What building materials/ appliance brands should I be leery of?

Hi Danielle,

There are so many different brands with so many different products that it is impossible to say which are "good" or "bad." Most modular home manufacturers have partnerships with different materials companies and will offer you only a handful of different brands to chose from. This is not because they're lazy or corrupt, but rather because it allows them to make bulk orders for huge amounts of materials which results in huge savings that they can pass along to you.

For example, most site builders buy the lumber they need for just one house at a time since they don't have a safe and inexpensive way to store excess material, nor do they know when they will have an opportunity to use it next. Modular factories on the other hand do enough volume that they know if they order a massive quantity of lumber, not only will they have a safe and dry place to store it, but because of the scale of their operations they know even huge quantities of lumber will be used up in no time.

The good news is that you'll have seasoned professionals building your home who know which sorts of wires are best for where, what sort of plumbing you'll need, the best insulation rating for your climate, and a hundred other things that only the pros know to even think about.

As for appliances, again your manufacturer or builder likely has partnerships with major brands to get you the best deal possible, but you should consider being on the lookout for energy star appliances to keep your utilities bills low. There's the obvious energy hogs like dish washers, washers and driers, but here's a hint: don't forget about the toilets! Most people don't give toilets a second thought, but installing water-efficient toilets in your home can mean a huge savings for you and the environment!