These days there are hundreds of prefab homes manufacturers all around the world, but what is it that makes any prefab home manufacturer a good choice? As many are very similar to one another there should be some differentiating factors that could expose each one’s pros and cons.
The things that make a prefab homes manufacturer a good choice are mainly the input of materials, the actual process, and the outcome, all with great consideration of environmental impact, sustainability, durability, personal reasons, and finance.
These could be broken into smaller factors which I will do in this post, yet the main determining factors are as described above. Thus, finding out how each manufacturer is holding against others is highly beneficial in making the right choice.
I must say that a good choice is the one that potentially answers most of your requirements, however, some factors could be deemed of higher or lesser importance to each of us. Because of that, those factors can only serve as a guideline to what you should be looking for in a prefab home manufacturer and with that make a good decision on your own.
The truth is that no one manufacturer would rank similarly for two different landowners, as such, the process of decision making is what counts for each of us. I will elaborate on the factors each of you who are considering buying a new prefab home should check.
Without further ado, let’s go down the rabbit hole and see what’s coming out on the other side.
Prefab Homes Process Inputs To Keep An Eye For
These factors would be the things that happen before the process begins, such as design, materials choice, and others.
Type Of Prefab Homes
For starters, deciding as to what type of prefab home is best suited for your needs is very important. Because with this information one could start and focus on the right manufacturers.
However, for most of us, there probably will be more than one type of prefab house that could potentially suit our needs. With that said knowing what each type of prefab house is super important, if you need more information as to what types of prefab homes are there check out my post.
The type of prefab home will determine many aspects that will be considered later as part of the decision making regarding each manufacturer. This is the result of different systems and approaches for each type of house. Thus, the determining factors will change with each type of prefab.
Prefab Home Design Factor
Design of the prefab home, not only how it looks but the way it performs. Meaning is the home designed to be eco-friendly and sustainable or is it just looks good.
All of us have a soft spot for beautiful things, though for each of us the definition for beautiful could be entirely different it is still a very sallow way of choosing a home. Many manufacturers will have amazing designs on their web pages, where in reality those are just concepts that serve as inspirational materials for the customers.
But, how the home looks do not say anything about its performances, as such the design fetcher to look for is eco-friendliness. Each home design can become more environmentally friendly and by that serve us better.
Designing an eco-friendly prefab home is a combination of several factors which I will explore here, but from the beginning, one should look for a home that will suit the environment it will be situated in. Which if designed to fit the environment will most likely be more eco-friendly both to the user and the environment.
Lastly, think of an eco-friendly home to be one with several openings for air and sun, thicker walls to accommodate proper insulation, smart use of windows to enable nice ventilation, and even systems to manage the house’s waste. Those are examples as to what an environmental prefab home might include, but there are more to it and as such should be properly explained by the manufacturer.
Sustainability And Quality Of The Materials
Each prefab home manufacturer will put in the spotlight their best work, however, for many, there are many levels of quality that could be chosen. Additionally, all materials and systems must stand with local building codes and regulations, which the manufacturer must make sure they do.
These levels of the prefab home built quality are a major part of making the right decision. Thus, understanding what goes into building the prefab home is a must.
Understanding the differences in quilty can be sometimes very obvious while on other occasions harder. Don’t get intimidated by technical information, after all, there is a simple way to explain everything. For example, which insulation is best for a prefab home would be determined by the environment and the future use of the house.
However, there is a clear advantage for each insulation material over the rest, which, in other words, some aren’t as good as the rest no matter what.
Make sure to explore what are the options that are available for your region from each manufacturer. Then go and learn about those materials, the better you’ll know the better your prefab home will be.
The quality of the materials will determine how good of a decision you took, as it has a direct impact on the durability of the prefab homes.
A good example is again insulation materials, however, the lower quality materials can either enable vapor to pass through (bad for the rest of the house) or even soak water and vapor into the air gaps of the material itself (what very quickly ruins the material).
The difference is clear, those materials will have to be replaced after a very short period, while others might be more expensive materials that would survive longer and make the prefab home much nicer to live in and will save money in the long term.
Lastly, the sustainability of the materials can be also linked to how they were made, meaning, how harmful their production is to the environment. Each industry has environmental impact scales that show how harmful each factory or material is to the globe.
Make sure to check what materials go into building each prefab home.
Personality Of The Manufacturers
People are people, and prefab homes manufacturers are at the end of the day people. Another factor for you to consider is the personality of the people you will work with to create your prefab home.
If you find the manufacturer to be unpleasant now then it most likely will be the case in the future. As a result try to find out who will be the contact person, have a conversation with them, and get a general feeling.
Finding out later during the construction process that you can’t really talk to anyone, or worse, that no one is there to listen could be a big problem.
Prefab Homes Construction Process Things That Impact Your Decision
These factors are in fact what each manufacturer is doing during the production period. It can be anything from waste disposal and reuse to weekly progress reports. Whatever you think should happen during this time is something to keep an eye on when choosing a prefab manufacturer.
Sustainability Of Each Prefab Home Factory
The ability to impact the earth as little as possible is one all factories must aspire towards. The global climate crisis should be part of the agenda for each of us because only then could we make a difference towards a better environment.
As we try to do everything we can like banning plastic bags and other products as such, so should the industries that serve us do. The prefab homes manufacturers are without a dought doing a lot to make their products greener and better, and by building a prefab home instead of a stick-built one they save about 50 percent of the pollution.
