The Inside Outside Guys: Manufactured homes and the future

The idea is not new.

Author John Steinbeck wrote about it in the 1950s with his book, "Travels With Charlie" and architect Moshe Safdie designed a community of 146 residences for the 1967 Montreal Expo.

What we refer to is both modular and mobile housing.

In the '50s, it was common for many laborers to follow seasonal jobs around the country.

One option was to literally take their homes with them in the form of a mobile home towed behind the family vehicle.

You might remember Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in "The Long, Long Trailer," a movie about a young couple and the tribulations of having a portable domicile.

Today, the terms “mobile” and “manufactured” are often used interchangeably, but more correctly they are differentiated by a mobile home having permanent axles and a hitch, whereas a manufactured home is meant to be moved on temporary wheels from a place of assembly to permanent installation and anchorage on a foundation.

Most of the homes in this country are stick-built on-site — where bulk piles of lumber are individually measured, cut, and assembled.

Due to variables in weather, these types of homes are allowed to dry out once the frame is complete and out of the elements. This process allows for potential shrinkage from wet swelling.

Another popular type of home construction emerged in the '90s and early 2000s as panelized construction, PC.

In PC design, the future home is constructed in a factory setting wall by wall, structural frame only, then stacked on a truck which delivers it to the site where a crane hoists the individual panels onto the foundation for assembly by carpenter crews.

PC allows an entire house frame to be assembled in place in a day or two, shortening the schedule and minimizing the time the lumber spends exposed to weather.

This is also a labor-saving technique due to the benefits of assembly line strategy in the factory. Virtually any size or design can be accomplished with PC and the home is completed to building code requirements.

The next evolution of PC homes is manufactured housing, MH.

MH is built in a factory, completed section by completed section, right down to finish flooring, paint and trim. They may be single floor ranch styles or multistory homes.

A typical “double-wide” may be comprised of two sections 60 feet long that are transported to a lot and connected by an assembly crew.

The homes are typically vinyl sided with a sloped, shingled roof and full mechanical installation and thermal insulation in 2-by-6 exterior walls.

Code inspections are conducted as the home is built.

Depending on location, they may be built to a HUD standard or a building code standard, either of which produces a sturdy, beautiful, home that is both safe and comfortable.

Because they are built to a high standard of fit and finish, they are not giveaway priced, but savings can be realized by shortened on-site schedules and by the homes being placed on piles rather than a crawl space or basement.

Manufactured housing communities have sprung up throughout the country, with Metro Detroit being one of the top markets for them.

In some, a resident owns her lot but shares financial responsibility with other residents for common area and utility maintenance.

In other communities, the individual lots are rented by homeowners.

More than 90% percent of them are never moved from their original placement.

More than 21 million Americans reside in mobile or manufactured homes, and MH accounts for roughly 8.6% of new housing starts.

In 2023, 148 factories produced almost 90,000 MH units and there are currently around 43,000 MH communities in this country.

In an 85% satisfaction survey conducted recently, three-quarters of the respondents cited “affordability” as their primary reason for purchasing a MH.

With the shortage of new homes and skilled, on-site labor to build more, manufactured housing of various types is destined to lead the way forward.

Homes built by professionals like those you can find every day at insideoutsideguys.com.

For more advice, listen to the Inside Outside Guys every Saturday and Sunday on AM760-WJR from 10 a.m.-noon or contact us at insideoutsideguys.com.