Author Topic: Northeast Modular home builders/dealers...experiences? (Read 1712 times)

Piston · « **on:** February 27, 2008, 08:50:14 pm »

I'm planning on having a modular home built within the next year for my land in the lakes region of NH. I've exhaustedly researched the pro's/con's and advantages/disadvantages, now its time to get some opinions. Have you had a modular home built or know someone who has? Were you happy with the dealer/builder? Anything you would do differently?
Also, can you recommend a builder/dealer that services NH, and why? More importantly, have you had any bad experiences with one and would recommend NOT using them??? Thanks for your help guys!

Dave Shepard · « **Reply #1 on:** February 27, 2008, 08:55:02 pm »

Welcome to the Forum! Do you know any of the Davidsons from your area? One is in excavation, and another is in carpentry. They've been hunting my land for more than 25 years.

Dave

pigman · « **Reply #2 on:** February 27, 2008, 10:54:31 pm »

There have been several "All American Homes" built iin my area in the last several years and most owners seem to be satisfied. My daughter had one built in 1999 and was very satisfied with the house. Almost all the people in my area use a builder out of southern Indiana even though they have a builder/dealer in this county. I believe the builder/dealer is more important than the manufacture.

Bob

Dave Shepard · « **Reply #3 on:** February 27, 2008, 10:59:19 pm »

It seems that once upon a time, a modular was a quick way to get a house up. I don't think that is the case anymore. I have had several friends build modular, and it has taken at least as long as stick built, and no cheaper. The last one it took them eight months to build it, it sat in their yard for two months waiting on a crane and crew, and another two to get the utilities hooked up, and that is for one without a finished upstairs. I hope the time factor has been accounted for in your equation.

Dave

pigman · « **Reply #4 on:** February 27, 2008, 11:16:05 pm »

Dave, you are correct in that a good modular is no cheaper than a stick built. As for the time factor, that is where choosing the dealer is so important. The last modular in this area took less than three months from order to move in. It was a two store with a basement. A good dealer will build the basement or foundation while the house is built at the manufacture. When I checked last fall, they could build and deliver a two story in three weeks or less. With the housing slowdown, I am sure most builders don't have a long waiting list.

Piston · « **Reply #5 on:** February 28, 2008, 10:16:09 am »

Dave - I sure do, timmy and groucho, they're friends of my fathers, in fact, my father used to hunt with them on your land as well, probably about 10 yrs ago or so, he hasn't been in quite a while....wow, what a small world! I have heard quite a few hunting stories from out your way, i here you have some great land out there...by the way, my dads name is bob ferruccio, do you remember him? i emailed him and he knows of you, like i said though he hasn't been out there for quite some time....

dave and pigman, thanks for the advice, anyone else have any good/bad experiences with modular?

jdtuttle · « **Reply #6 on:** February 28, 2008, 01:54:42 pm »

I'm a code officer in upstate NY and we have modulars go in all the time. Coordination is the key. Are you acting as the general contractor? If yes then you need to spend some time researching your subs. I have found the most sucessfull installations have been through companies that have their own installation crews. I'm not talking about sub-contractors that do the install but employees that work directly for the company selling the home.
Start with your code officer & find out what he requires in his jurisdiction. Make sure all contractors have workers comp or an affidavit from workers comp that they have no employees. Get estimates on all site work, utilities, septic and well if required. Add about 20% to all your costs. There are a lot more details but this is a good starting place. good luck,
jim

Dave Shepard · « **Reply #7 on:** February 28, 2008, 03:15:55 pm »

Piston, I sure do remeber him, but it has been a looong time since he's been out here. Lot's of good hunting land, but not so many deers around anymore. Didn't make it over to Tims place last fall, but I'm sure I'll see them around in the summer scouting.

Dave

Wasn't it your dad that wanted to hollow out a round bale and make it into a deer blind?

