The Difference Between Prefab, Modular, and Manufactured Homes
We are often asked whether a modular home is a prefab or manufactured home. Below, we explain the difference between prefab, modular and manufactured homes.
Generally speaking, there are several ways to construct homes inside a factory and then move them to the owner’s lot for the final stages of completion. You will typically hear them called “prefabricated,” or “prefab,” homes. There are several types, each with key differences.
Defining Prefab, Modular, and Manufactured Homes
Prefab
Prefab is the general umbrella term for a prefabricated building or building component that a factory builds before final assembly at the construction site. Contractors and developers use prefab components for homes, as well as apartment buildings and commercial buildings.
Prefab building components have been around for a long time. Some common building blocks include floor sections with subfloor sheeting, wall sections with the attached underlying layers, and triangular roof trusses. Many years ago, contractors built everything right on the job, including the kitchen cabinets, windows, and doors. But it’s simply not cost-effective to build those items on-site. So today, factories make them and ship them to the job site.
Modular
Modular refers to house components built in self-contained units, with well more than half the structure made in the factory before delivery. In other words, all modular buildings are prefabs, but not all prefabs are modular.
Modular homes meet the same local building codes and standards as traditional stick-built homes, and they come in all shapes and sizes. In fact, it’s hard to tell the difference between a modular home and a traditional stick-built home. Both also fluctuate in value with the traditional housing market.
Manufactured
Manufactured structures such as mobile homes fall under federal codes set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Builders move a finished or nearly finished product to the home site and install it on either a temporary or permanent foundation. Modern manufactured homes come in single-wide floor plans, built in one long section, or double-wide plans, with two sections joined to make a larger home.
Prefab, Modular and Manufactured Homes: Where We Fit
Westchester Modular builds premium, custom homes and does not create mobile homes. To see our clients’ homes, visit our gallery. To learn more about the modular advantage, read our post on why modular offers so many advantages over stick-built homes.
