There are lots of startups now working on modular home design. Among the most interesting is Cover, a seven-year-old, LA-based company that says it manufactures fully complete wall, floor and roof panels in its factory, then transports them on a standard truck and assembles them on-site — without a crane.
The materials it is using are lightweight steel for the building frame and aluminum for the ceilings. The panels are made of a rubber composite because, as founder and CEO Alexis Xavier Rivas explains, “drywall is not designed for manufacturing or transport — it’s too brittle.”
Clearly, a lot of thought has been invested in how these buildings are designed. For example, the company installs all plumbing and electrical wiring in the ceiling, so that if an owner wants to run a new wire or pipe, she or he need only pop off the ceiling to do it.
Other materials used include real wood and wood composites for the floors and exterior, and solid surface countertops and bathroom floors that are nonporous, meaning they’re more hygienic, as these things go, which matters increasingly to homeowners as the world emerges from a pandemic.
How the materials come together is naturally even more crucial, given that with Cover, much of the focus — and the promise — is on both quick assembly and customization.
According to Rivas, the process works as follows: A customer works with the company to create a design. Right now, that design is limited to single-story units that are 1,200-square-feet or smaller but which take into account factors such as where windows should be placed to minimize energy waste. (Rivas also notes here that the windows, made by Cover, are LEED-certified, and that its homes are airtight, vastly improving their energy efficiency.)
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- CEMEX Invests In Affordable Modular Housing Startup Modulous
Gary Fleisher is the Editor in Chief of Modular Home Source and Offsite Builder. Email at [email protected]
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