The thought of building your dream home can be an enticing one. What’s less exciting is the prospect of having to wait nine months (or more, depending on the weather) before getting to move into your new home.
Fortunately, there’s a faster and often more affordable way to build your dream home – build a modular home. Depending on your floor plan and design choices, you can move into your new house in significantly less time than if you were to choose a stick-built home.
The Time-Saving Advantage of Modular Home Building
Saving time is one of the most attractive benefits of choosing a modular home over a stick-built one. Instead of upwards of nine months to a year, modular homes typically take three to six months to complete. That’s due largely to the fact that builders construct modular homes in factories rather than on-site. Inclement weather and other issues don’t pose a concern.
As if a faster move-in date wasn’t enough, modular homes often cost less. And, while you don’t have 100% creative freedom, you still have plenty of options when it comes to customizations. For example, you can choose from various floor plans, finishes, flooring, and more. In some ways, having limited choices can simplify the decision-making process and help you avoid added stress.
How to Build A Modular Home: The Average Timeline
Now let’s take a look at the building phases. This way, you can be better prepared when it’s time to build your modular home. Keep in mind that your timeline will vary by your individual home-building factors.
1. Planning and Design
The planning and design phase occurs before any construction begins. A big part of the planning process is setting your budget. Reach out to a few builders for quotes. Additionally, if you plan to finance the build, you’ll want to go over your monthly budget. That can help you determine how much you can comfortably afford. The planning process can take about two to four weeks.
After planning, it’s time to design and customize your new modular home. While you might not have complete creative freedom, a quality modular home builder will work with you to design a home that meets your needs. Additionally, many builders may be able to shift walls to make a room larger or alter the placement of specific fixtures within the home. The best builders want you to have your dream home, and they’ll offer plenty of options to help you make that happen.
Once you make your design and customization choices, your builder will create the final plans for your home. If you approve and give the go-ahead, your project will move on to the next phase. Overall, the design process can take approximately one to three weeks.
2. Building Your Modular Home
The building phase is the longest part of building your modular home (but that timeframe is much shorter than for stick-built homes). It begins after you approve your plans and secure financing for your new home if necessary.
A majority of your modular home’s construction takes place in a factory. With everything getting built and assembled indoors, your builder doesn’t have to worry about poor weather conditions such as rain, heavy winds, or snow. The building areas are also designed for both worker safety and efficiency, which contribute to a faster build time. Depending on your specific floor plan, customizations, and any upgrades, you can expect the building process to take anywhere from one to four months.
As your builder manufactures and assembles your new home, their team is also working hard to prepare your property. In other words, some of the building does occur on-site. They’re digging the lot and laying the foundation on which your modular home will rest. They’re also preparing such essentials as:
- Plumbing
- Septic
- Electrical pre-work
As these steps can also take several weeks to complete (and completing them is dependent on weather conditions), completing these steps during the building process can save valuable time.
There’s a common misconception that modular homes are lower in quality than homes built entirely on-site, but that’s just a myth. The best builders use the highest-quality materials and adhere to strict building standards. They also take every step necessary to build your home to all state and local codes.
3. The Finishing Touches
After preparing your property and completing the build of your modular home in the factory, it’s time to move on to the finishing touches. First, your builder will carefully transport your new home to the site. They lay the house on the foundation and make sure everything is assembled and functioning properly. An inspector will do a final inspection to ensure there are no major issues, too. That inspection should be brief, because they also monitor the building process periodically.
Between delivery, final assembly, and the inspection, the finishing stage could take a few weeks to complete. Afterward, you’ll be able to do a walkthrough to be certain your modular home meets your expectations. If it does, you’re set to get the key and move in.
Factors That Can Affect Your Timeline
The exact time it takes to build modular homes depends on various factors. For instance, if you want to move walls for a larger kitchen, incorporate premium upgrades, or make other changes, you can generally expect your timeline to be a bit longer.
If you choose to stick with a specific floor plan and elect more common design elements, you’ll likely be able to move in more quickly. Regardless of your choices, your builder should keep you updated throughout the process.
Build Your Dream Home in Less Time with a Modular Home by Century
It may take a few months to build a modular home, but it’ll take much less time than having one built entirely on-site. It’s hard to know exactly how long it will take for your dream home to become a reality, but your builder can provide a more accurate timeline based on your unique choices.
Are the time-saving benefits of a modular home piquing your interest? The process starts with an experienced modular home builder like Century Home Builders. With a range of floor plans and customization options, we can help you create the home of your dreams and turn it into a reality much sooner.
To view our floor plans or contact us for more information, visit Century Home Builders today!
