What do you think of when you hear the term “Modular Construction”? What images pop up in your mind when you hear “Modular Home”? When I first started in this industry I had images of rectangular single story units, double wide trailers or shipping style containers, manufactured off site and dropped onto a residential lot. The truth is modular construction refers to a style of construction where the building components are assembled off site, and then installed on site. It has nothing to do with the aesthetics or appearance of the building units themselves. In fact, modern modular construction can produce endless shapes and sizes of units, and there can be many advantages to this style of construction.

For starters, the off site manufacturing process can take place indoors in a controlled environment. This allows for a more design based construction approach with very tight construction tolerances. The repetitive nature of the construction, along with no weather delays, allows for cheaper, and faster construction. Additionally, the controlled nature of the design and construction lends itself to a more-green approach, with low waste, in house recycling of materials and no site earth disturbance related to the home construction.

This process is widely used all across the globe for a full range of uses. Modular constructed units can be assembled efficiently into high density residential buildings or a small single unit can be placed in a remote location in the woods with very little impact to the surrounding environment. With the demand for affordable housing increasing, this style of construction will take a more prominent role in the housing market.