Part One

"Whoa!", says Richard Wildermuth of Connecticut Valley Homes in East Lyme, Connecticut. "Let's get started on the right foot. Modular is a method of building...not a type of home. The method offers savings, security and flexibility to everyone planning to build a home."

Move up buyers are delighted with the custom design service and choice of fine finishes. First timers can get more than they imagine or even find they can own a home when they thought it was impossible. Everyone likes the prices and the speed.

All right, so what the heck is the modular method and how is it different?

The biggest difference comes from where the home is built, not how. As much as 90% of the work is completed inside a factory with a controlled environment. The first eye opener comes when one takes a tour of the plant and sees what that means in terms of quality control and construction economies.

The assembly line isn't like the ones you've seen with Coke bottles rattling incessantly along as they get washed, filled and capped in an endless procession. This one moves at a much more stately pace, only advancing every few hours. There are no robots there, but plenty of superior tools and clean workspaces. There is a feeling of productive industry but not one of insistent urgency. What sinks in after a short time is these homes are built by skilled carpenters, plumbers, and electricians, not assembly line workers. The difference is the skills of these men and women are enhanced by the ideal work environment and state-of-the-art equipment.

At the first station, two people build a floor section. "They buy only the best lumber available", says one of the workmen, "then we don't have to spend time culling out poor lumber." One is reminded they exclusively use kiln dried lumber (they even test the moisture content on each delivery) so the frame of the house won't be subjected to shrinking or twisting. Vast quantities of glue are used in addition screws, nails and bolts.

At the next station, carpenters first lay out all the wall studs on a big steel jig. The metal framework holds all the pieces true and square, and the nailing goes very quickly. One wall at a time (some as long as 60 feet) is carefully picked up by an overhead crane and set on the floor section. It's lined up and nailed into place as the crane goes back for the next piece. This becomes a bit of a three- dimensional jigsaw puzzle as all of the interior walls are placed in the right order and location, but no one seems to miss a beat. Their experience shows.

As the walls were being built on the jig, the sheetrock was applied to one surface. This takes a little getting used to at first, seeing a home being built from the inside out. But then the advantages become evident; being able to tape the backsides of sheetrock seams for more strength, and the ability to glue the wall insulation into place so it will never shimmy down. They've really thought this through.

The ceiling construction is some of the most fascinating work because it is so different and better from what can take place in typical site-built homes. There is this huge, smooth surface where the sheetrock pieces are first laid out, edge to edge, face down and then an overhead crane lowers the ceiling joist framework on top. A skilled carpenter then sprays all the joints where wood meets sheetrock and instantly the thick yellow liquid foams up to fill any gaps and makes an ultra-strong continuous bond between the sheetrock and the wood frame.

That's it, the ceiling is done! Then another crane hovers overhead, lowers its cables and picks up the whole sixty-foot-long ceiling and suspends it over the walls while craftsmen line it up and get it nailed into place. This is wonderful! There will never be a nail pop in that ceiling because there aren't any to pop. It's absolutely flat, has fewer seams and is actually stronger than traditional ceiling construction.