Tray Ceilings

Look up!  Isn't that what your mother always told you? Oh, no, that was stand up straight, anyway...  The ceiling is sometimes referred to as the fifth wall, and although I'm not big on painted ceilings in every room, I do believe they have their uses!  Keeping rain out is always handy.  In our modular home, the ceiling in the dining room is very useful in another way.<br/><br/>If you've decided to build a modular home ask your dealer about the possibility of a tray (or trey) ceiling.  FYI: A tray ceiling is a recessed area like an inverted tray, cut into the actual ceiling, so that the center of the ceiling is higher than the surrounding edge, by about 12".  It’s easy to add during construction and creates architectural interest galore!  I’m not saying add one to each room, but a tray ceiling in your master bedroom or dining room would be very dramatic.<br/><br/>AND tray ceilings are perfect for modular homes because they are very modern looking, and, modular homes are generally modern!  Deep, huh?<br/><br/>Our floor plan is fairly open. As I mentioned we have a very large family and we needed the kitchen, dining room and living room to be open, so that we can all eat and still see one another.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSC_0054.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-121" height="199" src="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSC_0054-300x199.jpg" title="DSC_0054" width="300" /></a><br/><br/>In these two pictures you can kind of see what I mean.  Where the two stools sit, is a bar area to the kitchen.  And below, the view from the bar to the living room and dining room.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSC_0057.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-122" height="199" src="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSC_0057-300x199.jpg" title="DSC_0057" width="300" /></a><br/><br/>However, for nights when its just a few of us, or two of us (yeah right!) we wanted our dining room to have it’s own feel.  The modular home we chose came with a tray ceiling (Shown, but not Included!).  This was the answer to our dilemma.  The tray visually separates the dining room from the rest of the house.  And this makes me happy!<br/><br/>A really pretty way to enhance the tray ceiling is with lighting.  The kind of lighting would depend on you design and decor.  We chose recessed lights in the tray, which are on a dimmer.  We can use either the chandelier, or the recessed lights, or both.<br/><br/>As you can see, I haven’t finished painting my tray ceiling.  I want to highlight and paint the area of the tray where the lights are, a contrasting color to the golds we currently have. And, I am going to, I mean with my husbands blessing, I <em>would like to</em> paint some sort of glaze or mottled look on the actual ceiling.  However, convincing him that this will look amazing, is another story!  I may have to wait til he’s working late, and plan my attack... When that actually happens I will post an update.<br/><br/> 

Tray Ceilings

Look up!  Isn't that what your mother always told you? Oh, no, that was stand up straight, anyway...  The ceiling is sometimes referred ...

Read more »

