligned to supplying small, highly efficient housing to third-world countries and disaster areas. The buildings are made of panels and can be assembled with minimal tools by 4 people in only a few days. (though some kind of crane to place roof panels would sure help).
This is the least expensive (but not cheep), most efficient, fastest self-build option I've found. Both panel faces are almost impervious to water and don't require outside siding or interior drywall. The roof doesn't even require shingles or cladding. The company offers a water-based (really gooey) paint that can be used to finish the outside and roof, like what is used on mobile-home roofs or new commercial buildings. As much as I'm against using petrochemicals, this system should last 100 years (though that is still unproven) with minimal inputs for heating or cooling. That said, ain't nothing "natural" about it.
Sorry, for all the 'qualifiers', think I'll shut-up now
I just wanted to let you know that I work for a company that sells manufactured homes. (Single wides, double wides, and modulars). If any of you are considering the purchase of a factory built home and you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I am not looking to make a sale here. This is Permies. We share information for free. I am just offering to answer questions and share expertise. FYI. ...several factories offer R40 and R50 as an option in the attic. 200-400 bucks.
Chris Carl wrote: I have been researching this topic from a perspective of efficiency and total life-cycle energy expenditure (mine and dead dinosaurs). I'm leaning strongly toward MGO SIP construction for it's simplicity, flexibility and durability. MGO SIPs are virtually waterproof, rot-proof, insect proof and can be ordered as a 'kit house' with almost everything included to rise from a foundation to weather-tight on a single truck load. Why this, because Carpenter bees and termites have decimated my original site-sourced cabin in only a few years. You can investigate this option at: (I have no affiliation)
They are located in Miami Florida, ship mainly to Central and South America, are aligned to supplying small, highly efficient housing to third-world countries and disaster areas. The buildings are made of panels and can be assembled with minimal tools by 4 people in only a few days. (though some kind of crane to place roof panels would sure help).
This is the least expensive (but not cheep), most efficient, fastest self-build option I've found. Both panel faces are almost impervious to water and don't require outside siding or interior drywall. The roof doesn't even require shingles or cladding. The company offers a water-based (really gooey) paint that can be used to finish the outside and roof, like what is used on mobile-home roofs or new commercial buildings. As much as I'm against using petrochemicals, this system should last 100 years (though that is still unproven) with minimal inputs for heating or cooling. That said, ain't nothing "natural" about it.
Sorry, for all the 'qualifiers', think I'll shut-up now
Thank you for posting about SIPs - sounds very interesting!
Another rather inexpensive (comparatively speaking) option is to get a pole barn kit so you have the roof, doors, windows and load-bearing support taken care of. Opt out of their siding material and DYI with straw bale infill walls.
Its a traditional stick-build home (wooden 2x4s, etc.). They provide all the pre-cut lumber & fasteners & instructions, and ship it to your site.
You build it like IKEA furniture. Once its dried-in, you insulate the walls and finish it yourself.
For the size, its cheap! For eco-friendlness, pre-cut kits offer minimal waste, and tiny homes are eco-friendly anyway. We've had nothing but 100% positive experience with them.
We have longer-term plans to build a straw bale house, with clay-plaster floors and walls, but that's 5years out.
I'm also exploring this, and I've found these 3 sites; 2 of which are in Georgia (related companies, maybe?)
They are all selling DIY kits using Greenix SIPS... looks like on the order of $14,000 for a 24x24 DIY shell for the first 2. Smaller ones available. livablepods has some slicker versions but no prices posted, so probably expensive.
https://www.diypods.com/ http://sipsupply.com http://livablepods.com
I'm wondering if anyone has experience with any of these.
Stick buildings are normal in Australua.
One thing I can suggest, which I gained from Canada, was to use 6 inch deep walls for enhanced insulation,
I notice your kit has 4 x2's and by adding extra thickness, it may be easy to improve the build.
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