Survival and Emergency Preparedness

I thought this would be more appropriate than in the "what did you do to prep forum".

Anyway....

The new house was delivered on Monday 19 Sept. It is a 2 piece modular home. Modular homes are built in a factory (in this case in Indiana). The difference between a modular and a mobile home is that the modular is built to stick built home specs and codes while a mobile home is built like a trailer. In most cases you can get a construction loan for a modular. Over the past few years there has trend for insurance companies not to insure mobile homes particularly one that aren't in an established mobile home park/community. States (notably Michigan and Florida) have increased regulations and codes making it more difficult to sell, buy, place, pass building codes and insure mobile homes. We had already picked out a mobile home to buy but kept running into roadblocks because of the above. Finally went to a modular.

Anyway, it was delivered in two pieces by truck. Bigger houses can be 3, 4 or even 5 pieces. Anything you can build on site can be built in a factory.



Once on site, they call a big crane in to lift the pieces onto the foundation.



Then they put the other piece on...



The pieces are shipped with the roof peak folded down.



They they raise the roof sections with the crane.



The set up crew then has to attach the pieces, make connections, put in the trusses at the peak, shingle the portion of the roof at the peak and do some other things.



When they are done a finish crew comes in and does the trim, does the interior work, connects the lines and plumbing underneath the house.

Another crew of carpenters showed up today to start working on the garage and front porch. That's an add on to the house. It was handled by the people we bought the house from and is part of the financing etc.

Starting to look like a house



Still have to sink the well, run the power lines, get the propane tank and hook it up, finish the garage and front porch and do the finishing inside. Figure about 2 months to finish it up, get the inspection and move in.

That's pretty amazing! I would imagine it gets 'country dark' out on the property, what kind of lighting system do you plan on having?

David wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 8:42 pm That's pretty amazing! I would imagine it gets 'country dark' out on the property, what kind of lighting system do you plan on having?

Yeah, it gets really dark out in the woods. Honestly I never thought about outdoor lighting.

We have a motion sensing spot light on our cabin but we'll need something for the house.

My sister has a modular house... was surprise how it went together.
It was made pretty sturdy to be trailered and the elec sections used big plugs to connect the two halfs. Roof was separate trusses placed on top after.

tom mac wrote: ↑Fri Sep 25, 2020 7:51 am My sister has a modular house... was surprise how it went together.
It was made pretty sturdy to be trailered and the elec sections used big plugs to connect the two halfs. Roof was separate trusses placed on top after.

We went to the factory to see them being made. Interesting process. They are moved around the factory on rolling platforms from build station to station. And yes they are extra sturdy in order to be transported.

And BTW, we had a cold snap over the weekend, frost in the mornings 32 degrees about 3 mornings in a row. Mid to upper 40s during the day. ( really good hunting weather) That really kicked off the color changes, though by Tuesday it was 80, and in the 70s on Wed and Thurs. The colors were changing every day.

Impressive.

Coincidentally, I wrote this week to Mr. Beams, a reputable lighting distributor. I was complaining that I could not find a solar powered outdoor motion detector light WITH replaceable rechargeable batteries. It turned that the company has a line and doesn't indicate it until you read the manual. Moreover, if the light fails within two years, the company said to me don't bother changing the battery, we will send you a new unit.

The highest rated (honest rating) is 400 lumens. Good enough for me. I will order one this next week.

Just write to Mr. Beams. I like the concept rather than the old style of having a rechargeable battery hardwired into a solar powered motion detector.

Thought I would recap...

bdcochran wrote: ↑Fri Sep 25, 2020 4:10 pm Impressive.

Coincidentally, I wrote this week to Mr. Beams, a reputable lighting distributor. I was complaining that I could not find a solar powered outdoor motion detector light WITH replaceable rechargeable batteries. It turned that the company has a line and doesn't indicate it until you read the manual. Moreover, if the light fails within two years, the company said to me don't bother changing the battery, we will send you a new unit.

The highest rated (honest rating) is 400 lumens. Good enough for me. I will order one this next week.

Just write to Mr. Beams. I like the concept rather than the old style of having a rechargeable battery hardwired into a solar powered motion detector.

Thanks for the info. I took a look at Mr. Beams and they have possibilities. Let me know what you think when you receive and get your's up and running.

The garage is pretty much done and the exterior 95% finished. Just need to finish up some of the trim and to pour the garage floor.
The well was drilled on Thursday. The pump will be hooked up on Tuesday. The eletrical box was inspected and approved on Wednesday. Still need power from the power company and the propane tank/hookup. Finally need the interior finished and the driveway finished.

It's moving along nicely, very exciting.