Modular home inclusions

When you have chosen the modular home you are most interested in, your dealer will more than likely be happy to accommodate any changes you wish to make.  We were given a list of the specifications that were included in the modular home we wished to build.  Most prefab home dealers will give you a list of what is <em>SHOWN</em> in the modular show house, and what is actually included!  Essentially, we took that list home, crossed off certain inclusions we had no use for, and added features we wanted.  We added ideas we had seen in the past, or had seen in other modular show homes.  Our dealer then gave us a new price based on our specifications, and he gave us new blueprints reflecting our changes.<br/><br/>Here is a list of <em>SOME</em> of the changes we made.  I hope this list might give you some inspiration.<br/><br/>Things we added to our specifications:<br/><br/>-Added a door between laundry room and kitchen.  There was an arch way between the two rooms, so to eliminate noise from the laundry, we added a pocket door.  (Note: the laundry room is also a "mud room" of sorts, so it's nice to shut the door and not have to look at muddy boots!  You know, rather than put the muddy boots away...)<br/><br/>-All rooms wired for ceiling fans. We did not opt for central air, but may add that in the future.<br/><br/>- We had TV jacks put in all rooms.  Better to have the TV jacks and outlets there than have to add them at a later date.<br/><br/>-13 course basement.  I guess my husband didn’t want to have to duck while he was hiding from me when I ask him to help me in the kitchen...<br/><br/>-TV jack and outlet in cabinet above fridge - we hide a small tv in this cupboard, so that it’s not out on the counter or mounted on the wall.  I like having a tv in the kitchen, but I don't want to see it when I have company over!  (We wanted the have the cabinet doors slide in, like a tv cabinet, but our dealer couldn't do that - no biggie in the scheme of things).<br/><br/>-Plumbing stubs and conduit chase to 2nd floor for possible later use. Again, better to have this done than have to do this years later when you want to use rooms for something different. (BTW email me if you know what plumbing stubs and conduit chase are!)<br/><br/>-Lights either side of front door and extra external lights.  We live in the country and don’t have street lights, so lighting outside was essential.<br/><br/>-Fill in space between bath and shower.  There was a gap of about 6” between the tub and shower in our master bath, so we had them fill that with decorative tile - why clean the floor in that tiny space?<br/><br/>-Reversed floor plan so driveway was to the side door.<br/><br/>-Added a 3rd dormer and made the dormers themselves larger.  This was my husbands idea, and our dealer showed us what that would look like with a CAD.  It just looked so much better, so we went for the extra cost. (There was also additional cost for the freight the extra size).<br/><br/>-Added 2 feet to the living room and dining room area.  The dining room really needed the extra room to fit our large table.<br/><br/>-Roof pitch.  We changed the roof line to give us more room in the upstairs.<br/><br/>-9 ft ceilings.  My husband is tall.  I now have my very own step-stool.<br/><br/>-We had the builder add a ½ wall in the master bathroom, next to the toilet, for privacy reasons. (Don't ask, it just works!)<br/><br/>-Had grids put in windows, on the top half only.<br/><br/>-The glass in the front door was too ornate for our taste, we chose a different door.<br/><br/>-Interior doors chosen from another modular show home, we liked the cottage-feel.<br/><br/>-Laminate for kitchen floor.  We wanted laminate floors for the entire kitchen, living room and dining room, but cost kept it to kitchen only.  However, now I love the carpet throughout the rest of the house.  In the winter it was so warm and cozy.  It just feels good!<br/><br/>-Dining room tray ceiling.  Because of the open floor plan, I think the tray ceiling makes the dining room feel distinct.<br/><br/>- We had a wood shelf put in the in master bedroom closet. It's not as if I can reach it, but it is extra space for jeans that will fit <em>next year</em>!<br/><br/>-Lights in all closets, except...  Strangely, we forgot to have a light put in our linen closet, and I think we use that the most!  (Eye roll).<br/><br/>-We had pendant lights hung over the island in the kitchen, which look amazing.<br/><br/>-The kitchen had tons of cabinets, but we had them also include a revolving corner cabinet.  This is great for large, hard to store items like vases.  Furthermore, we had a cabinet included just for cookie sheets, pizza pans and cutting boards. It just makes me happy.<br/><br/>-We chose a kitchen island from a different modular show home, and chose bead board for the island. It is beautiful.<br/><br/>-The house came with some recessed spots, but we doubled up, and added under cabinet lights in the kitchen.<br/><br/>-All of our hardware and cabinetry was different from what was shown in the modular show home.<br/><br/>As you can imagine, with all of these additions, we also got rid of a lot of features that we didn’t feel we needed.  I won’t give you a complete list, but for instance:<br/><br/>-We did not keep the wine refrigerator, bar sink and faucet.<br/><br/>-The original specs included a wall stove, and I wanted a free standing stove.<br/><br/>-There was a circle window in one of the peaks, and a half-circle window above one of the windows, that were both omitted.<br/><br/>As you can see the possibilities are endless.  If you think of and idea you like or you see something in a magazine, or <em>whatever</em>, just ask your modular home dealer! If you have a good dealer/builder I'm sure they will be happy to help you!  And, as usual, if you have any cool features in your home, please comment!<br/><br/>I will post some pictures tomorrow.

Modular home inclusions

When you have chosen the modular home you are most interested in, your dealer will more than likely be happy to accommodate any changes you ...

