May 2022 – FirstBuild Modular Homes

There is a lot of hype about prefabricated home building. It has become the new trend and the environmentally sustainable methodology that many homeowners want to adapt.

To look at an analysis about Modular home versus traditional home building, first we need to understand the market penetration of these construction methods.

The manufactured home industry owns the market share, homeowners and investors in realty sector are seeking the Modular home as it has over 15 benefits that traditional homes don’t offer.

Thought Co Modular Home Factory USA — Modular Home Factory USA

The Manufactured Housing Institute , based in the US where this technology is widespread, currently states that their products will decline site-built home costs by 10-35%, without any impact upon future appreciation, due to trade labour efficiencies, and their volume undertaking for construction materials, interior finishes, and appliances.

For a sense of perspective in the United States, 63% of all new housing is being built by builder-dealers who are given the contract and only 37% is still traditional on-site construction.

We need to understand the standardised practices, so that we may design and create home products that are competitive in the marketplace. In the context of COVID-19, such predictability is all the more important as the sector already faces a number of risk factors such as the risk of another wave of infections that could force traditional building sites to close all over again.

Stick-built or traditionally built homes

“Stick-built” homes are constructed on-site using tried-and-true homebuilding techniques. Each and every component, down to the timber and windows, is brought to the home’s permanent location and the home is manually constructed, much like a jigsaw puzzle.

The deciding factors while choosing either a Traditionally built home or a modular home:

Advantages of Modular Homes Over Site-Built Homes–

1. Quality.
One essential advantage of modular construction development over site-assembled is that modular homes are built with a higher level of quality control. Each module of the house is made in exactly the same manner each time, leaving out the risks of manufacturing or calculation errors. Each module goes through a rigorous quality control and inspection check before delivery to site.
Similarly, homes built in a factory are safe from any environmental damage that could potentially affect the construction process like rain, or excessive sunlight causing the wood to warp.

2. Cost-Effectiveness.
Modular homes are more affordable than site-constructed homes because of the efficiencies offered by factory manufacturing, economies of scale and efficient construction practices. The development cost is lower.

“There are various key advantages. One is the speed with which the housing projects are finished. Off-site manufacturing can help a housing project complete in almost half the time. In terms of lending, this timeframe is a great benefit. They can finance a development and get their lent money back quickly and they can certainly reinvest it elsewhere; this is to ensure reducing of the project risk.” Sarah Horden CFO and Group Development Director at Modulous

3. Construction speed and time taken.
Once each module is finished, it is transported to the site and placed on the site to be assembled into a completed home. With modular homes, about 95% of the building work is done in the factory and then the final assembling is completed on the land purchased.
The modular methodology is fast and easy to integrate because they are pre-built and require no onsite calibration.

4. Can withstand sudden weather changes.
Modular homes are built in a factory setting away from weather impacts. Quality control is easier and material, or labour shortages are not an issue. A Modular Housing factory doesn’t get rained off.

5. Certainty.
Pre-manufactured housing products also offers greater certainty. Traditional building is bound to see price inflations and schedules lengthening due to unforeseen events such as supplier issues and bad weather etc. Projects that use factory-made housing parts, on the other hand, tend to be accurately measurable, predictable, and pliable. They are hardly impacted by natural atrocities.

6. Sustainability as a way of living.
Modern prefab elements are designed with long-term sustainability in mind, including using data analytics to design homes with optimal energy use and storage. These homes are manufactured using materials that them at a comfortable temperature, reducing the need for extra insulation or cooling.

How smart construction has been transforming home-building after COVID-19

Prefab construction powered by digital technology can help us safely create sustainable, high-quality housing at a much faster pace and more cost effectively than traditional homes.

Using big data and artificial intelligence throughout the design and construction process is proven to transform the building sector and helps in providing sustainable, affordable housing for every homeowner.