Piston · « **Reply #8 on:** February 29, 2008, 08:45:18 am »

jdtuttle-thanks for that info, i am going to act as the gc, well my father will be helping me a whole lot as he knows WAY more about it all than me, right now im starting to research individual builders, im definately going with one that does their own installation. im trying to find some people that have had their homes installed and are happy with the quality of the home. im looking for something that is built well, not necassarily the cheapest amount per square foot, i don't need a mansion, right now its just my wife and i, but we're planning on children in the next 2-3 yrs, we just want to be all settled in before the little ones...i've been back and forth with quite a few surveyors, trying to narrow that down to get the land surveyed when the snow melts...i will definately check with a code enforcer in the area, thanks for that advice.

dave, i think my father said that your dad's name was gary? he says hello by the way...

little Bark · « **Reply #9 on:** February 29, 2008, 09:19:44 am »

I am also at about the same stage as you are but I'm adding a large addition to my house. Not to throw any thing new at you but I am considering using sip panels. The benfits of these panels up where you live would far outweigh where I live. There is a guy that I work w/ that is building a house in N. PA with them and his builder basicly refuses to use anythig diffrent. Here is a link for one of the manf. there are several others but they are pretty much the same. They say you can put up a whohe house under roof in less then three days.

http://www.ibpanels.com/

Piston · « **Reply #10 on:** February 29, 2008, 08:19:51 pm »

little bark, i have thought a lot about the SIP's and have read a good deal on them, they sure do seem like the way to go, as i understand though, they are quite a bit more expensive than conventional insulation/siding. Is this the case? although im sure no matter how much more they are they would eventually be more cost effective in the long run, and i am planning on being there a long time, just trying to keep the initial cost at an affordable rate...

Dave Shepard · « **Reply #11 on:** February 29, 2008, 10:22:21 pm »

Piston, do you do any logging or milling? Do you run a for hire brush goat business?

Dave

Mr Mom · « **Reply #12 on:** March 01, 2008, 07:19:22 am »

Some banks group Modular homes with doubles wides togeather and dislike them.

Thanks Alot Mr Mom

jimw · « **Reply #13 on:** March 01, 2008, 09:31:25 am »

I recently put up a modular home built by Kieser building systems in Maine. http://www.keisermaine.com
The house was put up about 85 miles from where i live in the state of Rhode Island, local sales rep handled
building permits and and local hired labor. It was a very positive experiance and i would not hesitate to recommend
them. House was much less expensive than local stick built pricing.
Jim

Piston · « **Reply #14 on:** March 01, 2008, 10:45:11 am »

dave-the brush clearing goat business hasn't really exploded in the past few yrs like one would think

.... i don't do any milling yet but do plan to in the future, sure would be nice if someone around the area had some milling and logging knowledge they would like to pass on to a young buck

... so in the meantime, while im getting my brusheaters ready for the next big thing, im driving ships to pay the bills....

woody1 · « **Reply #15 on:** March 01, 2008, 02:20:46 pm »

One thing to check and double check. Make sure the fondation matches the home. There are two modulars in our small town that the fondation is larger than the home, one is my brother. If the dealer dose the fondation, no problem. If you get your own sub, make sure you dot your i's and cross your t's.

thecfarm · « **Reply #16 on:** March 01, 2008, 06:00:27 pm »

There is one in Poland,Maine on the Hard Srapbale Road.I have no idea the name.I've seen the ad in the paper,but just because I want it,I can't find it.There is a guy at work that is having one done by them.All that you need to do is supply the land and they do everything else.The only trouble they have had is too much snow and ice.

Dave Shepard · « **Reply #17 on:** March 01, 2008, 06:27:53 pm »

Piston, there's some millers in your area. Captain, and bandmiller2 should be somewhere near you. There's always plenty of people around the forum to answer your questions too. Just be careful, we might try and talk you into buying a mill and building your own house.

We'll have you up in Georgetown at the Jim Rogers Institute for Timber Framing.

Dave

Piston · « **Reply #18 on:** March 01, 2008, 09:05:15 pm »

haha, boy i can't tell you how many times i've thought about doing that, everyone in my family thinks i'm crazy for thinking i could build my own timberframe home from my own logs..... believe me if it weren't for the wife knowing it would take me forever, i'd have a brand new timberking throwin sawdust right now

little Bark · « **Reply #19 on:** March 03, 2008, 09:22:24 am »

The cost savings is that you use 40 - 50 % less timber w/ the sip panels and the labor cost are much lower. I don't know anything about what you are building but I'm sure that the extra cost is worth it. The problem I am having is that the builders are so set in there ways no one wants to even try them and there giving me pricing that is way out of line.