Read more »

Prefab Home by IKEA

<span>Have you seen the Aktiv, prefab home for sale that was in the news a couple of months ago?  Aktiv is being marketed as 'your own personal Euro designer flat… only where you want it!'  </span>For a mere $86,500 you can have a modular home from IKEA!<br/><br/>Actually, this prefab home is designed by Oregon-based Ideabox with help from IKEA designers.  The "Activ" features 745 sq. ft. of living space, complete with a kitchen, bathroom, washer/dryer, fridge, flooring, and two storage areas that are accessible from outside. However, I'm pretty sure you're gonna need more than the weekend and an allen wrench to put it together!<br/><br/>I do think this is an interesting idea, and I appreciate a furnishing giant like IKEA is helping to draw attention to modular homes.  But for those of us who have done a little homework on the subject of modular homes, you can buy a much larger modular for that price.  That cost doesn't include the land, the foundation, a builder, etc...<br/><br/>Anyway!  Thought that was interesting.  Now back to your regular programming!<br/><br/> <br/><br/> <br/><br/> 

Prefab Home by IKEA

Have you seen the Aktiv, prefab home for sale that was in the news a couple of months ago?  Aktiv is being marketed as 'your own persona...

Read more »

Hot Water Heaters

As I sit here, cup of coffee in hand, eating my breakfast of leftover mac ‘n’ cheese (<em>I know</em>), I realize I still need to address hot water heaters.  It’s a sore subject, because this was one of our modular home building “mistakes”.<br/><br/>A cautionary tale:<br/><br/>When you are building a modular home one of the “pros” is that modular homes are built and set very quickly.  And that is truly a pro!  How exciting that your new home will be built in about eight weeks.  However, by the very nature of time, that means less opportunity for you, the modular home novice, to consider all of the angles!<br/><br/>Point in case - our water tank.  Many modular homes are shown with master suites, including a large master bath, with a large bath tub, complete with whirlpool! The show home we based our home on, had just such a tub.  We weren’t completely sold on the giant bath, as neither my husband nor I bathe often.  Oh c’mon, we shower everyday!   I figured the large bath tub would only be used as a laundry holding tank, or a raised bed dust garden.  But as we reworked the bathroom floor plan, the large tub looked best aesthetically.   A normal sized tub looked dwarfed in the large bathroom, so, we kept the large tub and jets.<br/><br/>Now, I’ve looked back at all of our paperwork, and our modular home dealer gave us a long list of the inclusions, and it is right there in black and white: Master Bath Whirlpool.  And right next to that, our dealer, Scott, had written: (upgrade water heater?).<br/><br/>I’m not really sure why we didn’t follow through on this, except that when you are picking out all the features of your home, there are a LOT of choices to make in a short period of time, and things get missed.  SO, our water tank holds 40 gallons of nice piping hot water.  Guess how much water the tub holds?  Well I don’t know, but more than 40 gallons.  40 gallons is not enough water to cover the jets.  SO, in order to take a bath and use our bathtub for its  intended use, we have to fill up the bath with hot water, WAIT for 30 minutes for the hot water tank to heat up again, and then add more hot water to the bath.  Call me a prima donna, but that is annoying!  And doing something to rectify this problem is going on “our” ever increasing list of things to do! Sorry, honey!<br/><br/>So, the moral of this tale is:  do as I say, not as I do!  Take a good look at how much hot water you’re going to need, and buy your water heater accordingly.  And, when your modular home dealer leaves you nice little notes about things you need to think about, do not ignore them!<br/><br/>And now I’m going to show you how to make your own hot water tank, that you heat with junk mail and sticks from your yard.  Only joking!  (I did see that on the internet though, if you’re so inclined...)<br/><br/>When you choose your water tank, it’s going to be heated by either oil, natural gas, propane or electric, depending on your location.  The installation will be done by your builder, so you can leave that up to them.  However, do choose the size of your tank carefully.  A standard tank is 40 gallons, but as I discovered, that may not be large enough for your home.  Not to mention, there’s always one family member who takes extended hot showers - will this leave everyone in the family enough hot water?<br/><br/>An alternative may be an on-demand water heater.  These may be more efficient and save you money in the long run, but according to my darlin’, they lose water pressure when several people are using the hot water simultaneously.  I suggest you think about this  option carefully if you have a large household and use the dishwasher or washing machine frequently.<br/><br/>Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to power wash the dust out of my bathtub.  Ahhh, so relaxing...

