Modular buildings and modular homes are sectional prefabricated buildings or houses

that consist of multiple modules or sections which are manufactured in a remote facility and then delivered to their intended site of use. The modules are assembled into a single residential building using either a crane or trucks.

Modular buildings are considerably different from mobile homes.  Off-frame modular dwellings differ from mobile homes largely in their absence of axles or a frame, meaning that they are typically transported to their site by means of flat-bed trucks; however, some modular dwellings are built on a steel frame (on-frame modular),

 which can be used for transportation to the site.

Many modular homes are of multi-level design, and are often set in place using a crane.

Modular buildings have a wide variety of uses.

They will either be used for long-term temporary or permanent facilities.

 Such uses include construction camps, schools and classrooms, civilian and military housing needs,

 and industrial facilities. Modular buildings are a perfect solution in remote and rural areas

 where conventional construction may not be reasonable or even possible.

Other uses have also been found for modular buildings including churches, health care facilities,

 sales and retail offices, fast food restaurants and cruise ship construction.

Modular components are typically constructed within a large indoor facility on assembly lines.

 Such facilities use an assembly line track to move the modules from one workstation to the next.

 Building inspectors are on site to supervise the construction

 and ensure that all building codes are adhered to during assembly.

The modules that will combine to form the house are assembled off-site in a factory.

 These modules can take one to three months to be constructed depending upon their content and complexity

 but often take as little as 10 days actually to construct when they are first started.

 Then they are transported to the building site where a crane is brought in to assemble the modules together.

The placement of the modules together generally takes several hours or days.

Once assembled, modular buildings are essentially indistinguishable from typical site-built homes.

While mobile manufactured buildings often decrease in value over time,

a well-built modular should have the same longevity as its site-built counterpart, increasing in value over time.

According to manufacturers,

modular homes are generally designed to be initially stronger than traditional homes.

 For example, replacing nails with screws and adding glue to joints.

 This is to help the modules maintain their structural integrity

as they are transported on trucks to the construction site.

When FEMA studied the destruction wrought by Hurricane Andrew in Dade County Florida,

they concluded that modular and masonry homes fared best compared to other construction.

Modular constructions can be built to multi-story heights.

 Motels and other multi-family structures have been built using modular construction techniques.

 Exterior wall surfaces can be finalized in the plant production process

 or in the case of brick/stone veneers field applications may be the builders choice.

Roof systems also can be apart of – separate from – applied in the field after the basic installation is completed.

Modular buildings are very affordable because of the factory construction of these buildings.

 They are very cost effective compared to conventional construction.

 These units are typically constructed in an enclosed facility,

therefore weather is not a factor in the construction time line.

Material delivery fees are also out of the equation

 because an ample amount of material will always be available at the facility,

 as opposed to being delivered in limited quantities to the job site,

nearly eliminating construction delays, and theft of building materials from the site.

Such dwellings are often priced lower than their site-built counterparts

and are typically more cost-effective to builders and consumers.

These new homes can be constructed in less time than it takes to build a home "on-site".

 Recent innovations allow modular buildings to be indistinguishable from site built structures.

^{THE BENEFITS ARE CLEAR...}

THE POTENTIAL IS OBVIOUS...