The demand for high-quality housing is continuing to rise, especially in tier-3 cities Such as Auckland. Offering urban residents better and much more spacious accommodation is crucial for reducing overcrowding

Unlike traditionally built homes, prefab houses are assembled from components including roofs & walls that are built inside factories and delivered to the land for assembling. This helps make them cheaper and faster to build, the speed is the key factor here. Digital technology, including artificial intelligence, robotics and the Internet of Things, has also improved the design and production process. (Source-www.mckinsey.com)

Using smart digital technologies and prefab construction can halve the time of a project, compared to conventional building techniques. This productivity boost is of vital importance when it comes to meeting pent-up demand after the lockdown prevailed. Companies are using A.I to develop safety systems for worksites while constructing modular homes. AI is being used to track the real-time interactions of worker, machinery, and objects on the site and alert supervisors of potential safety issues, construction errors, and productivity issues. This is another key reason why modular construction is preferred over the traditional building.

As prefab construction gains popularity, data gathered from manufacturing and construction can be analyzed to further understand, optimize and standardize the process.

Dave Grant works for FirstBuild Homes www.firstbuild.co.nz

Are Modular Houses better in Earthquakes?

New Zealand is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. New Zealand has gone through the world’s most comprehensive seismic strengthening system. This new national system for managing earthquake-prone buildings in New Zealand came into effect on 1st July 2017. The new system concerns the owners of earthquake-prone buildings, territorial authorities (local councils), engineers, other building professionals and building users.

The incident in Christchurch in 2011 and some incidents overseas have shown that the failure of earthquake-prone buildings, or lands, can endanger lives.

New Zealand has had a progressive approach to improving standards for modern buildings and earthquake-resistant architecture since design standards for buildings were primarily introduced into New Zealand in 1935, following the Napier Earthquake. Advancements in the knowledge of seismicity, material properties and the response of buildings to earth-quaking have resulted in progressive refinements to requirements for the design and detail of buildings.

The system introduced on 1 July 2017 provides a guidebook and direction on how to manage the risks to public safety posed by existing buildings, including those constructed prior to the introduction of modern design standards. A building, or part of a building, is earthquake-prone if it will have its ultimate ability exceeded in a moderate earthquake, and if it were to collapse, would do similarly in a way that is likely to cause injury or fatality to persons inside or near the building or on any other neighbouring property, or damage to any other property situated nearby.

Territorial authorities determine if a building or part of a building is earthquake-prone using the EPB methodology, a document that sets out how territorial authorities identify potentially earthquake-prone buildings, how engineers partake in engineering assessments, and how territorial authorities determine whether a building or part is earthquake-prone and if it is its earthquake rating via thorough examining.

Methodology to detect whether the building is prone to earthquakes or not- EPB method

The methodology to identify earthquake-prone buildings sets out the criteria for accepting an engineering assessment, for recognising a previous assessment, and the basis for determining if a building or part meets the tests for being earthquake-prone.

If a territorial authority determines that a building is earthquake-prone, it needs to:

Assign an earthquake rating for that building,
Issue an EPB notice to the owner to display prominently on the building.
Publish the building information on the EPB register.Assigning an earthquake rating helps people to understand and identify the lowest-rated buildings and their expected seismic performance. Earthquake ratings mean the degree to which the building, or part, meets the seismic performance requirements of the Building Code that relate to how a building is supposed to perform in an earthquake situation, and that would be used to design a new building on the same site as at the date the new system came into action.

How do modular homes help earthquake-prone areas?

Modular homes are earthquake-resistant houses made of high-quality steel. Moreover, strong materials like steel and concrete bolster the exterior of a modular home and indoors are made with western red cedar ceilings. In regions such as New Zealand or Canada, the most earthquake depth of VIII on the MSK Intensity Scale is likely to prevail. This may bring about harm to structures and masonry buildings. Buildings which might be built with suitable first-class cement mortar could also additionally increase cracks, at the same time as homes built in sandy soil on an excessive water table, face the chance of more damage, says the National Institute of Disaster Management- NIDM

Here is how verification may be achieved to check the chance of harm to your residential building:

Number of storeys

A one or two-storeyed building, the use of thick partitions, maybe extraordinarily more secure than a three-storeyed building. The fourth storey, if added, may be very hazardous and could make dwelling withinside the lower storeys riskier.

Conclusion of the article:

Summing it up, we read about what is the new system in New Zealand concerning earthquakes, how to self-verify the chances of risk of your building, and what is earthquake rating, how territorial authorities check the earthquake ratings, We also observed in this article how modular homes can save the disaster occurring via its high-end design.

Month: May 2022

Traditional or Modular homes which one is better: Build your next dream home