Hot Water Heaters

As I sit here, cup of coffee in hand, eating my breakfast of leftover mac ‘n’ cheese ( I know ), I realize I still need to address hot water...

Read more »

What the heck is a perc test?

After we bought our land and decided we wanted to build a modular home, we realized the land did not have a valid perc test and therefore, we had to get this done.<br/><br/>Wikipedia defines:<br/><br/>A <strong>percolation test</strong> (from <em>percolation</em>, colloquially called a <strong>perc test</strong>) is a test to determine the absorption rate of soil for a septic drain field or "leach field". The results of a percolation test are required to properly design a septic system. In its broadest terms, percolation testing is simply observing how quickly a known volume of water dissipates into the subsoil of a dug hole of known surface area. While every jurisdiction will have its own laws regarding the exact calculations for the length of line, depth of pit, etc., the testing procedures are the same.<br/><br/>In general, sandy soil will absorb more water than soil with a high concentration of clay or where the water table is close to the surface.<br/><br/>In our county, you have the option to dig the holes yourself.  The county gave us a detailed description of what needed to be done, but if my memory serves me correctly, you dig three holes, in a triangle pattern, where you want your septic system to be.  Ours were about 2 feet deep.  After about 12 inches in, we hit <em>clay</em>, so that was fun, and rather disturbing (see the definition)!  This hole had to drain water and drain it fast for us to pass the perc test and put in the septic system!  Anyway, after you dig the holes, you have to bring a gigantic container of water to your property for the engineer to fill the holes with.  Ideally, that water will drain at a rate that is acceptable and you get your septic system approved.<br/><br/>So, as I remember, I was digging madly, sweat running off my brow - no, wait, that was my husband.  I was standing by, offering support and encouragement.  After the three holes were dug, the heavens opened and we had three days of torrential rain.  (On the 3rd day, we had scheduled for the county to come and perform the test. I don't have to tell you that this was not the ideal for passing the perc test.)<br/><br/>We knew we had to do something before the test, cuz there we were with three large holes, full of mud water.  My hubby is pretty smart, so he had the idea to use a trowel to scrape up the sides and the bottoms of the hole, so that the water would sink into the ground easier.  Brilliant!  So, I lie down on the muddy ground, armed with my trowel, and plunge my hand and arm into the murky mud water.  I didn't think of this at the time, but as you can imagine, after a few days of rain, not only do the holes fill up with water, they fill up with other things.  Like dead frogs!  And dead bugs, dead worms, and one live toad!<br/><br/>But, I'm a trooper!  I screamed, threw the trowel to the ground, and ran for the relatively clean and safe truck!  My brave husband, shook his head, and continued with the job he knew he'd end up doing anyway.<br/><br/>Well, we didn't pass that perc test.  That water just didn't want to drain!  To our relief, it seems the county where we live is fairly relaxed and the woman who performed the test rescheduled for the following week, when we hoped, the ground would not be so sodden.<br/><br/>As luck would have it, the wind blew and the holes dried up, and we passed the perc on the second try.  Phew!

What the heck is a perc test?

After we bought our land and decided we wanted to build a modular home, we realized the land did not have a valid perc test and therefore, w...

