Building a home can be exciting, but the stress of unforeseen expenses, delays, and damages can be quite frustrating. If you’re looking to have a modular home built, you might be wondering what the process is like and whether or not it’s OK to build your future dwelling during the coldest time of the year.
Typically, building a traditional, stick-built house during the winter months does bring on additional challenges. Because the homebuilding crew has to work in frigid weather and with less daylight, this may slow things down a bit.
Modular homes are mostly pre-built in a controlled environment, and advanced technology — like climate control — allows construction to take place anytime, even during the coldest months of the year. In this article, we’ll look at some of the cold-weather issues builders face and why those issues are avoided by choosing to build modular homes instead of traditional stick-built homes.
Common Issues With Building During the Winter
Homebuilders typically face several cold-weather issues when they construct a house during the winter months. You may be wondering whether these same issues impact the building of winter modular homes. Before we get into that, let’s look at some common cold-weather issues homebuilders face.
Frigid Conditions
While some builders will agree to follow your home construction schedule, wintry weather conditions might bring several limitations. Daylight hours, for example, are shorter during the winter months, so they’ll have less time to work. Another issue involves the workers. While there may be enough of them available to build your house, they have to wear bulkier clothing, which can cause some slow down and lead to less work completed.
Also, you’ll likely need to pay more to cover extra costs, like utility, hours, and rentals. When the home’s ready for electrical and plumbing installations, for example, there will need to be some sort of temporary heating set up so that can complete work inside.
Safety Problems
It’s often more dangerous to work during the winter, especially if the temperatures dip really low and conditions are very windy. If that happens, workers can’t stay outside too long. Homebuilding when the temperature is -20-degrees Fahrenheit, for instance, can lead workers to develop frostbite, hypothermia, and trench foot.
High winds are also bad for the property, as they can dislodge ongoing construction, knock over high loads, and destroy scaffolding.
Reasons To Build Your Modular Home During Winter
Given the issues listed above, building a traditional house during the winter months might not be the best option for many. A modular home might be a better option. Here are a few benefits of building your modular home during winter.
Low Building Costs
Modular home construction is more convenient and cost-effective than a traditional, stick-built home. Since assembly takes place in a factory, you’ll get a stable price rate on building materials and accessories. That’s because existing preservation methods and the application of efficient technology help lower costs.
Unlike traditional housing construction, which faces sudden changes in order rates, the cost of building a modular home is predictable. The builder knows exactly what materials your modular home will need and makes appropriate preparations for it. Also, there won’t be a need for temporary heating when it’s time for the crew to work on-site, and you won’t have to worry about materials getting soaked in the rain or snow.
Generally, building a modular home — even in wintertime — beats the bigger price increases that are commonly tied to a traditional, stick-built home, especially during the summer months. With modular homebuilding, contractors can give you a more accurate estimated timeframe for construction and assembly.
Off-Site Construction
During the winter, homebuilders working on a traditional house usually experience delays and additional expenses because of unbearable cold or the risk of frigid rain. These issues add to the cost of building for the intending homeowner. But it’s not the same with modular construction, which is efficient even during the winter.
With a modular home, builders can control the weather and temperature in the factory, leading to quick building duration and cost savings. Since construction occurs indoors, harsh outdoor weather conditions — like blizzards — don’t affect it. The materials remain dry, and your home is weather-tight upon arrival at the lot.
Also, modular home construction takes place simultaneously with other building processes, like site excavation and foundation construction, and this saves building time. With a trusted builder like Century Homes, you can be sure of consistency and quality, as each module or section of your home is constructed separately in a weather-proof environment that preserves both material resources and human energy.
Quick Assembly
One of the hallmarks of a modular home is fast construction. Because the parts are pre-made, it only requires on-site assembly. The modules of the house are ready, so the house itself is about 80% complete by the time it arrives on your home site. This means that it will only take workers a few days to assemble your home, lessening the risk of weather delays.
Also, since home assembly and the excavation and foundation processes occur simultaneously, your building completion takes place before you know it. So if you’re working within a specific time frame or just want your turn-key home ready as soon as possible, modular home construction is the way to go — no need to wait another season before you get things done.
Time To Build Your Dream Home Whenever You Want
There’s no need to delay building your dream home because of a cold winter if you take advantage of modular home construction. Building a modular home involves less labor, provides outstanding quality control, and is cost-effective all year round.
With an experienced and competent modular homebuilder like Century Homes, you won’t need to wait until summer to build the house of your dreams. We are committed to guiding you through the entire building process, so you won’t experience the common problems that accompany building during particular times of the year.
Our climate-controlled factory enables us to build modular homes following simultaneous building processes in all seasons at a lower cost and according to your schedule. If you have any questions about how to build modular homes, choosing designs, or a new modular home project you’re considering, contact us today!
