Modular Homes Stand Strong

Two weeks ago I wrote about how modular homes stand up to severe weather, such as a tornado or hurricane.  In the past I described how one of our modules suffered only minimal damage when it fell off a trailer while we were setting the home.  I’d like to mention another example of the superior strength of modular homes.
In 1990 we brought a two-story modular home – the Whately 1 – from New York to Massachusetts where we erected it at the annual Springfield home show sponsored by the local chapter of the National Association of Home Builders.  Over 90,000 people visited the model.  After the show, we disassembled the modules and delivered them to our model home center where they were re-assembled.  Three years later we disassembled the modules yet again and moved them to a customer’s property where we reassembled them.

All together the four modules were each moved three times, assembled three times, and disassembled twice.  Each time they were assembled or disassembled they were lifted by a crane, which means they were picked up with a couple of thin straps five times.

If you’ve never seen a modular set, it is amazing how well the modules fare when they are lifted by the crane from the delivery carrier to the foundation.  This is especially true when you consider that each module weighs several tons, which makes the stress on the framing quite substantial.  Yet there was only minimal damage when the four modules of our old model home were craned into place for the last time. If a conventionally built home were lifted with a couple of thin straps even once, it would suffer substantial damage.
I will add one more observation.  As strong as modular homes were in 1990, todays modular homes are even stronger.  Food for thought!
For more information about the unique durability of modular homes, see Why Build Modular in my book The Modular Home.