Read more »

Choose a modular floor plan

One of the most important decisions you will make in building your dream home is the floor plan. They say that it takes a potential buyer just 6 seconds upon entering a home to decide if they like a house.  Similarly, when you enter a modular show home, you will know almost immediately if you like the floor plan of that home.<br/><br/>Over many weekend drives my husband and I looked at a lot of modular homes.  I assure you we could walk in the front door of a modular show home and instantly say to one another, with a hopeful look, “YES”,  or conversely, “nah” with a disappointed face, and maybe a slightly curled lip.<br/><br/>Either way, you should walk through the models, even if you don’t immediately get that warm and fuzzy feeling.  I fell in love with a counter top that I now have, in a show home that couldn’t have been further from our ideal. To that end,<strong> carry a notepad and  a measuring tape</strong> with you if you’re in the market to build a modular home!  This is a good and essential reminder - how many times have you wished you had either but forgot?<br/><br/>Of course when you are in the market for a pre-fabricated or modular home, you want to choose a show home that has a floor plan closest to what you envision as your dream home.  Down the road, you can certainly modify the original floor plan to better suit your needs.  It will help you immensely to compile a list of “musts”, and a list of “wants”.  First ,consider  what you absolutely must have to accommodate your family and your lifestyle.  Then consider the floor plan details you want that would make your life easier.<br/><br/><strong>Musts:</strong><br/><br/>- location of main entry<br/><br/>In my opinion, when the front door opens to a dark stairway or a long hallway, I don’t consider this inviting.  I look for an entryway that leads to the heart of the home, so that when you enter you immediately get a feel for the home and the owners personality.<br/><br/>- how many bedrooms<br/><br/>We have 5 children, 2 are in college.  We needed a minimum of 4 bedrooms, and at least one spare room, for the returning students and any overnight guests.<br/><br/>- how many bathrooms<br/><br/>Whenever possible it is preferable to have more than one bathroom.  We have a master bath, two bathrooms for the other bedrooms, and a half-bath right off the side door (handy for kids who have to run inside to use the facilities with muddy shoes).<br/><br/>- size of kitchen<br/><br/>As we have a large immediate family, a large kitchen was a must.<br/><br/>- size of living room<br/><br/>Our living room had to accommodate two sofas, and plenty of play room.<br/><br/>- master bedroom upstairs or downstairs<br/><br/>Although we’re not quite stepping on the proverbial banana peel yet, we chose a master bedroom that was downstairs, so that down the road, stairs will not be an issue for us.<br/><br/>- attached or separate garage<br/><br/>My husband is a firefighter and 911 dispatcher (yes and a licensed electrician and plumber).  He was and is adamant that a garage should be separate from the house.  Many house fires begin in the garage and this was something he insisted upon.<br/><br/>-  open floor plan or more separate<br/><br/>I have a small family, but my husbands family is HUGE (not by weight, but in sheer numbers!).  We chose a floor plan that was open.  The dining room, kitchen and living room are open to one another so that we can have 40 people for a birthday party, and we can all sit and eat, and still see one another.<br/><br/>- windows and views<br/><br/>Remember what you want to be looking at.  Do you want a bay window so that you can see the backyard, or the next door neighbors garage?  Just something to keep in mind!  That reminds me, I once had a house where if I was doing dishes I could look across the driveway at my neighbor doing dishes.  It wasn’t as awkward as it could have been, but it was still kinda weird!<br/><br/><strong> Wants:</strong><br/><br/>- storage<br/><br/>Well, as you can imagine, with five kids, we need storage!<br/><br/>- tv room<br/><br/>We don’t have a TV room, but we did choose a large open living room, so that there’s room for us all to sit and hang out and watch TV (I mean play scrabble and hold debates).<br/><br/>- a walk in pantry<br/><br/>Did I mention we needed storage?  If you can afford a pantry, you can load up on all of those deals in bulk!  We were never able to shop at BJ’s because we just didn’t have the room for the bulk goods.  Now we have a pantry, and we can shop!  (You can imagine my darling husband is thrilled with the new pantry, thus enabling me to shop more often!!!)<br/><br/>- washer/dryer on the first or second floor<br/><br/>We have our washer and dryer right off the kitchen.  I looove being able to do laundry and not have to haul it up or down stairs! (okay, that’s a lie. I don’t “looove being able to do laundry... it’s just more tolerable without stairs.)<br/><br/>- size of eating area<br/><br/>We chose a kitchen with an eat-at island, a breakfast area, and a breakfast bar.  All of us can eat together in the kitchen when we don’t feel like eating in the dining room. Plus there’s plenty of room for me to cook, while kids tackle homework.<br/><br/>Now that you have an idea of your musts and wants, there are a couple of things you might also like to think about...<br/><br/>I was daydreaming, I mean paying full attention, when my very smart husband suggested that the pitch of the roof would be something important to consider when choosing the floor plan.  If you are considering a ranch for example, just changing the pitch of the roof could give you some extra space, such as an office area, or for much more, much needed storage.  The pitch of the roof may also be important to consider with regard to your geographic region.  A pitch steep enough will allow snow to melt and run off, and prevent excess weight on your roof!  This will cost a little extra, but it is worth asking your modular home dealer for details.<br/><br/>Also beware of rooms with odd dimensions or shapes.  You’re going to have a hard time arranging furniture if the rooms are irregularly shaped.  Furthermore, you will need to consider the traffic flow for that room.<br/><br/>When looking at modular homes we discovered a way to arrange our floor plan to accommodate our children that made life much easier for us.  Our older children are 22, 17, 14 and 11, so we put their bedrooms upstairs, with a bathroom and “game” area.  This way the teenagers have their own space, and an area for their friends to hang out (while, more importantly, Dad and Mom have the living room TV and sofa to themselves in the evening). We put our master bedroom downstairs, as well as our 3 year olds room down the hall from us.  This way he has a more quiet space for sleeping and isn’t disturbed by the older kids for naps.  And at night, we can listen out for him.<br/><br/>Consider too your closets (I know, yawn)... just an FYI, make sure closets on interior walls where they can provide a noise barrier.<br/><br/>And one last thought, if you are like us, and can’t find a cure for the common birthday, you may want to think about wider hallways and wider doors.  Someday they might come in handy, for wheelchairs, walkers, middle-age spread... all that fun stuff!  Or, perhaps you’re a chronic room re-arranger, like me?  Wider halls and doors makes moving furniture much easier!  And, as an added bonus, you can rearrange the furniture at night, while the hubby is at work.  Imagine his surprise when he comes home, in the dark, to newly arranged furniture!  But I digress...<br/><br/>Okay, well for now I hope this helps with contemplating the floor plan for your new modular home!  And please feel free to share any other floor plan ideas with me!

