Modular House Styles

Modular House Styles

By now you have come to realize that the modular building system does not represent a style or type of house, but rather how the house was created. In fact, the modular building system does not limit the architectural appearance of a home, unless the builder or home buyer makes that decision. And while the modular building system does have certain limitation, an experienced general contractor utilizing the modular building system knows how to incorporate other types of construction, such as post and beam to deliver the home you want with the highest quality, most cost effective construction practices.

One of the biggest complaints against the modular home building system is that the homes built are plain and unexciting. And it often is true. But not because the home was build using the modular building system. Invariably, once the home was built, the home buyer decided not to add any of the "extras" that turn a house into a special home. This is such an important aspect of building or buying a home, that the next chapter addresses in-depth how your new home can be converted from a "plain-Jane" to the neighborhood showcase.

Ranch

It is difficult to determine, but most likely the first home built using the modular building system was a ranch style home. The modular building system made its first big start right after the Second World War. GI's were returning from overseas and the need for housing was acute. And with this start, modular housing became associated with the entry level, starter home market. Even with this modest beginning, the ranch style home represents a large percentage of the homes built by modular home manufacturers.

From a construction standpoint, the ranch style home offers a very efficient, quickly completed house. Most often, ranches consist of two separate modules. Each module comes with a unique and highly sophisticated folding roof system. When the house is delivered to the job site, the folding roof is unfolded, and then placed on the foundation by a crane.

Two Story

Over the last ten years, the construction of two story homes has increased tremendously. Most often, two story homes consist of four separate modules. On the first floor, the modules have a flat top. This flat top serves only to carry the ceiling for the first floor. At the job site, workers first place the first floor modules on the foundation. Then the second floor modules go directly on top of the first floor.

It's interesting to note that before the second floor is placed on top of the first floor, from the exterior, a second floor module looks almost identical to a typical ranch style home. The only indications that give it away is the lack of doors.

And just like a ranch, the entire home can be up and water tight in a single day. When an average stick-built two story can take three or four months to complete, it's amazing that in just a single day a two story home can be placed on the foundation and be well over 90% completed.

Tri-Level

Tri-level homes can be found throughout the United States. By offsetting the living area from the bedroom area, a tri-level home combines many of the benefits of both the ranch style home and the two story home.

The general layout of a tri-level consists of two distinct areas.  The first area, containing the  living room, dining room, kitchen, and sometimes the family room, consists of a ground level single story section similar to a ranch style home. And just like a ranch, using the modular building system, the ground level section is built in two sections. The bedroom area is elevated half way between a typical first and second floor in much the same way a split level is raised.  The elevated area is most often rotated 90 degrees to the lower area.  This second area also is constructed in two modules.

Split-Level, Bi-Level, Raised Ranch

Many people like the single floor ranch style living but want their home to have a different look. To meet this need, many derivations of the ranch style house have been created. One of the most common is the split level home. In some areas of the country, it is called a bi-level.

The hallmark of a split-level or bi-level home is a shallow basement. Whereas a full basement, or crawl-space allows a ranch style home to be slightly above ground level, a split-level basement only goes down half-way. The basement now consists of a half-height concrete wall with the balance of the wall framed out to match the house. Perhaps the biggest advantage of a split-level is the ability to install windows in an otherwise under used basement. Many a homeowner has completed their split-level basements into functional and comfortable living space. The foundation cost for a split-level home is generally lower than full-height basement, but after the additional cost of building the wood frame basement wall is added in, the cost differential is minimal.

Cape Cod

Cape with no shed
One of the most popular homes is the Cape Cod, or Cape style house. While popular in the northeast, the Cape can be seen in almost any area of the country. Another, less exciting but more accurate name for the Cape is the "one and a half story" house. Basically, the Cape consists of a small, compact single floor home with a very spacious attic. The large attic offers the biggest draw for buyers of Cape style houses. The ability for the new home buyer to finish off the attic.

If you ask most people to compare a Cape and a ranch most likely they would all tell you they are completely different homes. But if you compare them from the perspective of a modular home builder, they are far more similar than different. Both homes derive from a single floor building structure. The major difference stems from the roof pitch or slope. Capes have a high pitched roof while most ranches have a lower pitch. Ranches most often are longer than Capes, but many Capes build have been quite long. And then, there have been ranches with high pitched roofs.

Just like the ranch style home, Capes usually are built from two modules. And just like the two story and ranch homes, the Capes are setup quickly thanks to the advanced roof engineering of the modular home companies. To erect a traditional style Cape, modular home manufacturers have developed numerous ways to build Cape roof systems that lie flat for transportation to the job site but go up quickly to ensure a water tight house by the end of the day. Different modular home manufacturers use different methods, but thanks to the diligence of the third-party inspectors, you can be assured that whatever method has been used, both the design and construction have been inspected and approved to met or exceed building codes.

Cape Cod with a shed dormer
Years ago, when a Cape owner needed more room upstairs, they would take out part of the roof line in the back of the house, install a new rear wall, and then replace the roof with a new lower pitched roof. Since this was the back of the house, the owner could be less concerned with the neighbors perceptions. So rather than using an expensive "A frame" dormer common in the front of a Cape, the owner built a simple sloping flat roof referred to as a shed. Small shed dormers often enclose a bathroom. Larger shed dormers enclose one bedroom. And for some, the entire back of the house is converted to a shed dormer. This is what is referred to as a full-shed dormer. To meet the existing front roof line in the middle, the new back roof line received a lower pitch. Today, many new capes are built from the beginning with a full-shed dormer.

Another way to think about a Cape with a full shed dormer is to envision a house where the front half is a single story Cape with a high pitched roof while the back half is a two story home with a low pitched roof.

Construction of a Cape with a full-shed dormer can be built using a variety of approaches depending on the needs and desires of the home buyer and builder. If the home buyer has plans to finish the home in the future, then the most appropriate method would utilize a two modules approach with the upstairs panelized. This two module approach is the most popular method of building Cape style homes with the modular building system.

Other alternatives include building full-shed capes as either three or four module homes. The three module homes build the back two sections as if it was a traditional two story home and matching it with the Cape front. A more unusual method is to build a full-shed Cape with four modules. In the four module cape, the back half is constructed in a similar manor as the two story home. The first floor of the front half is also built following the two story flat-topped module approach. The unusual aspect is with the building of the second story of the front of the home. Since the front roof line is a high pitched roof, this module is mostly roof. The four module offers the fastest way to deliver a completed full-shed Cape, but few modular home manufacturers offer it.

CONTEMPORARY

Everyone has their own idea of just what a contemporary home looks like. In fact, the contemporary style represents more what it is not. Contemporary homes are not Capes, two stories, ranches or saltboxes. But then again it is not uncommon to see a "contemporary Cape," or a "contemporary two story."

The topics that do seem to hold for all contemporaries includes wide open interior spaces, modern fixtures, and an above average number of windows. And of course, a scenic view of the ocean, or mountains helps.

Relying on the flexibility and customization of modular construction, building a contemporary home using the modular building system offers you perhaps the most efficient, cost effective approach. Utilizing the well trained in-house design departments of the modular home manufacturers, home buyers have access to an inexpensive way to explore design alternatives.