Not at all the "Tin Shed for the Newlywed or Nearlydead" or the "Trailer" abode of yore. The term "Mobile Home" applies only to homes manufactured prior to the stringent HUD construction standards established in 1976.

Manufactured Homes

The Maufactured Housing Institute is a comprehensive source of information about today's manufactured homes and a link to the Modular Home Council.

According to the Manufactured Housing Institute:

Today’s manufactured homes are built with the same building materials as site-built homes, but in a controlled factory environment where quality of construction is invariably superior to what can be done outdoors.

The HUD Code regulates and monitors the manufactured home’s design and construction, strength and durability, transportability, fire resistance, energy efficiency and overall quality. It also sets standards for the heating, plumbing, air-conditioning, thermal and electrical systems. The HUD Code also ensures compliance with these standards with a thorough inspection system that takes place at each step as the home is being constructed in the factory.

There are major benefits to having your home built in a factory:
· All aspects of the construction process are quality controlled.
· The weather doesn’t interfere with construction, cause costly delays and warp or damage building materials.
· All technicians, craftsmen and assemblers are on the same team and professionally supervised.
· Inventory is better controlled and materials are protected from theft and weather-related damage.
· All construction materials, as well as interior features and appliances, are purchased in volume for additional savings.
· All aspects of construction are continually inspected by not one, but several, inspectors.

Modular homes are partially built in a controlled, factory environment and then brought in sections to the job site for final assembly. You may have seen this process on Extreme Home Makeover Home Edition when the builders are pressed for time to finish the job in a a week.