Choose a modular floor plan

One of the most important decisions you will make in building your dream home is the floor plan. They say that it takes a potential buyer ju...

Read more »

Got land?

You’re gonna need some land!<br/><br/>Having a <strong>real estate agent</strong> to help you find a suitable plot of land is <strong>vital</strong>.<br/><br/>The most important thing to consider when choosing a plot is making sure the land is zoned for this type of home. A real estate agent can look into if the land is flood zoned, if the land has any bylaws or zoning ordinances prohibiting the erection of modular homes, and whether the land is suitable for a modular home at all.<br/><br/>There are a number of costs, that vary significantly from lot to lot. For example, the costs to excavate the foundation and bring water and sewage capability to a home can vary significantly from one lot to another. Will you have to drill a well?  How big of a septic system will you need? Is utility hook up available?  These questions will have to be considered when buying your land as well, and will be covered individually and more in depth in the near future.<br/><br/>As I mentioned we had a piece of land prior to choosing a modular home. Although we are located in “the country”, we were able to utilize city water and did not have to dig a well (phew!).  However, we did not anticipate that we had to pay the city to run a water line under the main road to our property (dang!).  This was an additional cost that we didn’t necessarily prepare for!  As you can imagine, thes variable costs can add up to some jaw-dropping numbers. They will only be surprising, however, if you are unaware of what is involved in developing land into a building lot.<br/><br/>Again, a good real estate agent, and your modular home dealer/builder should be able to help you in this process.<br/><br/>However, one thing your real estate agent may not think to warn you is that you want to consider the delivery route to your property, as well as its size and shape, as this can occasionally pose delivery difficulties. And it goes without saying that for those on a budget, the price of the building lot will affect how much money is left over to build a house!