The timber frame builders use these panels alot.

Mortice · « **Reply #20 on:** March 03, 2008, 08:24:28 pm »

Piston,
Woody1 Had a good point. If you do choose to go the prefab route make sure you have the right size foundation! my buddy ordered a 28' wide unit and its about a foot and a half short of that! has a real nice ledge on the front of his house to sit a porch on.

Another thing. If your building in the lakes region its easy to get sucked into Camelot homes in Tilton. Dont do it. save yourself the agrivation.

On a side note, there is a Timber company in Alton NH right up by the lakes that does really nice work for good prices.

Dave Shepard · « **Reply #21 on:** March 03, 2008, 08:30:43 pm »

Quote from: Mortice on March 03, 2008, 08:24:28 pm

Piston,

On a side note, there is a Timber company in Alton NH right up by the lakes that does really nice work for good prices.

Timber frames, the original pre-fab.

Dave

Piston · « **Reply #22 on:** March 03, 2008, 08:46:31 pm »

Hey mortice, do you know if that place your talking about is Hunter Timber Framing? if so, do you know if the guys name is brad?

Mortice · « **Reply #23 on:** March 04, 2008, 08:48:37 am »

Hunter is the name of the company. I dont know his name. My buddy just got a quote from him just recently, said his prices were fair. he also said he called three days later and dropped his price 3 thousand.... I dont know if he took another look at it or what....

There are actualy a few companies here in NH for timber frames. You just need to do a little searching around. A lot of the smaller companies sometimes post on Craigslist, some it luck of the draw on a search engine... Some are more than expensive, some very good pricing, but in my opinion you need to look at the work to tell if its something you would be willing to pay for. I also know that a Timber Frame is going to be more expensive up front, but the finished value and efficency of you home will be much better than a modular. Dont get suckered into a frame that doesnt have traditional Mortise and Tennon work either, some companies are selling post and beam calling it a timber frame.

I ended up stick framing my house in the summer of 2005 because I didnt know better. I started looking for land in Pittsburg NH to put a camp on in the last two years with the intention of timber framing and Sips to keep it energy efficent while I am away. Plus, whats a camp if its just a 2x framed box in the woods.....

Now, after reading Sobon and Bensons books Im ready to put a timber shed up in the yard, add a breezeway and garage to my existing home build a camp and do it all on a sawmill I am designing..... Its a little bit of a sickness..... All these trees..... board feet calculations driving down the road...

Ed_K · « **Reply #24 on:** March 04, 2008, 09:10:21 am »

Not sure if a Lincoln Logs is modular or stick built? I bought a Lincoln Log cabin from a dealer in Rochester N.H. and had their contractor put it up. 3 1/2 days from deck to shingles, done. I oversaw the subs on concrete,septic,plumbing and elect. 4 mo total. Only thing I'd do different now is metal roofing. Love it everytime the snow slides off

.

thecfarm · « **Reply #25 on:** March 07, 2008, 11:52:05 am »

Here's another place for you

http://www.mainesource.com/

The workers are gaining now.The guy seems to be happy with thier work.The weather put things behind. Good luck.

Piston · « **Reply #26 on:** March 07, 2008, 01:08:43 pm »

Thanks for the reply, in my case the weather isn't hurting me at all as I won't be ready to build until about summertime. Right now I'm talking with surveyors to get the lot approved, i'm planning on doing all the excavation and land clearing myself. the driveway is pretty straightforward, small trees on a fairly level lot, so it shouldn't take too long (although will take twice as long as I am estimating

) and I have the equipment to do it. Can't wait to try out my new MS361 on that lot though

i just need to be careful not to get out of hand and cut too many trees since i don't know too much about which ones to cut/leave yet

but this forum is helping for sure....the last thing i wanna do is just go nuts felling trees and make a mess of the lot....

thecfarm · « **Reply #27 on:** March 07, 2008, 09:55:24 pm »

By weather I meant a couple snow,rain,sleet,ice,did I miss one,storms.They had to put the floor into the basement before anything could really get going.The cement plant was closed down.This put them behind a week.

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Author Topic: Northeast Modular home builders/dealers...experiences? (Read 1712 times)