In the United States, a ‘prefabricated structure‘ has traditionally meant a mobile home that is located in a trailer park, which is rarely a residential area in which people actually prefer to live. Nevertheless, trailers and trailer parks are still very common in the United States simply for the fact that they are the cheapest way to live in many parts of the country. In many rural areas a trailer is the most common structure that you will find on a piece of land.
While trailers won’t disappear anytime soon, it’s becoming obvious that the construction methods used in prefabricated buildings does not have to be limited to the cheapest buildings out there. Instead of only using efficient methods, i.e. production line assembly of home components, in the service of creating a house that is meant simply to be as cheap as possible, architects are beginning to see that the same methods can be used for much higher quality or even luxury standard housing. And their customers are starting to understand this as well.
It’s very easy to find builders who specialize in prefabricated structures, and a quick search around the Internet gives you a visual proof of just how far prefab structures have come in the last couple of decades. Using a little (or a lot) of imagination and taking assembly-line methodologies as a starting point, home designers have come up with an incredible array of housing options. These designs are now marketed to people who could purchase or build a conventional home, but who might be open to living in a house that is easier on the environment in terms of the amount of materials that go into it, as well as the efficiency of the construction techniques that are used to build it. These homes are generally much easier on your utility bill too.
And as always, using these prefab building methods they can expect to pay a lot less for their home- always attractive even if one can pay more. For anyone considering building or buying a second home or maybe putting a retirement home on that empty lot that’s been in the family for decades, taking a hard look at where prefabricated structures are today is a great idea. You might be surprised at how well economy and great design can coexist in a house.