Porch Railings...

Day two of staining the porch railings on our new modular home, and it is coming along.  After two full days of work, with the stain scented wind in my hair, and bees around my ankles, I think I have finally cracked the code to painting quickly and efficiently.<br/><br/>I had to cover the composite decking, because I do not want to have to deal with cleaning stain droplets off of the deck floor.  So I bought 4 large plastic sheets from Home Depot, which set me back all of $4.  I taped the plastic down and got to work.<br/><br/><em>Not so fast!</em>  It was windy and the plastic was paper thin.  You can probably imagine the wind blew the flimsy plastic, slapping it into the wet stain, and then wrapping it around my bare calves, thus staining my legs.  <em>Not</em> what I call a good look for summer. And not my finest hour.<br/><br/>To add insult to injury, I inevitably dripped stain on the plastic, and managed to step in it every time.  Then worried about tracking it around and had to constantly check the bottom of my flip-flop. This clearly wasn't gonna work.<br/><br/>So I rummaged around in the basement and found a large piece of cloth.  My first thought was the stain will bleed right though it to the flooring. Despite my worry, I folded the cloth into a 3 ft long square and placed it under the railing where I was working, moving it as I went.  This worked much better.  It was heavy enough that it didn't blow in the wind, and there were not wet drip marks to step in!<br/><br/>So, my advice is: save yourself $4.  Wahoo!  Just enough for a RedBull! (I hate them, but you're gonna need one!)<br/><br/>Regardless of your drop cloth, staining is sloooow going.  If you have wooden balusters and they're turned, as opposed to smooth, I feel for you!  Here's my advice:  choose smooth balusters if you're going to end up staining them.  Better yet, choose plastic so you don't have to stain them at all!  Only joking!  But for two days I can tell you I was thinking "<em>Curse choosing the turned spindles!</em>", only the version in my head had some more colorful words in it...<br/><br/>Here's what I advise for staining, provided you have turned balusters:<br/><br/>The porch posts are the easy part.  The surface is larger and smoother. The porch posts or columns extend from the porch ceiling to the floor of the porch and support the porch roof.  To stain the porch posts I used a 2" foam brush.  This seemed to work well, and foam brushes are so cheap you can use as many as you need.<br/><br/>The turned balusters are a serious snore-fest to stain. Balusters are usually 36 inches tall and are offered in different widths and styles. We have a <em>turned</em> baluster, which means more nooks and crannies than an English muffin, to paint in.  Balusters are placed between top railings and the bottom rail and are usually spaced 4 inches apart.  What that means is: even if you have a small porch, you'll still <em>LOTS</em> off balusters to stain!  *Caution: May cause marked drowsiness and irritability.<br/><br/>So, the posts go pretty quickly.  But if you get stuck, I mean, volunteer to stain the balusters, like I did, here's the fastest way I found to get it done:<br/><br/>Start by using a 1" foam brush.  Get the brush wet in the stain, but not dripping wet.  Squish it into all of the nooks in the turns first.  Don't worry if it's a little thick, you can even it out after.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSC_00031.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-162" height="300" src="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSC_00031-199x300.jpg" title="DSC_0003" width="199" /></a>Then slather the stain from the top down, like you're slathering on BBQ sauce, and even out any drips.  Just make sure you get a <em>good cover</em>.  But within reason...<br/><br/>It's really easy to be a perfectionist and get caught up in going over every little tiny weeny crack and bump on the wood.  Don't bother!  Just put the stain on fairly thick, even it out and keep moving.  I did an experiment and stained several of the balustrads really, really carefully, and a couple the fast, efficient way. Guess what?   Can't tell the difference when they're dry!<br/><br/> <br/><br/>Well that's it for staining the porch railings.  And one thing off my "to do list".  Only 19 to go!

Porch Railings...

Day two of staining the porch railings on our new modular home, and it is coming along.  After two full days of work, with the stain scented...

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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 ...

