Frequently Asked Questions

Modular homes and trailer houses (also called ‘Manufactured Housing’) are often put in the same category in people’s minds. They are completely different. Modular Homes are very similar to traditionally constructed homes, only they are built in a factory and delivered to the job site in large modules. They are built to the same building codes as site-built homes and are thoroughly inspected during construction by the factory’s quality assurance inspectors as well as a third-party agency to ensure complete code compliance. They then have the required labels affixed to each home to prove code compliance. All modular homes must be placed on permanent foundations.

In contrast, trailer houses (HUD code homes) are built on a trailer frames with axles under them. They are typically placed on concrete slabs and blocked up with dry stacked concrete blocks. They are built to a federal code which allows them to build them much cheaper and lighter-duty than local building codes allow. Because of this, trailer houses lose value quickly. These facts have rightfully given many people a low-class impression of trailer houses, and they are not permitted in some municipalities.

This can vary with the size of the cabin and our workload at the time. High demand has pushed our current lead times to about 10 months from the time of signing a contract. During this time we create your custom house plans and order products.  Meanwhile your order is put into a slot in our build schedule. Actual factory construction time is about 3 weeks.

All our homes require a permanent foundation with footers below frost level. Many are installed on full basements, because it doubles the possible living space. Your other option is a crawl space foundation. The crawl space area allows access to the bottom of your home for plumbing connections, heating ducts and other utilities.

See our Preparing Your Site page for more details.

We offer package deals that bring you basically everything above the foundation besides appliances, heating and furnishings. Here is a list of the major items:

• Entire exterior shell, including exterior preservative
• Fiberglass entry door(s) and double-hung windows with Low-E/Argon glass
• Insulation in walls & ceiling
• Knotty pine tongue & groove boards on the walls & ceiling throughout the interior – clear coated
• Engineered White Oak flooring – finished with a first class aluminum-oxide finish
• Complete electrical package including ceiling fans, lights, breakers, etc.
• Bathroom(s) including fixtures as dictated by plans – toilets, showers/tubs, sinks/vanities, etc.
• Kitchens of solid-wood construction with laminate counter tops and double-bowl undermounted stainless steel sinks.
• Solid knotty pine interior doors

• Local building permits
• Excavation and driveway
• Foundation installation, including sill plates and porch/deck piers
• Well and septic system
• Electric connection to our installed panel box
• Plumbing connections below floor (water supply & drain pipes stubbed through floor below each fixture)
• Floor insulation.
• Exterior steps to porch / interior stairs to basement
• Roof gutters and downspouts
• Heating system (unless you add our electric baseboard heat option)
• Appliances (exception: over-range microwave included – or range hood on smaller kitchens)
• Furniture and window treatments

One of the big advantages of modular construction is the controlled cost, allowing us to give you an exact price of our entire package.  For that reason we do not need to resort to ballpark figures like price per square foot.  Your local dealer will gladly provide pricing for each of our floor plans, or create a quote for your custom design.

To give you a rough idea, we can take our total package prices and divide it by the living area square footage. This method shows a range of about $150 – $250 per square foot.

*Worthy of mention: When companies sell by the square foot they typically do not include any porch areas and charge an additional $30-$40 per square foot to add a porch (and everybody needs a porch!).  The simple calculation we just did include the costs of our standard porch.  It’s like getting a porch for free!

Just like any log home the exterior of our cabins require some maintenance. We apply a stain finish to the outside of your new cabin during construction. It is a semi-transparent stain to allow the beautiful natural-pine look show through. Over time the sun will slowly break down this exterior stain and a new treatment must be applied. This periodical treatment is needed at approximately 5 year intervals, varying slightly depending on whether or not the cabin is exposed to direct sunlight. See our Cabin Maintenance page for more details.

Our interiors are a different story. There is virtually no maintenance to do to our knotty pine interiors or finished flooring.

Re-staining the exterior of your cabin is fairly simple, and most of our customers do it themselves. If the surface is free of mildew you can simply wash the exterior down with a pressure washer. (If there is any indication of mildew you will also want to wash those areas with a bleach mixture or some type of mildew destroyer.) Then let the walls dry for a day and re-stain it. The stain can be applied with a large brush, or you can spray it onto the wall and back-brush it to eliminate runs & drips. For more information, see our Cabin Maintenance page.

No. All our cabins and homes are built in our factory as modular units and delivered to your site. The completion of these modules on-site takes special equipment and knowledge. We send an experienced crew to your site to complete the process.

However, we can omit some parts of the package, such as eliminating the kitchen, bath fixtures, lighting fixtures or flooring if you wish to add your own touch.

These terms are set by your local dealer.  Most require a significant deposit to place a project into production (usually 20%-30%). You will also need to sign an itemized price quote or purchase agreement. Prior to delivery of your cabin you are typically required to supply a second deposit. A final payment of 10%-20% is often reserved until the home is installed, and may need to be given to the installation crew before they leave the job site.

No. As a manufacturer, we do not offer financing. Building a new cabin or home requires a Construction Loan, which means funds are released in stages as the project progresses. After construction is complete, it turns into a conventional mortgage. These loans can be applied for through your local bank or mortgage company. Or, ask your representative about reputable lenders near your job site.

Pennsylvania has a form you can sign, saying you will not use the cabin for your primary residence and it exempts you from all residential building codes. This form can be found here. Recreational cabins are typically used for hunting camps and/or weekend retreats. This is a perfect fit for that cabin that you are using only a few times in the winter and you do not want the hassle of the residential permits or the inspection process. It allows you to model your cabin as you like without working against minimum room sizes, bathroom clearances, heating system limitations, etc. However, if you plan to retire in this cabin some day, or sell it as a residence, build it with our typical modular home residential certification. Also, be aware that this exemption is for the state of PA only.

Modular Homes are governed by the same codes as site-built homes. Each home includes a project-specific detailed drawing set to simplify your permit process. During construction, each home is inspected to ensure complete code compliance. Your new home will be built to meet or exceed all the latest residential codes in your area.