Got land?

You’re gonna need some land! Having a real estate agent to help you find a suitable plot of land is vital . The most important thing to con...

Read more »

Modular Homes?

Modular Homes?  Isn’t “modular home” just a fancier way of saying “trailer” or “double wide”?  Well, as it turns out, no.  I was completely misguided and fell prey to a fairly common misconception.  Modular homes are exactly the same as a traditionally built homes, except they are built in a factory (off-site)  and then assembled on your property on a permanent foundation.<br/><br/>First let me say this: I don’t work for or represent any modular home builder or dealer.   But, here’s why I’m going to write about them:  They say that moving (read: building a house) is one of the top stresses in life, right up there with losing your job, or the death of a family member.  But I’m here to tell you, it doesn't have to be, and it shouldn't be!  This blog is intended not only to tell you about our experience building a modular home, but also to inform you about the advantages, the disadvantages, and the whole process involved with building a modular home.<br/><br/>When my husband and I first started googling for information about modulars I wished there had been an informative blog about the process, but I couldn’t find one.  Having been through the experience and having spent several years researching modulars, I simply hope this blog will help others with their projects.<br/><br/>Ten years ago my husband purchased four acres of land, two miles from the nearest town with no neighbors in sight, and only the sound of a creek nearby.  The property was largely brush and undergrowth, but somehow, he saw through all the mess, and pictured a beautiful sweep of land, dappled with sunlight peeking through the trees.  It took him several years, two tractors, a brush hog, and three bouts with poison ivy to clear it fully.  But when it was cleared, it was obvious that we had a beautiful place to build a home!<br/><br/>My husband had looked at modular homes in the past, and wanted me to give it some thought.  I was less than enthusiastic about the idea, but I did a little research.  It wasn’t long before I was very interested in the idea of modular homes.  Not only were the modulars more affordable, but they looked every bit as beautiful as anything we’d ever seen stick-built.<br/><br/>There were several modular dealers in our area so we began to have a look around.  We made it our ritual on weekends to hit a diner for a big breakfast and then drive to the various dealers.  We’d browse through the different show homes, and collect their literature.  We had  a house to sell, so we had plenty of time to do our homework. In fact we spent two years "shopping"!  (That's A LOT of breakfasts my friends!)<br/><br/>Several of the local dealers were eliminated from the running almost immediately. Not only was obvious that some of the homes were better looking and had better floor plans than others, but some dealers turned us off immediately with their “used car salesman” demeanor.  However, just like looking for a car, you know when you feel comfortable with a dealer.  Finally we found a modular home dealer (Key Homes) that we felt really comfortable with.  The salesman we met was very knowledgeable about his product, and my husband was impressed that he could answer anything about construction or plumbing or electricity, and he was honest and helpful.  (My hubby is a licensed electrician and plumber). And, to our relief, this modular home salesman did not trying to hard sell us!    *Take note here salespeople... we all HATE the hard sell!<br/><br/>We had been through one particular show home of Key Homes that we loved, but we had a LOT of changes we wanted to make.  We were assured that we could take our time and make all the changes we wanted. It took us over a year to finalize what we envisioned as our dream home, and our dealer happily accommodated all of our changes, providing CAD drawings along the way until we were happy.   Once we were completely finished with the floor plan - blueprints!  Of course, we then had many weekends picking out flooring, paint, hardware etc.  Once we finished with all of our changes, additions and deletions, it only took a matter of months - from putting down the initial deposit, to the foundation being dug, to the house being built and set!  Because of Key Homes, the whole building process was stress-free and even FUN!<br/><br/>With this blog will I hope to help you with your project and that you will find the experience as happy as we did! Future posts will cover everything from getting a mortgage to  picking out paint colors!  Please feel free to comment and let me know about your experiences with building a home.

Modular Homes?

Modular Homes?  Isn’t “modular home” just a fancier way of saying “trailer” or “double wide”?  Well, as it turns out, no.  I was completely ...

Read more »