Essentially, a prefabricated dwelling is one that is manufactured away from the plot where it will be assembled. You can think of a prefabricated house as something of a kit which provides a home to live in once it has been put together. They come in a variety of forms and are sometimes favoured by architects because of the superior build quality that can be specified at a lower cost.

Why Choose a Prefabricated Building For Your Home?

One of the chief reasons that people choose a prefabricated dwelling is that the time spent on construction can be greatly reduced. This allows them to move in sooner and potentially save thousands of dollars. Custom homes can also be built using a prefabricated system. They are commonly made in a modular fashion so that individual touches can be added and configurations altered to suit the particular client. Many a custom home builder will use a prefabricated construction method to add to their existing home or to create an extra building that faces the main building, whether it has been built using conventional methods or not. As such, they can be used as a hybrid with an existing structure or on their own.

What Materials Are Used?

One of the chief differences between a conventional bricks and mortar construction method and a prefabricated dwelling is the use of materials. Prefabricated constructions often use formed wood to create walls, floors and beams. In some situations, steel I-beams are used to carry additional loads. These are often simply bolted together on site by specialist construction workers before the skin of the building is added. There again, lots of prefabricated dwellings have been made just using concrete. Instead of pouring concrete on site, which is the conventional way of making a building from this material, precast sections of concrete are put together with one another on site, much like a child's construction toy. In some cases, modern prefabricated dwellings are even made from recycled plastics to form insulating walls.

Do Prefabricated Buildings Last?

A common misconception about prefabricated dwellings is that they won't stand the test of time. This is largely down to the fact that the history of prefabricated buildings began with the construction of structures that were designed to be entirely temporary. Nowadays, modern prefabrication methods are so advanced that there is no reason for a conventional building to be thought of as more durable against the elements than a manufactured one. In fact, in some ways, prefabricated dwellings are better made because they can be precision engineered in a factory rather than needing a bit of estimated adjustment on site to get around small construction errors.

For more information about this option, talk to a custom home builder in your area.