How each factory produces is no secret and many manufacturers are inviting future costumers to their facilities to get the best impression first hand. Go, take a tour whenever possible to see for yourself whether they do what they claim they do.
Ask the manufacturers if a tour at the facility is possible, ask to know if they are using any green energy sources, ask if the waste is being recycled or dumped properly. The more you ask the clearer the picture would be.
Do not be shy to ask the right questions regarding the factory’s environmental footprint, if those manufacturers are doing unethical things the costumers should vote by going with other prefab homes manufacturer. This will lead to a change for the better, the factory that would be less harmful and all of us on earth with a cleaner environment.
Availability Of Each Manufacturer
It is true that if you found a prefab home design you fancy which is also sustainable and environmental friendly then this manufacturer probably suits you. However, once you get into details you might learn that there is a waiting period and this whole build might be longer than expected.
Each manufacturer will have a schedule for the coming months and will be able to tell you when to expect your home. As the construction time of prefab homes is fairly accurate you should be able to get a realistic time frame for your home.
With that said, in life there are many different limitations, for example, the end of a lease contract, or that you sold your house and now bound with a date of evacuation. With those and other limitations, not all prefab home manufacturers would be able to supply you with a home as their construction line is busy.
Check if your time frame for finishing the prefab home project can be answered by the manufacturers you liked. With this information, you will be able to make a better decision for the construction of your prefab home.
The Manufacturers Previous Experience
With more experience the better the chances of getting the best results with the prefab home construction. Each manufacturer has different real-world experience and as such there could be different results to the process.
One could be the speed of the construction, as prefab homes are built faster than stick-built homes, this is a major reason many would choose prefabs. But, if the manufacturer has little experience with the type of prefab home your asking for then you should consider the possibility that it might take a bit longer.
Another thing is the quality of the build, with speed mistakes might happen. If the manufacturer is not experienced and the production line isn’t fully tuned up, the quality while pushing to stay inside the schedule might be harmed.
However experience only shows the past, and taking the chance with a younger and hungrier manufacturer might turn out to be great. Each new company wishes to prove itself in the market, and as such will do a lot more than older companies that are already strong and stable in the prefab construction market.
Make sure to ask for previous customers’ phones and recommendations. This can help with understanding what to expect from each manufacturer.
Transportation Isn’t So Important
Many manufacturers will base their services within certain boundaries based on distance. However, in many cases, the transport of the completed prefab homes (kits, panels, or else) to the site won’t be that high.
While for some the distance could be a determining factor the truth is that for most cases it doesn’t really matter. Thanks to many different transporting options like trucks, ships, and even air using planes you could deliver prefab homes from any factory to anywhere you like.
Of course, there are costs to every decision, but compared to the total costs of the prefab home the costs of shipment aren’t that major. Unless of course, one wishes to ship a prefab home from one end of the world to another.
Overall this should not be such an alarming factor that so many manufacturers present it to be. Yet, some homes will be harder to transport than others, which might limit some options, but could be checked early on.
Prefab Homes Construction Process Outcome To Be Considered
As with all things in life, the outcome of any process is a determining factor of every good decision.
Making the right decision will be weighed against the outcome, so until the prefab home construction and delivery aren’t complete it is hard to know whether or not you have made the right choice.
But when making the choice, to begin with, one can estimate how the process might turn out by using the following factors as guidelines.
The Durability Of The Home
A prefab home durability is something that will take years to understand, however, by talking to previous costumers and asking about maintenance and living quality one should get a good picture regarding each manufacturer’s home’s durability.
Assessing the quality of the materials used for the construction process will help determine how good the home will stand against both nature and time.
Understanding how durable the prefab home will be will help with choosing the best manufacturer for each of you.
As explained previously the quality will be different for each environment the prefab home will be located in. Cold and hot weather will not have the same impact on the home and as such the durability of the house will be different.
Take all that into consideration when exploring the different manufacturers you liked.
Prefab Homes Have Different Prices
Price has a big part in our choice between prefab homes manufacturers, it helps us put all of them into perspective. All the different services, materials, design changes, transport, local services, etc.
But, choosing the lowest price will not always be the right choice as it means some things might be missing from the prefab home. All the while, the highest price might be an overpriced prefab home which simply doesn’t worth it.
There should be a fine balance between all the factors above and the overall price you are willing to pay to have a completed prefab home on your property. This could include local payments for the government, local contractors, and more, but make sure to include all payments so you could have a clear and even picture.
Prefab homes can indeed be cheap to purchase, however, as mentioned one should check all the factors together to see what it adds up to. Only then the price for each prefab home will be clear and a comparison could be made.
So What Makes A Prefab Homes Manufacturer A Good Choice?
The combination of all the above factors will make choosing a manufacturer a well thought and clear decision process.
If one would put all those factors together for each manufacturer:
- Type of the prefab home
- Design of the prefab home
- Materials’ sustainability and quality
- The personality of the manufacturer
- Factory sustainability
- Availability of the prefab factory
- Previous experience
- Transportation options
- The overall prefab home durability
- Overall price
They would greatly help with making the right decision that will suit each one’s needs. As we all have different needs considering which prefab home manufacturer to go with will have to be an individual decision. And if one will follow those factors to find the best prefab manufacturer a good choice will surely come out of this process.
I hope this will help you find a suitable manufacturer for your new prefab home.
Until next time
My Alternative House