Although custom modular has the potential to be somewhat cheaper than conventional construction, many who have experience with it caution that it’s still not inexpensive. In 2008, Connell built a custom modular LEED house in Vermont for $184 per square foot, including a geothermal heating system. “I could never have delivered that much architecture for that price with stick building,” he says. But, he adds, media hype about prefab had inflated his clients’ expectations about cost savings, and they ended up disappointed with the final price tag.
In addition to his design/build practice, Connell oversees design at Connor Homes, a 40-year-old panelized company in Middlebury, Vt., that produces both off-the-shelf and custom houses in Colonial reproduction styles. Its projects—often located in such prestigious areas as Cape Cod, Mass., and New York’s Hudson Valley—arrive at the site in a kit of labeled parts and are then assembled by a general contractor. Many custom builders think the panelized method represents a logical evolution in the construction process; the Horsham, Pa.-based luxury production builder Toll Brothers has employed it for years. “In many ways, builders are already accustomed to it,” says Benson, whose company has embraced panelized and component-based construction. “They already receive the window as a unit, but there was a time not that long ago when windows were made on site. In many ways it’s a small leap to think that that window is now part of a wall.”
Voertman says Engelmann has been building with stressed-skin panels since the late 1980s. “There’s a learning curve for installing them; you have to pay attention to changes and variances,” he says. “But it doesn’t take long to learn. We’re at a 6,000-foot elevation. We get a lot of snow in the winter. For these things to show up pre-made is a big plus, and I think the quality is better.” Green Hammer’s Aiguier agrees. “We’ve used panelized wall systems and plan to continue. You can frame a building in two to three weeks.” The panels his company specs include an air barrier, insulation, framing, and shear wall, but not siding, windows, or drywall.
Even some of those who are doing it now aren’t sure when or whether modular and panelized construction will become standard methods of building a custom home. “We’re seeing a sea change in the delivery methods for architecture,” Connell observes. “I don’t know how fast it’s going to move.” AIA’s Baker harbors his own reservations. “I think the question is, Why hasn’t it happened already?” He says the natural up and down cycles of the housing industry have proven too much for fledgling prefab companies in the past, but wonders if this time will be different. “There’s a really compelling argument for prefab, when you think about it. It makes more sense.”
Change Orders
No matter how popular prefab becomes in the next 10 years, on-site builders will have a substantial role to play. With modular “there’s still got to be a really good builder to deal with the site issues, the façade, utilities,” says Jerry Smalley, president and CEO of Haven Custom Homes. And stick building will stick around, whether it remains the dominant construction technique or becomes more of a specialty. “I think there are always going to be a lot of small carpenter/contractors out there,” says Dale Mulfinger, a principal with SALA Architects in Minneapolis.
Furthermore, remodeling, which many believe will be a growth area for custom builders as the country’s housing stock ages, still lends itself more to onsite building. “You’re never going to be able to prefab a custom remodel,” Aiguier says. And, as Mandell mentioned, some clients just prefer the flexibility a site-built house affords, including the opportunities to stop by the site and check out each step of the process and to make decisions gradually rather than all at once.