Let’s take a look at what modular actually means.” Designed with standardized units or dimensions as for easy assembly and repair or flexible arrangement”, using that definition let’s take a closer look at how modular homes today meet a higher standard.

“Designed with standardized units”, what that means is that every measurement, every piece of construction material, every method used in the modular home construction process is the same, they don’t differ from one point of the process to another. The quality of the first boards nailed together is just as high as the last ones. Every angle every cut throughout the construction process is quality controlled usually in a climate controlled factory.

Construction is never hampered by inclement weather. The quality of lumber is never compromised due to the swelling caused by rain or high outdoor humidity or by its shrinkage due to high temperatures and sunshine. These two factors alone cause more inconsistencies in conventional construction than anything else. With modular construction these types of natural element construction hindrances are virtually eliminated.

Rain, wind, snow, and high temperatures often cause delays to conventional construction methods on-site adding to the overall cost of construction because workers have to be paid and the construction company needs to make money to make those payments. These types of delays are never a concern in the modular construction industry. Not to mention those forces of nature often cause damage to materials on-site increasing material costs. Again this doesn’t occur with modular construction.

Modern modular home construction facilities use precisely engineered jigs and templates in much of the process of home construction. What this does is make sure that one wall mates to another precisely every time, it means that every opening for every door and every window is exactly as it should be. No more wasted time reconstructing areas that don’t fit quite as they should which often happens in conventional construction adding again the overall cost of conventional construction. The cost of waste materials on a conventional construction site is estimated to be about 10% or even higher because of all of the missed cuts improper alignment and reconstruction that happens.

In the modular construction process, plans are laid out well in advance of the first cut. This process is so efficient that every cut down to the last detail is laid out precisely and carried out many times by machine. From start to finish the wasted material average is generally 1% or less for modular construction. That’s a huge increase in material savings over conventional construction.

So what does all of this mean to the consumer? It means a lot of things really. It means that the consumer can have a new home constructed modularly for less most times than a home using conventional construction method. It means the consumer will get a superior finished product with modular construction. It generally means the overall construction process is more manageable from start to finish. It means that the consumer has more control over options, floor plans, construction materials and time frame of the construction process that ever before. In general it means that a family could have a newly constructed modular home for about the price of an existing home with the same square footage for the same amount of money. That’s huge.

If you’re in the market for a new home you owe it to yourself to look into the modular housing industry. If you haven’t done so lately and you still have the concept of the cracker box on wheels you don’t know modular homes. Take the time to investigate what modular homes can be today. I think you’ll be surprised.

Scott Best is a freelance author in connection with New Modular Info.com, who strives for excellence in the topics he chooses to publish about. New Modular Info.com is a web based resource for all manner of information pertaining to Modular homes and modular construction, along with all manner of information regarding the Modular Homes industry.

Copyright © 2011 Scott Best: All rights reserved

Because of the sheer volume of claims submitted, insurance companies it seems are trying to lump many different types of claims into a general category too best dispense with as many claims as possible in the shortest amount of time. This kind of claim handling doesn’t necessarily treat the policyholder as fairly as one expects to be, or as they should be treated. If your insurance company has resorted to this kind of claim handling, you may find yourself with a lot less cash to deal with needed repairs to your home even factoring in reasonable depreciation and deductibles.

The best thing to do is not lose your head, don’t take for face value the first settlement the insurance company offers you. It may be in your best interest to negotiate with the insurance company to have a readjustment of your property made by an independent adjuster rather than the insurance company appointed adjuster. If they do not agree to have your damage readjusted by an independent adjuster you still have the option to have the damage re-inspected by an independent adjuster and submit that adjustment to the insurance company for review. You may end up having to pay for the independent adjuster, but you will most probably be money ahead to do so if your initial settlement is considerably off the mark of any legitimate repair estimates you might have.

Insurance companies have gotten into the habit of sending out low adjustment valued claims in hopes that they’ll weed out those that are only going to take the money and run rather than actually repaired their properties. It’s one of the easiest ways for them to get ahead of the game not having to pay out as much in claims.

If it appears that that’s what your insurance company has done to you, don’t give up. Get as much supporting information as you can about the damage to your home. Get as many independent estimates for repair as you can and submit them to your insurance company. It shouldn’t be too difficult to get those estimates because many companies in this depressed economy are willing to go the extra mile in order to obtain business.

Don’t forget to get your insurance policy out and read the fine print, some companies employ a time limit for supporting information after the initial claim has been filed. If so you need to meet the criteria of the timeline set by the company.

It’s a fact that insurance companies don’t like to pay claims. They will do everything they can to not pay the full amount of claims filed. So it’s your job to prove to them that they are responsible to pay via the terms of your insurance contract. Don’t expect them to read the fine print for you, and don’t expect them to do anything to help you meet their timeline. So keep after them: daily if you need to. Make sure to make copies of all your documentation and every communication that you send or receive from your insurance company.

