Modular Building

Modular Building

Modular buildings and modular homes are sectional prefabricated buildings, or houses, that consist of multiple sections called modules. The modules are six sided boxes constructed in a remote facility, then delivered to their intended site of use. Using a crane, the modules are set onto the building's foundation and joined together to make a single residential, or commercial, building. The modules can be placed side-by-side, end-to-end, or stacked up to 6 stories in height, allowing a wide variety of configurations and styles in the building layout.

Modular buildings, also called prefabricated buildings, differ from mobile homes, which are also called manufactured homes, in two ways. First, modular homes do not have axles or a frame, meaning that they are typically transported to their site by means of flat-bed trucks. Secondly, modular buildings must conform to all local building codes for their proposed use, while mobile homes, made in the United States, are required to conform to federal codes governed by HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development). There are some residential modular buildings that are built on a steel frame (referred to as on-frame modular) that do meet local building codes and are considered modular homes, rather than mobile homes. A key point to be reiterated is that modular is a construction method and not a type of home.