Midwest Eco-Design - Your home for eco-friendly construction, remodeling & housing choices including prefrabricated homes, cabins and other sustainable material choices.

The blog Fresh & Cool Pics has a great collection of unique prefab homes, including photos.  Check it out for some lovely modular inspiration.

1.  Blu Homes http://www.bluhomes.com/

Founded in 2007, Blu’s mission is to provide American home buyers and institutions with buildings that are healthful, economical, and beautifully designed, and to do so in a convenient, predictable and customer-centered way. Blu Homes, Inc. is a privately owned business that uses quality design, sustainable materials and leading technology. The designs reflect the unique building surroundings, and contain only healthful construction materials and treat the natural world with care. Blu’s building process not only respects the land but also the client’s time and budget. Blu builds high-quality homes faster, in a controlled factory environment that minimizes waste. Blu Homes are currently being built in the Colorado Rockies, California woodlands, Carolina coast and towns throughout New England and for corporations from coast to coast.

2.  Linwood Homes http://www.linwoodhomes.com/

Linwood is one of the largest brand name suppliers of high end custom homes in North America. They provide site specific design, premium building materials, technical expertise and practical construction options.

Customers can also take advantage of Linwood’s proven building system which allows customers to maintain control over the entire building process. The system is based on planning ahead and making informed decisions about the building process. This gives you a more predictable project outcome.

Linwood can help in this way because it is a knowledge based business rather than just a traditional material supplier. This means customers can get the best possible result in terms of lifestyle and appraised value with less risk.

3. Stillwater Dwellings http://www.stillwaterdwellings.com/index.htm

Stillwater Dwellings was founded by 2 architects, and 1 builder/developer on these fundamental principles:

a. Quality, contemporary, prefabricated homes do not need to be expensive
b. Building a new home should be fun, not stressful
c. Eco-friendly building is not a luxury, it is our responsibility
d. Construction costs can (and should) be predictable. Careful, thorough planning and intelligent building processes make this possible.
e. Less ‘house’, more ‘home’

4.  HOM https://www.homlifestyle.com/

HOM Dwellings are modular homes that are built in the Silvercrest Homes factories in Corona and Woodland, California, and delivered virtually anywhere in the Western United States. Typically delivered in 8 to 10 weeks from time of purchase, HOM features 3 models from 1,000 square feet to 3,600 square feet. You can select and customize your HOM and then work with KAA Design Group to choose the right specialized Contractor to handle all the aspects of the transaction, delivery, and setup on your property. KAA Design Group brings over 20 years of industry insights and each purchase of HOM is accompanied by an expert KAA Project Manager that guides you through each step.

5. KRDB Design http://www.krdb.com/

KRBD is an Austin, Texas-based design/build firm that specializes in affordable, modern custom homes and speculative multifamily developments. Now the company is making its work even more accessible with ma Modular. “With ma, we’re continuing the idea of building quality, modern spaces efficiently that was started with our design/build firm here in Austin,” says architect Chris Krager, KRDB’s principal and co-owner of ma Modular. “Ma enables us to expand our reach.”

Offered at a base price of $150 per square foot, ma is “the promise of prefab fulfilled,” the company says. It’s available in two module sizes—36 feet by 15 feet and 60 feet by 15 feet—and has three available floor plans, which make up the six building blocks of the system. The modules can be linked in an unlimited variety of ways, including one- and two-story configurations, allowing future homeowners to customize to their specific needs and site.

Like most modular houses, ma homes are delivered fully equipped with plumbing, electrical fixtures, and appliances and will require minimal site work. Each home features 2X6 exterior walls, metal roofs, R30 to R50 roof insulation, low-E insulated windows, bamboo floors, and solid surface countertops, among other amenities.

Maples Homes, a prefab housing sales & construction company that sells prefabs throughout the US and Canada, has documented IN-DEPTH through photos the building process of their “Cambridge” model home.  From the lot digging, to the roof, to the exterior and interior build, to the final product it’s a great visual of the process.

Here are a few examples, please click here to view the entire gallery & process. (at the site, click on “Build Process” > “Building the Cambridge”.)

1. Less Waste, More Materials:

While material waste is virtually eliminated, prefab homes typically use 25-35 percent more material in the structure of the home itself. While the overall material consumption is probably a wash, the extra building materials of a prefab home go to good use. The factory-setting allows builders to construct a stronger home with fewer areas of vulnerability. A FEMA study found that wood-frame modular homes stood up better than stick-built homes to the devastating winds of Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

2. Less Labor, More Quality-Control:

It’s not so much less labor as it is lower labor costs. Construction workers for prefab homes will go the home-building factory and can work on several homes at once, cutting down on commuting and wasted time. Meanwhile, inspectors are present during each step of the building process, ensuring a seamless structure, built-to-last. Indeed, panelized and modular homes, like conventional home and unlike mobile homes, will appreciate in value over the years.

3. Less Wait, More Money:

According to the National Association of Home Builders, “Once all building materials arrive at the factory, some manufacturers can assemble modules in a single day. Typically, a two-story, 2,500 sq. ft. home can be constructed in a factory in under a week.” Of course, this doesn’t mean you can move into your new home in just one week, but you probably won’t need to wait 6-8 months, either. This streamlined construction also translates into building costs between 10-35 percent less than a comparable stick-framed home.

Remaining obstacles for the prefab industry in the current Economic conditions:

The biggest obstacle is the startup capital prefab home builders require. Says Barry Bergdoll, curator of the architecture and design department at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, “If someone wants to launch a prefabricated house system, even with its possibilities of customization, they have this enormous upfront investment in machines and a factory, etc., so there are all sorts of odds set against someone who wants to do this.” This obstacle has been exponentially compounded by the tightening of credit markets, especially to small businesses, and the uncertainty of the home building industry at-large.

Yet, as these economic realities subside—taking several conventional home building companies with them—a sizable gap will remain for prefab housing to occupy. The development of computer-aided architectural design and optimizing monetary and material savings will be key, so a new generation of prefabricated housing can finally deliver on its promise of revolutionizing the home building industry.