You can even go as far as recording telephone conversations. But before you do check your local and state regulations in regards to recorded phone conversations, many jurisdictions will require that you inform the person on the other end of the line that they are being recorded. And as ruthless as that might sound it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Remember that if you do inform the insurance company representative that they are being recorded, do it in a nonthreatening manner.

The bottom line is if you feel you haven’t been treated fairly by your insurance company, especially if you have a replacement cost guarantee, then you need to do everything in your power to ensure that the insurance company treats your claim fairly and gives you the money necessary to complete the repairs to your home. Remember to be courteous, prove your case with documentation and keep very good records. If you do these few simple things, you stand a better chance of getting a proper insurance settlement for the damages you incurred.

Are you preparing to do battle with your insurance company over an unfair claim adjustment? You are not alone, thousands of other Americans are preparing for the same battle to be fought. Just remember to keep your wits about you, stay calm and use these few strategies to obtain a fair and just insurance settlement for your storm damaged home.

Scott Best is a freelance author in connection with New Roof Site.com, who strives for excellence in the topics he chooses to publish about. New Roof Site.com is a web based resource for all manner of information pertaining to Roofing, Roof repair and all manners of guttering. 

Copyright © 2011 Scott Best: All rights reserved

So you think you want to expand your existing home with a well planned out of addition. You’ve looked at all the possibilities, spoken to several contractors and gotten your estimates. But when you look at the figures on the page you instantly go into shock thinking there’s no way you’ll ever be able to afford the addition to your home.

Modular construction to the rescue, have you ever thought about contacting a modular home construction company to see if they can provide you with a modular upgrade to your existing home. What you find may surprise you. Most homes regardless of their original type of construction module or old school conventional construction can be expanded modularly if the right plan is implemented. Most modular construction companies are more than happy to work with existing home owners to make their

Implementing the right plan begins with you and your idea of what you want in a home addition. Once you have in mind how you want to expand your home and where you want the expansion to occur you need to make a few notes to keep the idea fresh. Now with the idea in hand you can contact modular home designer or a modular home construction company.

A qualified modular home designer or modular home construction company can usually help you with preparation of a blueprint for the construction of your new edition. If they are located relatively close to your existing home, they will usually have all the necessary information needed to be able to plan your addition to meet all existing local building codes, which will usually be a plus in the cost department for you.

During your first meet with the company or designer, you will probably discuss your initial idea for the addition. The designer will normally make a CAD design of any sketch you might have or from your verbal or written dimensions and design Ideas. From the CAD or computer aided design program the designer can help you to better visualize what your addition will look like. In the beginning this drawing may only be a very rudimentary mark up of the overall plan.

The next step would be for the designer or modular construction company to accompany you to your home to investigate the area that is to be expanded upon. They will have the expertise to actually validate your plans for expansion. It is very important at this stage to be sure that your overall plan is valid and that no major problems can be seen that might eliminate your home from the possibility of modular expansion.

The onsite inspection will also give the designer the opportunity to see the work area first hand giving insight for later use in the actually design process. The designer may see details that will allow for better design recommendations or that might have been overlooked in your original simple design plans. Those recommendations might be as simple as how and what type of lighting is used to wall construction, layout and window placement.

If the addition will contain plumbing there may be hidden consideration for routing of pipes and drains that may not be overtly evident. Or it may be necessary to put a routing pump into the design to handle waste water issues. Many times home owners have ended up with nightmare problems due to poor overall addition planning from conventional construction contractors using outdated plan development practices.

One thing that a good modular expansion designer will always look for is proper access for needed construction equipment to the area in which the addition will be placed. Another issue that the designer will deal with, one of the most difficult in many expansion projects is the roof line. It is purely an art form to design and construct an addition in a manner that it cannot be detected as an addition. The roofline is usually the giveaway. Good modular designers incorporate special techniques that allow for adjoining roof lines to flow into or be modified and joined in such a manner as to make it all look seamless to the casual viewer.

Adding the addition modularly will ultimately save time and money in the overall construction process. Your addition will be constructed off site then hauled to the location and put into place. This cuts down on overall disruption to your day to day living. Helps to keep the neighbors happy, and minimizes the inevitable damage to surrounding landscaping. So if it’s time for a new home addition, make it a modular upgrade. Contact a modular design or modular construction company for your new addition.

Scott Best is a freelance Author in association with New Modular Info.com. Scott Writes for many websites. With his unique perspective on many issues and topics Scott lends a high level of professionalism to the topics he writes about.

Copyright © 2009 Scott Best