Green buyers find prefab fabulous - News Archive

Green buyers find prefab fabulous

Prefab homes - custom homes that their builders insist are light-years beyond "mobile homes" - are inherently more green than traditional houses thanks to waste reduction during the building process. Plus, prefab builders can incorporate the latest green advances directly into plans at the buyer's whim, giving earth-conscious home owners another way to shrink their carbon footprint.

Warner wanted to buy a prefab home from the beginning, but her early research revealed a stiff price tag - about $320 per square foot using an out-of-state builder. ...

Instant house

The two-story home sits on a red-brick foundation and looks just like a traditionally built house. But Browne's home traveled on a truck from North Carolina in four rectangle pieces. Called "boxes," the pieces arrived on site 90 percent complete, with chandeliers swinging from the ceiling, electrical sockets covered and wired, and the kitchen sink already in place.

Companies like Harbor Pointe Inc., which built Browne's home, recognize that the word "modular" still conjures up images of double-wide trailers, and so they're emphasizing a new term - "systems built."...

Status hearing set for manufactured homes class action

On behalf of the potential class, Texarkana attorney Matt Keil of the Keil and Goodson law firm filed the original class complaint on Feb 17, 2005, against Clayton Homes Inc. and CMH Homes Inc.

The complaint accuses the defendants of charging for the manufactured homes' wheels and axles but never disclosing the charge to the purchaser. The charge for the wheels and axles "appears nowhere on any of the documents the plaintiffs are asked to sign during the purchase of the home," the complaint states....

Affordable housing crisis widespread, say ex-MLAs

In March, the Saskatchewan Party government appointed Pringle, a former NDP MLA and current Saskatoon city councillor, and Merriman, a former Sask. Party MLA, to look into housing affordability and report back with recommendations.

As they tour the province, talking with about 75 groups so far, they found that jobs are no guarantee of finding suitable homes....

Largest modular AAU takes shape in Watford

The modules, constructed off-site by modular building manufacturer Yorkon, arrived substantially complete with partitions, electrics, plumbing, sanitary ware and finishes already in place.

The project at the Watford General Hospital site is part of a £25m ProCure 21 contract awarded to Medicinq Osborne, a consortium formed by Osborne, Midas Projects and Simons Construction....