Lack of Knowledge About Modular Home Construction Hinders Local Approvals

Two weeks ago when I attended the PFS Seminar in State College, PA, I heard about a very successful modular home builder from NJ that builds both site and modular homes. I saw an opportunity to find out if one type of home was easier to get approved by local code inspectors and planning and contacted him. I wrote and asked him about the differences.

I figured the local plan review for a modular home would be easier simply because third party plan reviews by companies like PFS eliminate the need for extensive code approvals at the local level. It turns out I was right about the modules being easier to approve but totally wrong about getting the entire house approved.

The NJ builder wrote back and said that modular home plans are harder to get approved because the factory does not draw details or have third party reviews of components they don’t produce such as decks, garages, porches,utility platforms and foundations.

Site Built Plan Set

Modular Home Plan Set!

Local plan review and code inspectors don’t know how to properly review these plans, demand things they shouldn’t and slow down the approval process to a crawl in some towns. It’s like your auto mechanic demanding you get a physical before you pick up the car at the service garage.

I don’t make those decisions

I know that people like Norm Hall from Simpson Strong-Tie hold regular meetings with groups of local planning and code people along with builders but the scope of their talk stays primarily on the topic of their products and the codes they address. I have found no meetings with the code and planning people by any local or national modular home association that covers the problems outlined in the email I received from the NJ builder. I am not revealing his name as I don’t think he needs to be the one that exposes the lack of proper training given the plan and code people when it comes to modular home construction.

Here is just part of the response the NJ builder sent:

Good evening Coach,

It is funny you emailed me on this subject for we just had a
meeting about this for permits going in next week. The first one is
for a modular home and the second one for a site built.  Both are very
thick and has a ton of documentation needed but where the difference comes
along is how both are treated.  We find it frustrating that municipalities
do not know exactly how to treat modular from what to review and not, what to
charge for fees and not, etc.
 One major item that has recently come up is the
foundations-now we both know that the design from the factory is based off of
the double 2×10 rim but down here we are on a 5.5” x 9.875” ban board with a
lot of Simpson Strapping.  All townships want us to submit and have our
local engineer design the piling foundation to match the modular company’s when
in fact that is incorrect.  First of all the modular company is NOT
building or installing the foundation so they should NOT be designing this-it
is causing major problems with permit delays as we speak.
 There are many other items that do not match exactly to get
these modular permits and on the ground, decks and porches are not drawn or
designed by the factory, or roof top ac platforms but the townships want them
done on the modular plans when in fact they should not be included.
 It is a very slippery slope in so many ways, these to just
name a few, to obtain just the building permit for a modular home.  There
still is a lot of inexperience, knowledge, and lack of information in the
municipalities on modular construction and how to handle it (almost some are
afraid to the point of long delays in the permit and inspection process) that
it is hindering our home construction process. 

I think it’s time for one of the national modular home associations to step up along with the third party inspection services and educate the planning and inspection people about how to read a modular plan, what is included and not included and the whole concept of third party inspections. I know the third party people and even the modular home factories would jump on board but I’m really not sure about the modular home association folks.