Manufactured & Modular Homes Blog

What Options and Upgrades Should I Buy?

There are so many options you can get in your new home – everything from whirlpool bath tubs, upgraded flooring, fireplaces, more insulation, and heavier roof loads.  The list goes on and on, but we all have a limited budget so choices have to be made. What should you pay for now, what can wait for later, and what just isn’t worth the money?

First, let’s start with the exterior of the house. One item that a lot of people decide to upgrade is the exterior siding or cladding. The factory will offer you a palette of standard siding colors from which you can choose.You will notice that this color palette does not include dark rich colors like cedar, coastal blue, or deep red.These highly pigmented colors are extra cost, and they also are more likely to fade.This is typically over a thousand dollar upgrade. Because most people do not plan to change their siding, coupled with the benefits of siding being fairly maintenance free and having a long life cycle of 20 to 40 years, I would suggest paying for this upgrade if the siding makes the look of the house for you.

An example of this is our cape chalet house Heidlergoing on a beautiful wooded site. Can you imagine this house with white siding? If you want a home with a cabin feel, you will need to pay for the cedar siding. However, if the house can easily accommodate any color siding, why pay for an upgrade when it will probably fade to a slightly lighter color anyway over the next several years.You can also purchase insulated siding.This siding (in my opinion) is not really worth it.This is also over a thousand dollar option and for several hundred dollars you can upgrade the insulation value in your walls and/or roof.

Another item that is sometimes left until later are the porches and decks.Financially, this is a good item to cut because they typically cost anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 depending on what you want.We can provide you pricing on your porch design.If you are purchasing a manufactured or sectional home you will need to get the factory to prep for the future porch.This includes changing the trusses where the porch roof will tie into the house to make sure they will support the extra weight.If you are purchasing a modular house you will not need to address the trusses.You will need to verify the window and door location to make sure that the posts do not get placed in front of windows.On the other hand, if you choose to omit a porch or deck you will need to add a minimum 4×4 deck built to code for egress.

Next, I would like to discuss upgrading windows. The typical window is a single-hung vinyl window with argon fill and low-E coating. If you are purchasing a manufactured home without argon fill or low-E coating I would definitely suggest upgrading. Vinyl windows are made largely of high-quality extruded polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Some metal and other types of plastics are used for the sash mechanism. They have the advantage of being low maintenance, good insulators and reasonably priced. As for the single-hung versus double-hung, I don’t think there is a strong argument to upgrade except for cleaning purposes. This is particularly true for a two story with windows impossible to reach on the second level. You will also be able to select grids in the windows. Most of the vinyl windows offer grids between the panes of glass. You will want to clarify this since it will vary by manufacturer.

double-hung-vs-single-hung-windowsFinally, if you are purchasing a custom modular you can upgrade to a non-vinyl window.Most manufacturers offer Pella, Marvin or Anderson as their upgraded window supplier. From these companies, you will be able to pick any window they offer.Typically these windows can be either fiberglass or wood with an aluminum coating.With wood windows, you will have the option of choosing a different interior and exterior color.You can also have a wood finish on the interior.  If you want to upgrade to a fiberglass window which has greater thermal stability and higher strength you are looking at approximately 20% increase in cost. The wood windows will cost you approximately 25% more than vinyl.

It may seem like the choices and options are overwhelming, but our trained and knowledgeable sales consultants are here to help you make sense of it all, and ensure that you get just the home you want, one that you will enjoy for years to come. Please contact us here with any questions you may have.