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My Modular Home Pictures

I took a couple of pictures to show you some of the changes we made to the specifications or inclusions in our modular home:<br/><br/><a href="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSC_0511.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-108" height="300" src="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSC_0511-199x300.jpg" title="DSC_0511" width="199" /></a><br/><br/>This is the front door.  The original door came with a very ornate window, and we chose the lead, with no colored glass.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSC_0515.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-109" height="300" src="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSC_0515-199x300.jpg" title="DSC_0515" width="199" /></a><br/><br/>Here is our back door/laundry room/mud room!  And here are the muddy shoes!  SO, we put a pocket door from the kitchen to the mud room and VOILA!  (See below!)<br/><br/><a href="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSC_0517.jpg"><img alt="" height="300" src="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSC_0517-199x300.jpg" title="DSC_0517" width="199" /></a><br/><br/>Ha ha! See, isn't that nicer than looking at muddy boots and laundry!  I'm a problem solver, not a cleaner!<br/><br/><a href="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSC_0519.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-112" height="199" src="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSC_0519-300x199.jpg" title="DSC_0519" width="300" /></a><br/><br/>This is a picture of one of the pendant lights that hang over the island.  The original pendants came with plain white glass shades, but we found these as Lowe's, and looooove them!<br/><br/>For now, that's it!  Have a wonderful weekend!<br/><br/> <br/><br/> <br/><br/> 

My Modular Home Pictures

I took a couple of pictures to show you some of the changes we made to the specifications or inclusions in our modular home: This is the fro...

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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 ...

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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...

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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...

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Porches and Decks

I love our covered front porch which we altered slightly from the original, which you can see at <a href="http://www.keymodularhomes.com">www.keymodularhomes.com</a> .  (Our house is based on the "Waterbury").  We chose to have a composite material for the flooring, and in an effort to save a little we went with the traditional wood railings.  There’s plenty of room for seating, and our little one even has enough room to ride his scooter back and forth.  In the future, we plan to wrap the porch around to the back of the house to incorporate a deck and patio area.  I’ve been buying lottery tickets with no luck so far.<br/>Regardless, most modular homes come with the option of decks and porches and there are different floor materials for one to consider. Obviously you want your porch or deck to look good for years to come.<br/><br/><strong>Wood</strong> is the most common choice for a porch or deck floor.  Of course it looks natural, cuz it is!  Maintenance is essential, and you will have to treat the wood so that it doesn't crack or change color due to weather and sun.  I had a wood deck on my old house that I had to stain and weather proof every spring.  We had a large tree that provided essential shade over one side of the deck.  When it rained, the area of the deck under the shade of the tree stayed damp and would grow a fine moss, which was very slippery and had to be power washed frequently.<br/><br/><strong>Pressure Treated Wood</strong> is treated with preservatives.  It is inexpensive and is resistant to rot from the elements and insects, but it will still warp and bend. It has to be treated as wood to prevent the warping.<br/><br/><strong>Composite</strong> is another option. Composite is a combination of wood and plastic. When composite decking/flooring first came on the market it wasn't without problems, but the technology has come a long way.  Today composite decking is very durable and will last a long time, and is very low maintenance.  It won’t warp or crack and is ideal for uncovered areas, as it won’t fade (as much) in the sun.  You will have to clean it, but a power wash now and again is about all there is to it.  The downfall, is composite is expensive!<br/><br/>Here’s a picture of our porch with the composite floor and the wood railings (that still need to be stained).<br/><br/><a href="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/497.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-85" height="199" src="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/497-300x199.jpg" title="497" width="300" /></a>It is very simple to make your porch and extension of your living space.  In the summer, I sometimes <em>miss my house</em> because we spent so much time on the porch or deck!<br/><br/>Now, I’m not big on gardening, much to my mother’s chagrin, but I do like container gardening.  Porches and decks let you create miniature gardens in outdoor containers, or container gardens.  As soon as we are out of the danger of frost, I will be planting a lot of pots for the front porch.  Not only is it easier than gardening, you can move the containers anywhere at any time.  Hanging plants not only look beautiful, but they can act as natural privacy shield if hung in the right place.  I also like the look of evergreen shrubs or small trees planted in pots.  Year round color!<br/><br/>If you need a little privacy from neighbors, or just like the look, there are all kinds of outdoor curtains and blinds to hang from either end of your porch.  Or, do as a friend of mine has and head to the fabric store to pick out a fabric you love.  Hang it up using furniture tacks.  Use table cloth weights at the bottom of the fabric to keep it from blowing too much.<br/><br/>You can decorate a porch just like you would inside.  There are indoor/outdoor rugs that look beautiful on a deck or porch.  Throw pillows, candles, vases, bowls - all can have a home outside.  And I love white twinkle lights on the porch all year round.  You don’t have to string them up, just put them in plants or cluster them in a big bowl. Happy porch sitting!<br/><br/><a href="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/4901.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-86" height="199" src="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/4901-300x199.jpg" title="490" width="300" /></a>

Porches and Decks

I love our covered front porch which we altered slightly from the original, which you can see at www.keymodularhomes.com .  (Our house is b...

