Modular Home Building Set Day in Northern Virginia

As I rolled up to the scene of the day’s modular home set, there was a slight chill in the air; a typical spring morning in Northern Virginia. The weather forecasters had called for showers throughout the day, but the set crew was determined to work through it. Already without any rain, the crane operator had his hands full with picking up 40,000 pound boxes over high-voltage power lines on a narrow lot in Arlington; the rain would have added a nuisance element for the riggers and the set crew. As the custom home builders first truck pulled the first module into position, the the cloud cover thinned out enough to allow the sun to poke through…maybe it wasn’t going to be such a nasty day after all!

Not leaving anything to chance, I set up an event tent across the street for onlookers to take shelter under, should the skies open up later on. Call it a talisman to ward off the rain, or a sign of our resolve to deal with whatever Mother Nature sent our way, the tent went up. As the modules and crews got into position, the onlookers began to gather. “What is going on?” seemed the question of the day. Not everyone has had the privilege to see a custom modular home set onto its foundation—it’s something that doesn’t take long, so even if you know it’s going on, it’s usually over before you know it even happened. I spent the majority of the day with my back to the action, fielding questions from people looking at the house go up, most with eyes as big as saucers. I feel that by the end of the day, those who had the opportunity to see how it came together and have their questions answered walked away with a new found respect for what it is we do. I was happy to have done my part to teach a few people that modular homebuilding has very little in common with the proverbial “double-wide.” Truth be told, I could have stood there silently and on-lookers would have understood that all the same.

In every major event like modular home building set there is often one “wow” moment that defines the experience. For some, it’s seeing the next door neighbor mowing his lawn while a 40,000 pound box is swung into place right next door (that way pretty cool for me). For others, it’s passing by the lot after the set and realizing that the naked foundation they passed by in the morning is now a complete home. For those who had the opportunity to watch the event up close, a big moment was seeing the module that held the kitchen being prepped for placement: the cabinets, granite counters, glass tile backsplash, and even the range hood were all in place. That, in a nutshell, highlighted how different modular homebuilding is. A modular home is set in one day, but it’s not just a shell that is set; the entire home, with its wiring, plumbing, drywall, cabinets, windows—virtually everything—arrives complete from the factory. It’s a feat of modern engineering and ingenuity that allows for this process to work so well, and we are proud to be a part of it.

In the end, everything went off without a hitch; it sprinkled a little, but that didn’t dampen the mood of the crew or the onlookers. I met a lot of great people, and was happy to spend time chatting with them that day. I hope those who had a “light bulb moment” while witnessing this event will pursue that feeling, and allow us to assist them in achieving their new home dreams. What they witnessed is the next step in the evolution of homebuilding: a custom home designed for you by a boutique homebuilder, built in a factory using state-of-the-art construction techniques and materials, all delivered to the neighborhood of your choice in one day. In place, on-budget, and in a fraction of the time it normally takes; there is no better way to do it.

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