Breaking the Myths Surrounding Prefabricated Homes

For years, prefabricated, or prefab homes brought to mind the image of a plain, square, boxy-looking home - but not any more. Today‘s advances in computer-aided design (CADD), technically superior materials and state-of-the-art, controlled manufacturing techniques have contributed to the growing popularity of prefabricated homes. As a result, prefab homes are now among the most unique, beautiful and structurally sound homes available.

Prefab homes enjoy a number of advantages. Among them is the higher level of quality one can expect from having house components manufactured in an indoor, climate-controlled factory by experienced production workers as opposed to sub-contractors in the field. This allows adherence to strict manufacturing standards, rarely found in conventional stick-built homes.

There are plenty of other advantages as well. Perhaps the most dramatic is the shortened construction timeframe and significantly lower risk of on-site construction cost overruns due to less reliance on local labor. Additionally, delays from weather, damage, material vandalism and theft are also much lower with prefab houses. All of these items help make certain that the buyer's new home will be built correctly, on time, and on budget.

Today's prefabricated home buyers are no longer forced into a "one-size-fits-all" template for their new home designs. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Prefab homes are part of a new wave of marketing called "Mass Customization." New methods of designing homes paired with advanced technology make it possible to provide each customer with their own custom-designed home at a fraction of the cost of designing from scratch. As an added bonus, the design and architectural work of prefab homes (which can be as much as 10 percent of the total cost of conventional homes) is essentially free, or costs very little.

Topsider Homes (www.topsider.com) is a North Carolina-based prefab manufacturer who has been using mass customization to sell homes decades before it became popular in the mid-1990s. Since the late 60s, they have sold thousands of prefab homes throughout the world, utilizing Topsider's unique post and beam, panelized, prefabricated building system.

"Our business approach, combined with our unique building system, allows customers nearly unlimited design flexibility, including features like floor-to-ceiling windows and vaulted or cathedral ceilings that would otherwise be structurally impossible or cost-prohibitive," says Sheldon Storer, President of Topsider Homes.

Prefabrication allows innumerable design features. and indeed, there are many different types of prefabrication, a term that broadly implies that parts or components are made elsewhere for assembly on site. The companies that make such homes each use their own building system approaches, such as log homes, post and beam homes, modular homes, panelized homes and some that simply pre-cut materials, called pre-cut homes. Many offer a combination of several types of prefabrication.

And just as there are many different building systems, there are even more appearances and designs available for prefab homes depending upon the company and the market that it supplies. These range from relatively modest and inexpensive homes to multi-million dollar estates in some of the most desirable areas in the country and around the world.

All prefabricated homes share certain advantages, but what differentiates them is the market the homes appeal to, their unique design features and flexibility, and the services offered by each company.

"Our building system doesn't just involve the delivery of top-quality materials and components," says Storer. "We also offer 40 years of building systems expertise. Today our services include recruiting qualified contractors to assemble and build our clients' homes, assistance with local building officials, national financing, and start-to-finish assistance from in-house design and architecture to completed construction - usually at no additional cost."

The combination of material cost efficiencies and quality control are helping fuel the continued growth and popularity of prefab homes. Add in the flexibility of customizing such homes to better suit buyers' needs, the demands of their building sites and assistance with local building officials, and the public's perception of prefab homes as square boxes will continue to change.

Topsider Homes has been selling prefabricated post and beam panelized homes since 1968. For more information about prefabricated homes, modular homes, panelized homes and more, visit Topsider Homes:topsider.com.