We still can’t believe the incredibly low price we paid for it compared to other types of housing being sold today in this area of the country. Why does this home cost far less than a comparable site built home? There are several good reasons. Our multi-section home is being built off-site in a controlled factory environment. The weather doesn’t interfere with construction and cause delays. Building materials are protected from weather-related damage or theft and purchased in volume for additional savings. All technicians, craftsmen and assemblers work as a team and are professionally supervised.
Our manufactured home is being built to a strict federal HUD Code. It must go through a rigorous inspection process before being certified and sold. These federal standards regulate design and construction, strength and durability, fire resistance, energy efficiency and quality. Performance standards are also set for heating, plumbing, air conditioning, ventilation, thermal and electrical systems. Any on-site addition, such as our two-car garage, covered patio and porches are built to local or state building codes.
The building materials in our home are the same as those used in a site-built home. Better yet, it is engineered for wind safety and energy efficiency based on our geographic region. When Don and I move into our new manufactured home, we know we are living in one of the safest housing choices available today. Not only because of its quality construction, but also because of federal laws requiring smoke detectors, escape windows and limited combustible material around furnaces, water heaters and kitchen ranges.
The construction of our home begins in the factory’s state of the art computer equipped design center. Here, layouts and modifications are drawn and can be called up on a computer screen for reference at any time. One of the first steps after design is the construction of interior features, like custom made cabinets and countertops.
Everything starts to come together during indoor production where our home takes shape from bottom to top. The process begins with the building of the steel chassis. Strong I-Beams make up the backbone of the chassis and transport axles are also added here.
When the chassis is complete, the floor is framed with 2x6 floor joists and laid out 16” on center. Then all plumbing, ductwork and floor insulation is installed. Glue is applied to the flooring side of the joists and sub-flooring is installed in long, 8’x14’ sheets. Seamless, vinyl flooring is laid over the sub-floor in what will be the “wet areas” of our home – such as the kitchen and bathrooms.
Now it’s time for the construction of our walls. Strong 2x6 lumber is used for the exterior wall frame. Walls are built on a “framing table” to insure they are square and true. Door and window frames receive strong, timber headers. Large 4’x 12’ sheets of ½” sheetrock are laid horizontally for added strength to pre-glued studs then mechanically fastened.
Early on Don and I were able to choose the type of roof we wanted for our home. The manufacturer offered us a wide variety of pitches (slopes), colors, types of shingles and customized elevations similar to expensive site-built homes. Our roof is attractive, strong and energy efficient. It’s being built with a unique roof truss system that allows for ventilation between insulation and the sub-roof without sacrificing high ceilings. The ceiling surface of the roof truss system is sealed with a plastic moisture barrier, the 5/8” fire-rated sheetrock is screwed into place.
Next our home makes its way down the indoor production line and joined together as one complete unit. A special weather-stripping tape is used to create an “air-tight” seal where the outside walls have already been fastened to the floor. Outside walls also receive additional metal straps to further secure them to the floor.
As the roof system is moved into place and strapped to the walls, other workers begin moving and installing the custom designed cabinets into our home. All copper electrical wiring is strung through the walls and secured.
R-19 Fiberglass insulation is placed into the exterior sidewalls and other weather protection products are installed around window and door openings. Exterior walls are then attached. On the roof workers are “blowing-in” energy saving insulation within and between the roof trusses. Next the entire roof is prepared to receive shingles.
Now it’s time for windows and doors to be installed. Don and I were pleasantly surprised to learn that only vinyl framed, dual-glazed, low “E” windows are used on our home. After the windows and doors are in, corner and trim pieces are attached to the drywall and shingles are put in place.
This is when the home is moved from its “inside online” position to an “outdoor offline” position on the Silvercrest factory’s vast property. Here, natural outdoor lighting aids in finishing touches of detail and trim. This deliberate change of location slows down the production process. The “offline” location allows workers to level our home and finish the interior drywall.
After the inside of the home is painted, outside doors are hung and ceramic tile work is finished, all faucets and fixtures are installed. Every detail is then re-inspected and modifications made if necessary. Name brand appliances are installed at this time and workers clean every surface of the home to a pristine appearance.
Don and I feel confident that our home has been built to the highest standards and that all our customized features are in place. We know it meets or exceeds all local, state and federal codes and guidelines because quality control and assurance inspections have been performed at each step along the construction pathway.
Now our home is almost ready to be transported to its site, but not quite. Before that happens Silvercrest representatives and the Sun Meadows construction manager, armed with our original sales order, any change orders, final plans and specifications, check out our home for the last time before it leaves the factory property.
I want to add a personal note of thanks to several Silvercrest managers for simplifying and explaining their production process to me for this e-journal.
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