The only difference between a traditional home and a manufactured home is the way the two kinds of home are made. While traditional houses are built on site, fabricated houses are made in pieces in a factory and then put together on the site. Like traditional houses, the value of manufactured houses depends upon the standard of materials and construction, the dimensions and the location.
Factory Beginnings
The individual pieces that make up a manufactured home are made in a factory and built to satisfy the federal requirements set forth by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. According to the Village Concepts Inc.. Manufactured Home Center, the segments of manufactured houses are usually 10 to 16 feet wide and no more than 76 feet .
Factors
Transporting the pieces of a manufactured home to its final destination is generally a two-part process. The pieces are set on a truck and carried to some retail centre where they are inspected for damage. If no harm is found, the pieces are trucked to the final destination. The International Association of Certified Home Inspectors encourages fabricated home buyers to obtain a warranty that protects the buyer from costs resulting from house damages brought on en route to the desired site.
Types
Manufactured homes are available in single-story or jazzy designs. Some manufactured houses are small, cheap units, while some are more spacious and high-end. Toolbase Services, a specialized information resource for house builders, notes that manufactured homes can be built as two-story boxes from the mill, which cuts down on the number of pieces transported to the final destination.
Prevention/Solution
My Great Home, a site devoted to informing manufactured home buyers, has many tips for increasing the durability of a manufactured home. One of them are choosing a shingle roof as opposed to a metal roof, picking vinyl siding rather than metal or wood, and upgrading plumbing fixtures to some durable material like porcelain-covered steel. According to Day Custom Manufactured Homes, modern manufactured homes continue as long as traditional houses if properly maintained.
Significance
Move.com notes that 28% of new single-family houses in the United States are factory-built houses. Around 18 million people reside in manufactured housing.