ANCHOR: BUILDING A NEW HOME USUALLY COSTS TWICE AS MUCH….AND TAKES TWICE AS LONG AS YOU MIGHT EXPECT. BUT IT DOESN’T ALWAYS HAVE TO…. MONEY SAVING EXPERT ILYCE GLINK IS HERE TO TELL US MORE.

ILYCE: RANDY AND ROSEANNE, THERE ARE ALOT OF CHOICES TO MAKE WHEN YOU’RE BUILDING A HOME FROM SCRATCH. AND NOW, ONE OF THEM CAN BE SANITY. I’M GOING TO SHOW YOU A LOWER- STRESS WAY, TO DESIGN AND BUILD YOUR DREAM HOME, AND WATCH IT GO UP ON YOUR PROPERTY IN A DAY.

DAVID HELLER: “WE REALLY DIDN’T WANT TO BE OUT OF THE HOUSE FOR A YEAR OR A YEAR AND A HALF.”

OR EVEN SIX MONTHS. WHAT THE HELLERS REALLY WANTED WAS TO BUILD A HOUSE IN A DAY.

“SO I DID SOME RESEARCH ON THE WEB . . .”

THEY FOUND STRATFORD HOMES, WHICH PROMISED TO BUILD THE HOME IN THEIR FACTORY IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS. AND THEN PUT IT UP IN A DAY — AND STILL MEET STATE AND LOCAL BUILDING CODES.

RON MCCASLM, PRESIDENT STRATFORD HOMES: “FROM START TO FINISH, YOU’RE PROBABLY LOOKING AT AN 8-WEEK PROCESS FROM THE TIME YOU BEGIN YOUR PRINTS TO WHEN THE HOUSE IS OUT THE DOOR.”

BUT CAN A QUALITY, CUSTOM HOME BE BUILT THAT QUICKLY? WOULD IT FIT IN WITH OTHER HOMES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD? AS DAVID AND BONNIE FINISHED PLANS FOR A 4,000 SQUARE FOOT CUSTOM HOME, THEIR 1880S FARMHOUSE CAME DOWN.

HOUSE COMING DOWN (SPEED UP VIDEO OF HOUSE BEING TORN DOWN)

UP IN STRATFORD, WISCONSIN, THE CREW GOT DOWN TO BUSINESS.

ILYCE TALKING TO A FOREMAN: “WE’RE BUILDING HOUSES IN A PRODUCTION LINE SETTING. AS THE WALLS ARE BEING BUILT, THE FLOORS ARE BEING BUILT.”

RON MCCASLM: “WE CAN BUILD THE FLOORS IN A CERTAIN WIDTH, EITHER 12, 13 OR 16-WIDE. IF WE CAN GET IT ON A PIECE OF PAPER AND BUILD IT IN THOSE MODULES, WE CAN BUILD IT IN THE FACTORY.”

FACTORY FLOOR: BUILDING MODULES IN A FACTORY OFFERS A FEW ADVANTAGES OVER BUILDING A HOUSE ON SITE.

RON MCCASLM: “IT’S BUILT IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT…..IT’S NOT EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS IN THE BUILDING PROCESS.”

DAVID HELLER: “YOU HAVE A THICKER WALL, THAT MEANS IT’S STRONGER AND IT’S ALSO ABLE TO HAVE DOUBLE THE INSULATION OF A NORMAL HOUSE. SO IT SHOULD BE MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT.”

TWO MONTHS LATER, STRATFORD SHIPPED 8 MODULES 300-PLUS MILES TO THE HELLER’S HOME TOWN.

RAIN FALLING ON THE SITE

NEITHER WIND NOR RAIN NOR MORE RAIN WAS GOING TO GET IN THE WAY.

TRUCK STUCK IN THE RAIN 00 08 59

GUY FROM STRATFORD HOMES: “THE CRANE WILL PICK UP THIS MOD AND WE’LL SET IT ONTO THE BASEMENT. THAT’LL TAKE US ABOUT 15 TO 20 MINUTES TO DO. THERE ARE 8 MODS TO THIS HOUSE AND WE’LL SET A MOD EVERY 25 MINUTES AFTER THAT."

HOUSE GOING UP (SPED UP VIDEO)

24 HOURS LATER, THE HOUSE WAS INSTALLED. ALTHOUGH IT CAME WITH DRYWALL, CABINETS, LIGHTS AND HARDWARE, THERE WAS STILL PLENTY OF WORK LEFT TO FINISH.

DAVID HELLER: “IT TOOK US 61 DAYS FROM THE DAY THE HOUSE WAS SET UNTIL THE DAY WE MOVED IN”

LIGHTENING FAST IN THE BUILDING INDUSTRY, PARTICULARLY FOR A HOUSE THAT
INCLUDES ALL THE BELLS AND WHISTLES, LIKE GRANITE COUNTERTOPS, LIMESTONE
FLOORS, AND MOLDINGS CROWNING 11-FOOT CEILINGS.

DAVID HELLER: “AT LEAST THE STRESS IS OVER”

WHICH BRINGS US TO THE BOTTOM LINE: COST. CUSTOM BUILDER DREW FERRIS, FIGURES IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN HIM AT LEAST 6 MONTHS TO BUILD A COMPARABLE HOME.

DREW FERRIS, FERRIS HOMES: “WE’D BE AT ABOUT $200-$220 DOLLARS PER SQUARE FOOT, DEPENDING ON WHAT THEY PICKED AS FINISHES.”

AND THE COST OF MODULAR CONSTRUCTION?

RON MCCASLM, STRATFORD HOMES: “IT’S GOING TO BE SOMEWHERE IN THE $80 TO $100 PER SQUARE FOOT RANGE.”

WHICH IS A SAVINGS OF $400,000 ON A 4,000 SQUARE FOOT HOME.

NOT ALL COMMUNITIES ALLOW MODULAR HOMES, AND OTHER COMMUNITIES MAY DISCOURAGE YOU FROM TRYING TO BUILD ONE ON YOUR LOT. TALK TO YOUR LOCAL BUILDING DEPARTMENT TO FIND OUT WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN YOUR MODULAR HOME IS READY, YOUR LOCAL BUILDING INSPECTOR WILL LET YOU INSTALL IT.