When they began their project from their Napa Valley, Calif., home, Lee and Sandy Perron had Key West architecture in mind for their new Englewood house.
Today, they are getting more house than the expected -- and they're getting it quicker.
The Perrons are working with Sarasota Signature, a multi- discipline custom builder that opened its doors in 2006. Together they are creating a "zero-maintenance" modular house that incorporates green elements, home automation and universal design. Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of modular construction is that the Perrons know what's coming around the corner. They have less minutiae to wade through than with traditional construction methods, so having chosen pre-fab means they'll enjoy fewer time delays
and unexpected charges. Consider it akin to the difference between building a car piecemeal from a parts store and buying a customized car from a dealership.
Modular housing is growing in popularity nationally. Magazines like Dwell are featuring these houses regularly, granting them more credibility and a sense of stylishness. Architects are talking about Web sites, such as FabPrefab.com, that deal with this method of building. And residential building experts are gawking at Rocio Romero's LV Home series of pre-fab kits, which appeal to those with a penchant for the today's modernist-
revival architecture.
Locally, high-end real estate broker/developers, such as Rooks Morris, and "affordable" builders/developers, such as Compass Communities and Sarasota Signature, are becoming involved. The diversity of the companies jumping on the modular bandwagon means the residences can range in price from $160,000 to more than $1 million.
An alternative for tough times
The slow residential real estate market has prompted builders to look at less expensive and alternative options to traditional construction. For instance, pre-fab housing provides more reliable timelines for construction, from permitting to move-in, its proponents say. It has other major benefits over traditionally constructed houses, too: quality control over materials and labor, a parallel project management process that expedites the process, and efficient cost control, manufacturers claim.
That translates to dollar and time savings for the home buyer, as the Perrons can attest. "We were thinking that the house would probably be in the $500,000 to $600,000 range, and that included a lot of nice amenities," said Lee Perron. He and his wife, both in semi-retirement, split their time between the Sarasota area and Napa Valley, Calif., and are therefore that much more satisfied with leaving the permitting and site work in the hands of Sarasota Signature. "You had an infinitely more efficient cost control" using modular construction, he said, so they were able to build in "anywhere from 25 to 30 percent more."
The house, designed with a Key West-inspired architectural style, will be built in Englewood with 2,800 square feet of interior space. The program will contain a theater room, master suite, great room with a dedicated dining room, family room, two full baths, a powder room and a garage. Though they only began getting "serious" with Sarasota Signature in July, foundation work has already started and the house is expected for occupancy in mid-February.
Two years ago, this wouldn't have been the case in the region. At that point, a homeowner typically had to find a general contractor willing to deal with the system-built project, which still left the homeowner with cumbersome hands-on participation. Today, though, companies like Sarasota Signature are usurping and expediting those responsibilities from permitting to contractual oversight with the manufacturer, and from setting up utilities to landscaping and any other element that comprises building.
Whether under the name of pre-fab, modular or system-built, it's all basically the same, said Michael Wnek, senior vice president of sales and marketing for the modular manufacturing company Palm Harbor Homes in Plant City.
"Prefab can be any product from panelized housing to modular. It covers the entire world of a home that's fabricated before it gets to the site. It can go on pieces, separate floors or walls. It can also mean modular or manufactured," said Wnek.
Designing beyond the box
Architects, such as Signature's Bill Tagland, have helped pre-fab companies like Palm Harbor and Nationwide -- Florida's most prevalent modular companies -- evolve past their architectural design limitations of the past. As a result, the houses are definitely not the narrow, long shanties or the clunky boxes of yesterday.
They can be round, square, modernist, Key West or anything else the homeowner can dream up. They also can incorporate a hybrid of conventional construction methods with modular methods.
"Modular homes are routinely stacked to resemble any kind of architecture buyers may want, from New England salt boxes to antebellum mansions," Don Carlson wrote in his book "Automated Builder: A Dictionary/Encyclopedia of Industrialized Housing."
"All modular manufacturers have an array of standard plans that are traditional in function and style," wrote Andrew Gianino in "The Modular Home." "Many manufacturers supplement their standard offerings with more modern designs that could pass for a contemporary architect's creation. Many of them, in fact, have been created by architects."
Several local architects interviewed said modular housing leaves little room for creativity, but the Perrons see it differently.
"We really wanted a metal roof. Roofs that are manufactured for modular homes are hinged, and doing that with a metal roof was going to be difficult. So the challenge was ... we had to ship one extra box to be able to have a part of the roof section manufactured and shipped separately," said Perron. With Tagland's quick thinking and collaboration with Nationwide, the roof was then assembled and constructed on their site.
Tagland also proved helpful regarding interior architecture, using a universal design so the house can change as the owners do.
"We want the home to be accessible even as we age, so we can live self-sufficiently and independently as long as possible," said Perron.
Some universal design elements that will help the Perrons to do so include an elevator and curb-less showers. Elevators are especially useful in the later years. As people become infirm and can't easily scale grand staircases, they can still access all areas of their house and therefore don't have to down-size or move into a ranch. Curb-less showers are useful in houses with children still wobbly on their feet, wheel-chair bound owners, and elderly residents with less mobility. The shower entrance has a slow, ramp-like descent.
Another benefit of modular housing is that its architecture is easy to expand as the family's needs change.
These houses can last for a couple's entire life instead of serving as a "mere" starter house, a move-up house, a vacation house or a downsize. The idea is similar to that behind the Katrina Cottages: For those modestly sized structures created for the rebuilding of the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Gulf region, the plan was to build a small house and add to it as the family's needs changed.
"Say somebody comes to us with a piece of property," said Tagland, "and maybe they can't afford to build that big of a house. What we can do is put a master plan together, and say, 'OK, that's phase one, all the way through phase four.' Do the drawings, get it permitted, then they go and just sock it away." The couple will build the first phase in accordance with their budget and current needs. "Then when baby number one comes or dog number two or whatever and they need another room, they just keep adding to it."
Naturally eco-friendly
Building in many green elements was also of concern to the Perrons. Modular is intrinsically more eco-friendly than traditional construction because the materials are easily recycled in the factory to be used for the next house; materials are kept safe from harsh sun and inclement weather because the houses are built indoors; and because the houses are built more like a kit, with less waste because of the repeated placement and systematic use of materials.
The Perrons, though, wanted more green elements. They are incorporating bamboo and tile flooring, a radiant barrier to mitigate summer heat gain and subsequently minimize energy usage, and fiber-cement siding that looks like wood but has more weather resistance and contains some recycled material. They are also using Tim-bor wood, a treated wood that's naturally resistant to insects and mold.
"It takes insects and fungi (mold) out of the equation and stops you from having to inject toxic fumes into your house," Perron said.
Their house will be well insulated with a high R value in the walls and a low-e factor in the Energy Star windows. It's estimated the Perrons' utility bills will run 15 percent less than those of a traditionally constructed house.
The house will be "smart," too. The Perrons will be able to control lighting and thermostats, audio and security around the house via one-touch wall-mounted keypads. When away from the house, they can use a laptop to "see" what's going on in the house. They can also change the temperature, turn on lights and set other elements to create their desired ambience upon their return.
Source : heraldtribune.com
