Chris and Ben Roddey want to build a bigger home for their four kids, but to make room to build it, they’ll have to tear down their existing home on their waterfront property and move into a tiny temporary apartment. They could stick-build, but they know nothing beats the speed of a factory built home and a manufactured home provides a cost savings of about 20%.
The Roddey TourThe Roddeys begin their research with a trip to Palm Harbor Manufactured Homes. Home construction there is always on the move – they send out about 32 manufactured homes every week (figure A).
Plant Manager Benny Nelson gives Chris and Ben a tour of the facility. They start with the metal frame chassis – the telltale sign of a manufactured home (figure B). At Palm Harbor, it’s all about tandem workstations. While the floor system is built in a jig (figure C), another crew mans the interior and exterior wall systems (figure D). At the roof station, high strength trusses are built to withstand extreme weather. Palm Harbor blows in insulation for better coverage and reduced energy use (figure E). This loose fill insulation is up to 30% more efficient when compared to the same r-value fiberglass batt insulation.
The Roddeys even catch a glimpse of a state building inspector in action (figure F). Building codes are the secret to success for the manufactured housing industry. At one time, there were no regulations for constructing trailer homes (figure G). In 1976, the federal government set up standards through HUD – the department of housing and urban development (figure H). Chris and Ben finish the factory tour with lots of ideas in mind. They meet with designer Dawn Gunter to see if they can combine the speed of a manufactured home build with an elaborate custom design (figure I).
RESOURCES :
Palm Harbor Homes
Website: www.palmharbor.com
Gunter Design Inc.
Telephone: 1-813-767-3809
E-mail: dgunter@microd.com
Contractors Group Unlimited
Contact: Nick D'Ascenzio
Telephone: 1-727-939-9633
The Highlands at Scotland Yards
Website: www.highlandsfl.com
Belle Casa Communities
Telephone: 1-727-938-7989
Manufactured Housing Institute
Website: www.manufacturedhousing.org
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