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Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there!<br/><br/>I spent part of today cleaning up the front porch and hanging my (new) hanging baskets.  It's looking pretty good out there, so I will take some pictures and post about front porches and decks tomorrow.<br/><br/> 

Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there! I spent part of today cleaning up the front porch and hanging my (new) hanging baskets....

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Do you want a garage?

Furthermore, do you want an attached garage or a detached garage?<br/><br/>The position of your home or lot has some bearing on your decision.  Your lot may not have the space for an attached garage, and only room for a small detached. Conversely, it may allow for attached, but not have room for a detached garage.  If you decide you need a garage, you may not have an option because of these factors.<br/><br/>If you do have options, an attached garage may be sensible for you if you are adamant about staying out of extreme elements. Of course, most attached garages have an entrance directly into the home, and this is convenient in inclement weather.  Furthermore, the cost of an attached garage can be less because the builder can make use of an existing wall, and use all of the same building materials he uses on the home.<br/><br/>Regard the size and shape of your home.  The architectural style may not be conducive to an attached garage. Plus, you may be able to place a detached garage in a less obtrusive part of your lot.<br/><br/>A detached garage should also be considered if it will be used as a workshop.  Any noise associated with the work being done, will not affect those in the house. As you can imagine, this could be a potential sanity saver! More importantly, a detached garage separates the home from potentially hazardous chemicals, or fires, if flammable or harmful chemicals are kept in the garage.  Because of this, insurance costs can be less for the detached garage.<br/><br/>On a not so serious note:<br/><br/>It recently came to my attention that garages were once intended to actually house <em>AUTOMOBILES</em>!!!  Lately they have become commonplace for many other purposes.  Here are some more common uses for a garage, in no particular order, in case you decide you need one:<br/><br/>* Instrument practice. (Very helpful when the player is a first year violin student! )<br/><br/>* Housing for a wet dog, a dog that chews, or a dog that has IBS.<br/><br/>* Motorcycle, snowmobile, go-cart workshop.  Oh sure, it’ll run...<br/><br/>* Woodworking or artist studio.  Showcasing ancient furniture, old plant pots, and broken picture frames...<br/><br/>* Giant beer cooler and/or TV room.  Hey, at least he’s home!<br/><br/>* Showroom for lawn appliances, sports equipment and children’s toys.<br/><br/>So, it’s up to you whether you need a garage, want it attached, or even what to a use garage for.  We do not, as yet, have our detached garage, because:<br/><br/>a.) we ran out of money, and<br/><br/>b.) we can’t agree on its potential main use.<br/><br/>Maybe I’ll get a CAR in mine!

Do you want a garage?

Furthermore, do you want an attached garage or a detached garage? The position of your home or lot has some bearing on your decision.  Your ...

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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...

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So many questions...

