Thinking about adding on to your home? It may be easier than you think. It may be as simple as ordering modules from a factory which builds them to your specifications, then delivers them to your extended foundation. Less fuss, less mess, and, since the process is quick, you don't even need to move out while the work's being done. What will the modules look like? They'll look like however you want them to. Hire an architect to design your modules according to your needs as well as to mimic the architecture of your existing house. To see which modular manufacturers service your area, visit PrefabExpo.com. It will save you a tremendous amount of time searching. Just type in the Zip code of your home and you'll know instantly what's available to you in your neighborhood. Now, since modular building methods must follow the normal building code for your area, there will be no difference in quality, except that the modules will be stronger, since they will have to endure the rigors of transportation by truck and withstand the stresses of being hoisted into place by a large crane. Although modules must be short enough to go under a freeway overpass, modules can be stacked on top of each other at the building site in order to achieve multiple stories. Each module has both floor and ceiling joists, so when they are stacked, say for a 2-story home, two sets of joists separate the first and second floors, adding even more strength and fire safety to your new addition. Your modules are built in a climate controlled factory, then shipped out on trucks to your building site. Once your modules are set, a drywaller can come in and cover all the seams between the modules. Next, electricians, plumbers, and heating and air conditioning contractors come onto the scene to tie all the systems into their various utilities. The modules come pre-wired according to your instructions. In other words, you decide, beforehand, the locations of your electrical, telephone and cable outlets. Then, all that's left for your electrician to do is to connect the wires to your existing breaker box.

Modular home layouts are created with functionality and design flexibility in mind. Thousands of modular home floor plans exist and are available for selection. Since most stock plans are designed and engineered to give you the maximum value for your dollar, it is probably in your best interest to start with a stock plan which closely resembles what you want, and make your changes from there. A good website at which to review pictures and floorplans of modular homes is http://Prefabexpo.com. There, not only can you peruse modular homes from every U.S. Manufacturer, you can also see which homes are deliverable to your particular building location.

You will want to have done your homework before you make your final decisions on who will be your modular home manufacturer and who will be your builder. It's tempting to award the jobs to the lowest bidders, or to your friend's friend's second cousin. You, however, will want to seriously evaluate the quality of workmanship which your manufacturer and your builder will be delivering to you and to your family.

There will be many decisions to make and, unlike with the traditional homebuilding method, these decisions will have to be made up front.

Those gorgeous showcased modular homes you see pictured on the Internet, or on the covers of prefabricated home magazines, were customized by architects. So, if you're looking to put personal touches to you home's interior and exterior, you'll need to go beyond the manufacturer-appointed draftsman. You will need to seek out and enlist the services of an architect who is experienced with the modular building process.

If you're going to build a new house, it should be expertly customized around you and your family, otherwise, why build new?

Building a home using traditional methods is, well, like choosing not to recycle. It's wasteful, to be sure. We've all seen the construction sites with their dumpsters overflowing with wasted building materials that never quite make it into building structures. This is because, as careful as they try to be, on-site construction crews are still dealing in less than perfect surroundings.

A state-of-the-art factory setting is where precision is achieved. If you think about it, how would you like your newly-ordered dream car to be built from scratch and painted right in your front driveway, with whatever materials and workers were available within your immediate vicinity.

Of course your sheet metal workers won't have the precision of those high-tech machines you might find in an automobile factory. Inclement weather is definitely bad if you're right in the middle of upholstering your seats.

What about security? "That's the third time my catalytic converter went missing! Now we have to order another one. That will take 3 more weeks!" Who gets to foot the bill for these costly overruns?

Well, it's the same with building your new home. How can a home which is built on-site possibly compare with the same home which is built indoors and to precise factory specifications using state-of-the-art machinery? The answer is that it cannot. Precision means less mistakes, factory-setting means extra materials never go to waste.

Where you happen to live will determine exactly which modular home manufacturers can serve you. A quick way to see exactly what's available for your building area is to peruse the modular catalog at http://prefabexpo.com. It will save you hours of research.

You'll find more and more builders are making the switch from on-site-built homes to modular homes. Because it's green, it's economical, and it's just logical.

Imagine, for a moment, that you are deciding to build a new house designed around your growing family, maybe even adding a mother-in-law suite as a cost-effective way of accommodating your aging parent. Maybe you're toying with the idea of adding on a home office so you can work from home, not only to save yourself from the ever-increasing costs for fuel, office attire, and dine-out lunching, but to be nearer to your loved ones. Think it's a ridiculous idea during the current housing crunch?

Well, besides enjoying the aforementioned savings, you can save even more money on your new house by going modular if your home will be a over 1,000 square feet in size and customizing your own layout is an important part of your ideal home. You'll also save a tremendous amount of time by perusing the catalogs at http://PrefabExpo.com. Entering the Zip code of your planned building location will provide you with ever brand of modular home that's available to your specific area. Now, let's explore even more savings!:

Your new modular home is constructed indoors, fully-protected from the damages and the costly overruns which vandalism, theft and inclement weather might cause.

Your new home is erected in a fraction of the time it takes to build a traditional on-site-built home. Moreover, at the same time that your house is constructed at the factory, your General Contractor sets your future home's foundation on your property.

Waste from the construction of your modular home is much less than waste generated at the construction site of a site-built home. So, you don't end up picking up the tab for large dumpsters of materials that never quite make it into your building.

You realize further savings, since your manufacturer is able to obtain discounts from their material suppliers - discounts not available to most one-off home-builders. Skilled tradesmen assemble your home at the factory under ideal conditions and for less than it would cost you for on-site labor.

Your modular home is built to the same building code as is any on-site-built house, except stronger, as it must now make the journey to your waiting foundation!

One of the main advantages of purchasing a Modular home is that it will generally cost 20-40% less than a comparable home built on-site, while meeting and many times exceeding the same quality standards.

But, the savings doesn't stop there. Modular homes are built to precise specs, for a very energy-efficient, tight construction, which will reduce your heating bills in the winter, and will lower your air conditioning costs in the summer.

Factory precision construction has another benefit. Decide to purchase a modular house and you'll be helping the environment, too! By using precise cutting methods, and by reusing extra materials, the construction of a modular house generates far less waste (50-75% less) than does the construction of a traditional home. Just walk by a new home construction project and estimate how many dumpsters of waste it takes to build a home on site.

You can also choose to install bright beautiful floors made from readily-replenishable bamboo crops, further decreasing your home's carbon footprint.

If it is true that, as goes the old adage, "Time is money," then further savings will be realized when you find yourself moving into your new modular home in as little as 3 weeks after you've ordered it. Modular homes can be built in a factory in as little as 1-2 weeks. It usually takes another 2-4 weeks for your local tradesmen to connect the utilities and complete the home.

A terrific source for exploring all types of prefabricated homes and buildings - including modular - is a website called PrefabExpo.com. You just enter the Zip code of your planned building site, select from a pulldown list of building systems (modular, manufactured, panelized, geodesic, etc.), and the site returns to you a list of everything available for your building location, with pictures, plans, specifications, and direct links to the manufacturer's product pages. It will certainly save you some driving around during the initial stages of your selection process.

Since an off-site built home is built to meet or exceed the same standards as an home built on site, it should appreciate at the same rate as a comparable on-site-built home. Unlike manufactured or mobile homes, a seller of an off-site built home doesn't have to keep a state or federal insignia on the home stating that it was built in a factory. That's because the state considers a modular home to be fundamentally the same as an on-site-built home, and so should you!