Modular homes( NOT mobile) acceptable in Colorado? (Denver, Westminster: buy, construction)

[Mach1]

Sorry for posting on an old thread, but I have some relevant info. First, Wardcraft Homes is an excellent builder. Buy from them with confidence.

Go tour their factory, and that will dis-spell any myths about "modular" construction. These homes are like any other home. The only difference is they are built on a skid instead of a foundation.

We bought a new Wardcraft home in January of 2006, and we are delighted with it. Wardcraft delivered the home in one piece, and placed it on the basement foundation that I already had prepared. Homes can be delivered in one or more pieces, it just depends on your delivery area and complexity of house design. They set our house in about 5 hours. Wardcraft will build any home plan you want, or you can choose one of their stock plans.

The biggest headache about dealing with them is scheduling the delivery of the house. Weather is the biggest factor, which is beyond anyone's control. Patience is a virtue.

As for the comments about construction type, my home is listed as "frame" by both the bank and insurance company.

No, I don't work for or have any connection with Wardcraft other than being a satisfied customer.

Joe Michel

[gpraceman]

Joe,

Thanks for the feedback on your experience. Hopefully, one day we will have a plot of land that we can build our "dream home" and we will keep the modular home construction as an option.

I do have a few questions, if you don't mind.

Where is it you live?
Did you have any problems with the city or county?
About how much per sq ft did you pay?
How long after the house was set before it was ready to move in?
Can the homeowner do some of the finish work (sweat equity)?

[Mach1]

Originally Posted by gpraceman

Joe,

Thanks for the feedback on your experience. Hopefully, one day we will have a plot of land that we can build our "dream home" and we will keep the modular home construction as an option.

I do have a few questions, if you don't mind.

Where is it you live?
Did you have any problems with the city or county?
About how much per sq ft did you pay?
How long after the house was set before it was ready to move in?
Can the homeowner do some of the finish work (sweat equity)?

McCool Junction, Nebraska

No problems with the village board, they are pretty easy going here.

We bought an American Tradition series home, about $59.00/sqft at the time. I know they have gone up since then.

In our case, we moved in about a month after the house was set.

Sweat equity? Absolutely! I did a lot of things myself! First, I did the electrical hookup myself. I also did all the supply and drain plumbing myself, including digging and connecting the sewer main.

After that, I installed a laminate floor in the kitchen, and them we painted the entire house on the inside. All that took a solid month of hard work, after which we moved in.

After that, I built and finished the attached garage myself. After that, it was time to build the deck. After that, it was the dirtwork, sprinkler system, landscaping and planting the yard. I finished the final project - a storage shed right before Thanksgiving.

For the entire project, I tried to do as much as I could myself. The only contractors I had was of course Wardcraft, someone to pour the basement, HVAC contractor, and a guy that did seamless gutters for me. That's it. The more you can do yourself, the better.

I have a website with pics of a lot of what we did. I got too busy to keep updating it, but it goes through to about June. If you're interested, the URL is http://home.alltel.net/jm44316

I'd be happy to answer any more questions you or anyone else might have.

Joe Michel

[oceankidz]

Joe Michel
Were you able to purchase your home directly from Wardcraft or only through one of the authorised builders - we are looking at doing our own plan and not purchasing on of the stock plans, but would like to do as much of our own work as possible. Did they provide the delivery and insurance as well as the crane to set the house or were you able to arrange your own contractors to take care of that?
thanks

[Mach1]

Originally Posted by oceankidz

Joe Michel
Were you able to purchase your home directly from Wardcraft or only through one of the authorised builders - we are looking at doing our own plan and not purchasing on of the stock plans, but would like to do as much of our own work as possible. Did they provide the delivery and insurance as well as the crane to set the house or were you able to arrange your own contractors to take care of that?
thanks

You have to purchase the home working through one of their builders. If you buy a custom home, they will build to your plan. Our neighbors, inspired by the home we built, ordered one too. They are getting it delivered today infact. They went totally custom, having Wardcraft build a floor plan that they developed with the help of their Wardcraft rep.

When you order your home, you pick all your colors, options, and what not, and make a down payment. Come delivery day, the balance is due. The price you pay includes setting the house. Wardcraft will provide the equipment and crew to set the house. Trust me on this, you want THEM to set it, not some other contractor. They have done thousands of houses, and know what they are doing.

After the house is set, your Wardcraft builder will have a week or so of work on-site. The work includes fixing and cracks that may have occured in the drywall, finishing the roof, (if it was shipped dropped) and other detail work.

Joe Michel

[oceankidz]

A quick question to revive an old post anyone have recommendations for the Durango area of companies that they have dealt with other than Wardcraft that entertain owner designed modular and allow owner to complete/sweat equity? Thanks

[froggin4colorado]

Here in Colorado Springs, Antelope Ridge is a subdivision that is all modulars with a swimming pool, recreational house, etc. In Falcon, there are quite a few modulars on acreage.
Good luck!

[I_LUVNM]

Originally Posted by oceankidz

A quick question to revive an old post anyone have recommendations for the Durango area of companies that they have dealt with other than Wardcraft that entertain owner designed modular and allow owner to complete/sweat equity? Thanks

I know Rocky Mountain Housing does build those. Google and type in the words Durango Rocky Mountain modulars without the quote signs, just use the regular words and it will pop up. On their website, if you dont have high speed internet, click to Home to avoid the long wait time for downloading pictures of homes, although if you have the time, nice pictures to see.

[tj7978]

I've been to the Wardcraft factory in Fort Morgan, and as a homeowner for 36 years, an engineer, a woodworker, and a "power DIY-er" I can say I was favorably impressed with everything I saw, including basic construction, methods, fit and finish. They had a ... 30' wide?... home that was trucked from Kansas in one piece, and if I could have I'd have bought it on the spot.

Other details... haven't been able to find out anything on perils and pitfalls of designing right foundations or finding someone reputable to build a quality foundation that won't go to he!! on the swelling soils so common here in Colorado. I'm not sure that the mass developers address that properly, come to think of it.

Nor have I been able to get budget costs on everything other than the lot cost and the premanuf home cost. I'd hate to start a home and then have it go 50-100% over budget because of unforeseen natural or construction problems, or just plain stupid. If so, I'd be living in the construction trailer!

If anyone can help with references to someone who can help with budgeting such a home, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

[I_LUVNM]

Well, I dont know if this will help any but there is a Colorado builders guide you can download at http://www.cbctc.com/buildersgd.htm (broken link) and may help some. I also used the words in Google
Colorado home building budgeting
and got alot of web sites, so you might go through those and see if any can help. Tinker around with words too since one right word can make a major difference in getting the right response.