<h1 id="internal-source-marker_0.12699794639675133" dir="ltr">Be an Educated Buyer when Choosing a Modular Home Dealer!  Ask questions!</h1><br/><ul><br/> <li>What does the modular home builder include in their base price?  We had a lengthy list of inclusions based on the floor plan we had chosen.</li><br/> <li>Are there any additional fees for modifying or drawing your own modular home floor plan? There were some charges for changes we made to our floor plan.  For instance there was a charge for us to "mirror" the floor plan.  And, I can’t tell you how many times we changed our “inclusions”, and had to have the price adjusted.  Sometimes we saved money, and sometimes we did not!  I <em>had</em> to have a certain kitchen island that was not included in our original price, and my husband <em>had</em> to have a certain layout to the bathroom that was not included. We spent more money on these particular options, but we saved some cash by choosing carpet instead of Pergo in our living room, and by .. uh, well, I guess we didn't save much money!</li><br/> <li>Does the modular home builder offer a "Turn Key" construction package? If so, what does it include, or do you have to find your own sub-contractors?  We did not want to deal with sub-contracting!  When we moved into our house, everything was done, all we had to do was “turn the key” to move in.  The carpets were down, the mirrors were up, the walls were primed.  One of the reasons we chose our dealer was because of the turn key service.</li><br/> <li>How much upfront or down payment cash is needed to receive blue-prints or to order the modular home? Is any part of the down payment refundable?</li><br/> <li>When looking at a modular home model, is the quoted cost "as shown" or is it the base price without options included?  The show homes we saw were quoted as shown.  However, because we had so many changes, the dealer ended up giving us a base price and provided us with a list of all the inclusions with prices.</li><br/> <li>How long have sub-contractors been with the builder?</li><br/> <li>Does the modular home builder have a field supervisor?  The field supervisor we met oversaw the house being set on the foundation, and he made sure the house was as we expected before we moved in.  In fact, I realized (much to my horror!) our kitchen island was made of the wrong wood when we had our walk through, and the supervisor had it delivered and changed that week.  Total freak-out averted!</li><br/> <li>Is the building site inspected for potential additional costs prior to signing a purchase agreement? Our site was inspected and we were warned about several additional costs, such as trees that needed to come down, which although it was more money, it was much better to have the warning than to be surprised!</li><br/> <li>Is the modular home builder quoting you allowances or actual costs? (example: lighting, cabinets, flooring - we chose all of this and were aware of the actual costs.)</li><br/> <li>Is a sump pump included in the package? (Our package did, but we chose not to have one, more on that later!)</li><br/> <li>Is there an additional delivery charge for the modular home, or extra cost for blueprints for basement or house?</li><br/> <li>Is there an additional charge for the crane used to place the modular home on the foundation?</li><br/> <li>Is trash removal included in the cost?  Is the modular home cleaned when construction is finished?  When we had our walk through of our newly set home, the house was very dusty, and there was a fair amount of trash, such as carpet remnants, inside. However, our house was spotless when we moved in.</li><br/> <li>How is the service and warranty work handled (by the company or sub- contractors?).  In our case, the warranty is all handled by our builder.</li><br/> <li>Is repairing drywall cracks included as part of the service warranty? After one year of living in our home, the builder returns to repair any drywall cracks.</li><br/></ul><br/>My hubby had A LOT of other questions, some regarding the plumbing and electrical work, which I will have to interrogate him about at a later date (because all I heard at the time was "blah, blah, blah, blah?  nah, nah, nah?" !  However, this list of questions should be a good starting point for now!<br/><br/>Our dealer, Key Homes, <a href="http://www.keymodularhomes.com">www.keymodularhomes.com</a> , has a lot of information on their website, including this list of questions.  Feel free to check them out!

So many questions...

Be an Educated Buyer when Choosing a Modular Home Dealer!  Ask questions! What does the modular home builder include in their base price? ...

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What IS a Modular Home?

Modular homes should not be confused with manufactured homes (which are mobile homes or trailers). You cannot tell the difference between an off-site built (modular) home and a stick built (on-site) home, because they are exactly the same thing, just built in two different places!<br/><br/>A modular home is constructed of pre-made parts and unit modules. They are built in sections, in a factory where, most importantly, they are never subjected to weather. (Imagine! No delays or damage because of good old Mother Nature!)  Each module is built on a track that moves it through the factory, where quality control inspectors check them every step of the way. Wall units, trusses and other pre-fabricated parts of the house are then wrapped and transported to your building site on a flatbed truck.<br/><br/>When they arrive at the site, the modules are lifted by crane onto the load bearing, permanent foundation where they are then anchored.  Your modular home is set with bathrooms, cabinets and siding already in place.  Once on the foundation, the builders put the finishing touches on the home, such as installing carpets, and putting in screens.  When you move in, even the primer is on the walls, so for the most part, all you have to do is paint!<br/><br/>Modular homes must conform to local building codes, and more than often exceed those standards.  They are built to the same state building codes as conventional site builders.  In fact, it is believed that modular homes are stronger than traditional homes because, for example, in modular homes, nails are replaced with screws and glue is added to joints. Furthermore, modular homes are built with 10 to 20% more lumber than traditional stick-built homes.<br/><br/>Just like any traditionally built home, a buyer is able to customize their home: the floor plan, the amount of stories, bedrooms, ceiling height, add extra insulation, etc.<br/><br/>Additionally, modular homes are financed in exactly the same way as conventional built sites, and they appreciate at the same value as a conventional site-built home.<br/><br/>Back to that weather thing!  Recently I saw the following written about modular homes and thought it was fair to include it here:  Consider buying a new car.  You wouldn’t want a pile of parts delivered to your driveway and then put together outside!  So, why are we still building our homes outside, with rain, heat, cold, snow, ice, and mud compromising the construction materials and creating tons of work delays? We should be building our homes the way we build our cars – in highly controlled factory conditions with a strict quality assurance program and dozens of inspections (in addition to the mere handful of inspections required by the city) throughout the construction process.<br/><br/>And, that, is that!  In my humble opinion, modular homes are the same as traditionally built homes, only BETTER!

What IS a Modular Home?

Modular homes should not be confused with manufactured homes (which are mobile homes or trailers). You cannot tell the difference between an...

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